The effect of story on video games
photo by sky stockton
The first video game ever created, Pong, was released over forty years ago. Pong was designed by Allan Alcorn and came out on November 29, 1972. It was a simple game that involved two players bouncing a white ball back and forth on a 2D plane. We’ve come a long way since then.
Video games are now America’s most popular form of entertainment according to entreprenuership.com. They offer an immersive experience in dynamic and realistic worlds. From action to adventure, from casual to competitive, anyone can find a game that they enjoy playing.
“One, it’s a lot of fun to play. Also, it provides a different medium of storytelling that I think a lot of people overlook,” Evan Gregory, 11, said about why he loves gaming.
And, storytelling is really what it’s all about. It’s what draws most people to the medium. A movie offers an experience of watching the main character, but in a video game, you can be the main character. It’s obviously an important part of gaming, but you can always have too much of a good thing.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve liked just better gameplay, solid gameplay… If you focus too much on the story it just comes together like a movie,” Owen Faulkner, 11 said.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve liked just better gameplay, solid gameplay… If you focus too much on the story it just comes together like a movie.” — Owen Faulkner
Just making a movie is what I think game developers should avoid. When I sit down to play a video game I want to have fun, I want my brain to be engaged in the experience. If I wanted to experience a story I’d watch a movie or read a book.
In my opinion, Rockstar Games is the supreme example of a developer that makes balanced video games that have both a dynamic story and fun gameplay. The Grand Theft Auto series, the Red Dead Redemption games, even their less popular titles like LA Noire and Bully are all games that have an interesting storyline filled with dynamic characters.
But while these games have great characters and stories, you can tell they weren’t the only thing the developers focused on. They’re also filled to the brim with fun gameplay and dynamic settings. The players who are interested in the storyline can play and enjoy it and the players who aren’t can stray from it and just have fun playing the game and exploring the world.
Her Story, Gone Home, and Life is Strange are regarded to be some of the best story-heavy games but I didn’t love them. While they were well-made, I don’t think I will over enjoy playing them as much as I enjoy titles with fun gameplay elements.
At the end of the day, gameplay is what makes a video game a video game. It should never take a backseat to the story.