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

So, the question is pretty simple: In the future, would you like to see videogames with better stories(Better characters, better atmosphere, better dialogue, etc..) or better gameplay(More clever ways to interact with the world, using the interactive aspect of video games to make you have fun/cry/whatever, etc...)?
Personally, even though i always say that in a video GAME the GAMEplay is the most important aspect of it, i would like to see the medium getting better at telling stories, or at least getting a better atmosphere in the future. What do you people think?
 
EDIT: Also, for everyone saying both... This question is more along the lines of "If you could only pick one, and the other stops evolving."

Both?

Maybe it's because I am getting older, but it's probably story for me. I find I can ignore a lot of bad gameplay and power on through a game if the story connects with me in a powerful way. On the flip side, I have dropped quite a few games that are mechanically sound because I was completely uninterested in what happened next.

That said, my favorite genre is fighting games which are 100% gameplay to me. But since I'm pretty satisfied with the current quality of mechanics in fighting games I don't think I'd be too upset if they didn't get much better.

Both?

Then gameplay with gamers being more appreciative of story or something?

Both. But I've liked my favorite games of all time so much mostly because of the story, so I'll go with that.

But since I'm pretty satisfied with the current quality of mechanics in fighting games I don't think I'd be too upset if they didn't get much better.

If only one could get better I'd choose story.

Gameplay is fun in the moment, a good story sticks with you long after it's over.

I find games fun already. Asteroids is still awesome. That game is over 30 years old.

Story wise... They can get a lot better.

Both. But if i had to chose one... I used to think that story is the most important aspect of a game. Well I've reinstalled Borderlands lately, and then i realized that gameplay is most important. With that said, stories and plots need improvement in the video game medium, more so than gameplay.

most stories in games are kinda bad, though there are those that stick with you for a long time, so I'll go with that.

@Video_Game_King said:

Both?

@MikeGosot said:

So, the question is pretty simple: In the future, would you like to see videogames with better stories(Better characters, better atmosphere, better dialogue, etc..) or better gameplay(More clever ways to interact with the world, using the interactive aspect of video games to make you have fun/cry/whatever, etc...)? Personally, even though i always say that in a video GAME the GAMEplay is the most important aspect of it, i would like to see the medium getting better at telling stories, or at least getting a better atmosphere in the future. What do you people think?

i think the term video GAMES is outdated. arguably some of the best titles out there focus less on gameplay and more on immersing the player in its world. it's probably controversial, but i really think much of heavy rain nailed the balance between narrative and gameplay (if you don't need to be shooting something in the face every 2 seconds to be contented).

i guess what i'm saying is that to me, gameplay is almost meaningless when it doesn't feel symbiotic with the story. my least favourite parts in a game like mass effect are the combat, which i assume would be considered the "gameplay" aspect. it's just so disjointed from the bulk of the story aspects.. it's literally story part -> shoot some guys -> more story -> etc. but in a game such as dead space for example, the combat is much more intertwined with the narrative and at the heart of the game's essence, and i enjoy it far more in that context.

so let's just all agree to call video games "interactives", or something less lame sounding.

Why not both? Are we doomed to one or the other? Shit, well I guess story.

After going on a gaming bonanza for the last few years I've come to one conclusion, gameplay is everything. At this point I can't even find the muster to play a game unless I enjoy the gameplay. Even looking back at all my favorite and go-to games for the last few years, all of them are gameplay focused games. I also just don't believe video-games is a great medium for story-telling. That's not to say there shouldn't be any story-telling, but in games it has much more of a functional role than an artistic one. Exploring new gameplay is just so incredibly more rewarding than yet another half-unique story, and I don't believe the medium is actually able to reach a high enough level of story-telling to trump it. Too much of what makes a game a game just sabotages the potential for an actual great story.

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

@SlashDance said:

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

all i know is, choose wisely. our fates are in your hands.

I'm fine with where gameplay is & tend to think that on the whole plot, atmosphere, characters, etc could all use considerable work in the vast majority of titles. So yeah.

