What do you want from videogames in the future: Better story or better gameplay?

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

@Animasta said:

@DonutFever said:

Games play fine now. I don't think I've ever seen a GREAT game story,

Nier

Not to derail the argument this thread has become but I'm genuinely curious what some people see in the story for Nier? Granted I never seen the other endings because I did not want to play through the last five hours again. Do you think that is why I never "got it"?

Been wondering that myself. I played the game and saw all the endings. I even read some of the supplemental material. It was good but nothing monumental.

I think some would argue (such as Jonathan Blow) that gameplay and story are intertwined and that it may be impossible to sufficiently improve one without improving the other. Given a straight choice though, I'd definitely take story. Video games in general are already very good at presenting good gameplay, while the medium is generally lacking when it comes to telling stories.

Both

@upwarDBound said:

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

@Animasta said:

@DonutFever said:

Games play fine now. I don't think I've ever seen a GREAT game story,

Nier

Not to derail the argument this thread has become but I'm genuinely curious what some people see in the story for Nier? Granted I never seen the other endings because I did not want to play through the last five hours again. Do you think that is why I never "got it"?

Been wondering that myself. I played the game and saw all the endings. I even read some of the supplemental material. It was good but nothing monumental.

People who do not like Nier or know how awesome the story is. If you approach it from a story writers eye it is masterful to the point where it does everything amazingly. It is so damn amazing that it should be expected that it will most likely be used by video game design schools when they finally get their shit together. That is how fucking amazing it is.

@Jay444111:

Why don't you try being a bit more specific?

Nothing makes me enjoy a game more than feeling like my actions have a purpose or meaning. Shooting people is fine, but when I care why I'm shooting people, that's when it's something else.

Story.

@DonutFever said:

Games play fine now. I don't think I've ever seen a GREAT game story,

Nier

Both.

If I choose story does it mean that gameplay starts to be shitty in every game or just that innovation in game design stops ?

Gameplay, I don't care about story.

It honestly isn't that cut and dry. You can't just say "which one do you want more of". You have to take into account what a game is going to be, what its purpose serves in the greater scheme of games in general, and what the developers are looking to accomplish.

Let's look at two primary examples: Asura's Wrath and Angry Birds. One of these is based heavily around story and quick-time events to progress through it, to the point that many say "it's not even really a game". The other is literally nothing but gameplay. In the end, both serve their own purposes in the world of video games, as one tries to offer an interactive experience to go through the steps of this character while the other just wants to tease your brain and give you something entertaining to do. Both are worthwhile, but they are completely opposite ends of the spectrum.

The vast majority of video games today reside somewhere in the middle of that, and it's a fine balancing act on that high wire to make sure you don't fall off and go through the safety net right onto the goddamn ground with a loud "SPLAT!". Some of them pull this off well. Some don't. The developer themselves needs to make the decision on what needs more focus: gameplay or story. As long as the product they can offer up from that ends up being a good balance based around the game they are creating, then I'm all good.

Here is the problem with threads like these, they are silly. Let's face it the only correct answer is all of the above. You would be a little dumb to not want both after all.

@jakob187 said:

It honestly isn't that cut and dry. You can't just say "which one do you want more of". You have to take into account what a game is going to be, what its purpose serves in the greater scheme of games in general, and what the developers are looking to accomplish.

Let's look at two primary examples: Asura's Wrath and Angry Birds. One of these is based heavily around story and quick-time events to progress through it, to the point that many say "it's not even really a game". The other is literally nothing but gameplay. In the end, both serve their own purposes in the world of video games, as one tries to offer an interactive experience to go through the steps of this character while the other just wants to tease your brain and give you something entertaining to do. Both are worthwhile, but they are completely opposite ends of the spectrum.

The vast majority of video games today reside somewhere in the middle of that, and it's a fine balancing act on that high wire to make sure you don't fall off and go through the safety net right onto the goddamn ground with a loud "SPLAT!". Some of them pull this off well. Some don't. The developer themselves needs to make the decision on what needs more focus: gameplay or story. As long as the product they can offer up from that ends up being a good balance based around the game they are creating, then I'm all good.

Another amazing post, THANK YOU!

@Video_Game_King said:

Both?

I'm at a point where I would prefer a stronger story. Gameplay has come so far, that a focus on it will only gain so much.

Story... I can deal with archaic gameplay as long as the story is interesting enough to hold my attention.

Well both

Story hands down. I can take a lot of gameplay issues as long as the story is good.

Story. People remember games like Deadly Premonition, but question what the fuck Bodycount is. Games with decent gameplay are more forgettable than a video game that has a decent story. I'm not even talking about writing here, but more specifically how weird a story gets. Story is starting to matter more to me. Gameplay is still important, but I'm less critical towards games that make me feel something instead of playing an okay shooter.

Can't we go for both? But if we are improving what has greater need, story.

I would say gameplay is more important for me. I can enjoy a game with solid gameplay even if the story is terrible like the serious sam series. However, even if a game has an interesting story, I will eventuallty get fed up with the game if it just is not fun to play.

That said, I don't think gameplay and story are mutually exclusive and would hope that they would both improve in the future. The best games are when those two concepts support each other and its hard to tell where they diverge.

There is no question that gameplay is more important. Games don't need stories, they need context: kill the <aliens | soldiers | zombies >, rescue the princess, win the race, play guitar in a rock band. I would not hold back the progress in new game controls, mechanics and genres for better voice acting and writing in a largely tangential aspect of most games.

Narrative is a weak reward even in single player games. Especially when the player has no control over the outcome the relationship between the two has basically no value. You are making your game arbitrarily linear in service of this story and you are delaying and often blocking access to the story for people who can't play the game well.  You might as well release the movie and the game separately.

I still think graphics can get wildly better so neither of those

I don't really think 1 can evolve without the other catching up. They are dependent on each other, thats what makes a video game a video game