Gameplay. Games that are story based are already pretty good at it. Not that gameplay is lacking in most games, but I can (in theory) write a good story with a piece of paper and a pen. Gameplay probably won't get much better until the tech does. Then again, Final Fantasy 6 had both. I'm still going to go with gameplay though, because everything in that department is currently really stale.

@mordukai said:

@Video_Game_King said:

Both?

If I had to choose, gameplay. Games are getting a little too close to hollywood movies these days, and cutting back on interactivity between your Uncharteds and Call of Dutys. I'd like to see renaissance of gameplay-focused games. Indie games tend to be pretty good about this.

I rather have both of course, but gameplay is the most important. I can read a book if I want the best story.

Of course, both is ideal, but if I have to choose one or the other? Story, every time. I think it's why JRPGs remain one of my favourite genres.

The games that have stuck with me the most, that I can even say affected my life in some ways, were RPGs with a huge story focus. Games with amazing gameplay are great at the time, and sometimes great to come back to, but they don't stay with me like a truly memorable story. A great example I think is Xenogears, my favourite game of all time, which had decent but not amazing gameplay coupled with a top-notch story. The story is why I loved that game, and while the gameplay was totally serviceable, it'd have been a forgettable experience without the story.

Some degree of quality gameplay is required, and I have absolutely zero tolerance for companies releasing broken games, but in the end the story is what I am almost always looking for in a game.

Gameplay

I assume a larger focus on story would mean even more scripting and linear bullshit. I don't want more Call of Duty or Uncharted.

This generation sacrificed gameplay innovation by focusing on stories and characters. I want games to be about the interactivity again.

I play games for gameplay. Honestly I don't give a shit about story, I read books for that.

If I had to choose, it would be gameplay. I certainly like story and can forgive a game of some faults if its story is good enough, but gameplay is just far more important to me. If I must have a good story, then there are plenty of books available that do not ask me to trudge through boring and uninteresting (or worse, frustrating and buggy) gameplay segments for another morsel of narrative.

It doesn't hurt that there haven't been many games with exemplary stories. Bioshock and... uh... yeah, that's what I can name off of the top of my head. I hesitate to say any RPG's because those almost always present a problem, and then toss in a whole bunch of tangents for you to go off on in the form of sidequests. While I do enjoy those, I find that it makes it really hard for me to give a damn about the main story when there are so many other things on hand at the present and the main conclusion is fifty or so hours away. To me, that's good at establishing the world and its customs, but it's not good at keeping a tight and focused story.

Narratives still tend to lag behind gameplay in terms of their quality in many games. It would be nice to see them catch up.

@Video_Game_King said:

Both?

This.

If I had to vote, I'd say Story. But really, I want them to be one and the same. Mass Effect and Journey, in 2 completely separate ways, bring you closer to feel like you are 'playing' the story, rather than playing a game with a story. And that's what the future of gaming should be.

So yes, better gameplay, in service of story.

It depends what you mean by focusing on story. Do you mean more Uncharted-style emulating Hollywood summer blockbusters? Then fuck no, gameplay all the way. If you mean actually utilizing the strengths of video games as an interactive medium to tell a story rather than trying to pretend games are movies, then...maybe. Actually, still no. Gameplay has taken such a horrible dive this generation that I fear what would happen to games if devs strayed even further away from focusing on gameplay.

I believe that you can not get one without the other, you will get better story telling through game play innovation/interaction and I believe the next big thing in game play is developing new ways to tell a story using game play.

Can't we have both? I love storytelling in videogames more than some movies lately and gameplay is just as important if not more of course is a game.

Tough choice, but if I absolutely must choose, story. Bad stories makes it hard to connect with games, and even if the gameplay is bad, I'll still get through it to see the game to the end.

I'd like both. But due to the higher cost of games and mainstream console gaming it will most likely be games that play themselfs for the majority of titles.

you can't really choose just one because if a game is lacking in one of these it usually isn't very good or is just rental worthy.

I'd say both, but I voted for story because that's where it's got the most catching up to do. And hopefully in ways that can only be achieved in games.

There are already examples of excellent gameplay.

Story however? Almost every game has story thrown at it in some way but it's rarely, if ever, excellent. Not just story as in plot but story as in actual writing, direction, character development and all the other intricacies we take for granted in other storytelling media.

You know how people always say "the graphics are good ...for a Wii game"? Maybe we should start saying "the story is pretty good ... for a video game" more often to remind ourselves that video game storytelling still has a long long way to go.

Every time I hear someone being totally excited for the story in the latest Gears, Mass Effect, Zelda or God of War game, I go "eh, really?". Simply having a lot of it with voice actors that don't suck at their job doesn't make a story good or well told.

I've just started playing ME3 (about 3 hours in now) and the story parts have been pretty bad so far... I don't remember them being this bad in 1 and 2 but that's how it is now, in my opinion - simply from a craftsmanship perspective. B-movie level at best. The scope they're shooting for obviously doesn't fit into the budget and timetable devs have at their disposal. I think that's partly due to the nature of video games being tied to hardware - so many resources have to be spent on making sure the game runs well and pushes the hardware its on instead of spending it on crafting an excellent narrative experience.

Can't it be both? Although in all honesty some of the greatest games made didn't have a story of any kind so, I'll go with game play.

Gameplay.

Ideally, both. But if one area can be improved, it's always gonna be game play for me. If I need story, I can read a book or watch a movie.

How about both?

I choose story because it is more important than gameplay these days. By that, I mean that Gameplay has largely stayed the same for the last 20 years. Might as well just make something that works then make a story in it. Mainly because that is literally the only way to innovate nowadays. Also, games without stories are crap almost always and we call them out on it. This shows us that story matters to us just as much as gameplay USED to.

Both are equal in terms of quality in some games, however in terms of actual importance story goes WAY over gameplay.

Besides, there have been hundreds to thousands of amazing stories brought to life thanks to video games. At least they aren't the medium that abridges everything like movies do. That alone makes them better than movies. (but other stuff like actual story quality and interactivity just prove movies are in the past in terms of innovation and art.)

Faced with those two options I would pick gameplay. It is possible for a great game to stand entirely on its gameplay having no story. What does stories getting better even mean? I get the impression that people want to solely get their story needs from video games rather than a source more suited to them. The story bits in most games could be transcribed to written form, or audio-visual form divorced from the gameplay and nothing would be lost. In many cases something would be gained.

I play games for their interactivity and it is that component that defines games that I want to see improved. The moment I am completely satisfied with the way games play is the moment that games die for me. There is still so much more that can be done in the realms of gameplay that I want to see while I still hold interest in this medium. I can get the most wild varied stories imaginable from a little thing called books. And let me tell you, some of my favorite books and stories of all time would be terrible if they were attempted to be shoehorned into a game with their current gameplay limitations.

Story. I want better reasons why I'm pointing my gun at Russians and shooting them until they die!

@upwarDBound said:

I play games for their interactivity and it is that component that defines games that I want to see improved. The moment I am completely satisfied with the way games play is the moment that games die for me. There is still so much more that can be done in the realms of gameplay that I want to see while I still hold interest in this medium. I can get the most wild varied stories imaginable from a little thing called books. And let me tell you, some of my favorite books and stories of all time would be terrible if they were attempted to be shoehorned into a game with their current gameplay limitations.

Wow... that literally could not be more wrong even if you tried.

How much can gameplay evolve anymore? Let me ask you that question, with how we are already are able to interact with everything in video games and such. There is literally nowhere left to go in terms of video game gameplay evolution. Most things have been done before and literally the only way to advance things is with story/story+gameplay games.

until we finally get virtual reality, there is no where else to go until then.

Besides, video games that were books at first are actually pretty fucking amazing, whether they be adventure games like I have no mouth and I must scream or FPS with Metro 2033. Book to game transitions work far more than books to movies ever will.

@Jay444111:

I know of few books that were adapted to video games. I know of the Witcher and that's about it. I said nothing about book to movie transitions.

Also to think that gameplay cannot evolve anymore is very narrow thinking. If that were the case I would hang up gaming right now.