Why Video Game Stories Are Bad

I think video game stories are bad because their creators haven’t found an organic way to blend gameplay and story. It’s hard to have gameplay and story going on at the same time.

[ziggurcat]

Dead Space did that brilliantly.

[Thunder_G0d_Bane]

The bloody baron story of Witcher 3 says hello.

[Aeery]

Some are bad, some are good.
Like everything else on this planet when it comes to art and creativity.

[GameStallion]

It did indeed and so did Bloodborne so this article shouldn’t have a misleading picture of it for their title because the story and lore creation in that game is one of the most dynamic and wonder inducing ever told... that is, if you can properly peice it together. I recommend VaatiVida’s YouTube page for the most comprehensive interpretation.

[Nyxus]

There are plenty of good video game stories.

[SterlingSilver]

Please just actually read the article

[Rimeskeem]

Not his fault the title is click baity

[sampsonon]

We would rather not read the article.
Noticed how bad the articles posted on this site are?

[CorndogBurglar]

Write an accurate headline then instead of trying to make it click bait. You write this headline and then give this description then can't figure out why people don't want to give it the time of day?

There is nothing positive in your headline or description. So yeah, people are going to read that and not even bother reading the article because you seemed to have made it pretty clear already.

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

Please just use common sense and realize it's a clickbait article.

[ArchangelMike]

Brilliant article. Event though I think it overlooks many games that have used gameplay to tell great stories. I'm thinking of Bioshocl for example. The way the player was directed, and how that was integral tot eh story. They you also have game sequels like Mass Effect 1-3, that tell an engaging and coherent story over a number of sequels. I know these are few and far between, but they are out there. Also there are a few games where the story telling and narrative is the primary focus, (these are usually your walking simulators tbf like EveryBody's Gone to the Rapture, Edith Finch, Gone Home etc).

But increasingly I think there are more games that strike a good balance., e.g. God of War, The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption etc etc. These all had really strong story combined with great gameplay. So I think the industry is getting there. But yeah there is a much higher initial financial investment involved because, cutscenes have evolved to the point where you need a mocap studio with live actors, and not just animators and voice actors anymore.

[ziggurcat]

yeah, Bioshock is another game that seamlessly incorporates the game's story without using cutscenes.

[william_cade]

Some of those games you mention are interactive books, less game really. And as much as I love the Last of Us and RDR. The stories themselves are way short of profound, which is what I think good writing is.

[ArchangelMike]

A good story doesn't have to be profound at all. The most common stories are love stories, and they are the simplest stories and some of the best. Nothing wrong with simple straight forward stories. However, you get alot of video game stories with forced plot twists and overly obtuse narratives just to artificially lengthen the experince and give you more fetch quests to complete.

But the point is - you have some games that focus primarily on story and less on gameplay, and then you have others that are more gameplay focused at the expense of story. Take Marvel's Spiderman for example, the story was pretty striaght forward, nothing profound about it, but it was still a good story and and good example of the balance of story and gamplay.

And I'd have to disagree with you on TLOU. imho that game did have a profound story - especially if you got to the end :)

[william_cade]

Then good is average? Well we have a ton of average stories, which are good? I don't get it.

Simple stories can be profound and not. The difference is the effect and they way they affect. An average simple story, while solid will ultimately be lost in a sea of other average stories. If we are to take the Last of Us story as a piece of writing then it's whatever, but combine it with gameplay - now we have something.

If the writer is actually good then many things will change because of the writing.

I got to the end and yes the lie was a perfect way to end that story. And the Last of Us is one of my top 3 games of all time, but to say it was profound would be a slight toward the world changing authors that have come before it.

[ShadowWolf712]

If your measure of "Good" is "world-changing", then almost nothing is good.

You've got some pretty out-of-whack standards, my guy.

[Edito]

I think that or you don't know how to read or the other way you read it and don't understand or simple your are looking for something in the wrong place... Because there is a lot of good stories out there...

[Segata]

Yakuza 0 & Nier Automata have some brilliant stories.

[King_Noctis]

Yakuza 0 story is very heartbreaking, especially if you had played some of the numbered Yakuza game before that. Truly one of best game stories out there.

[StrengthInNumbers]

good thing I don't play games for their stories.

[RedDevils]

You're missing out on some of those games then.

[Akarogg]

Here's another downvote for you

[Ricegum]

Wow. How sad.

[Imalwaysright]

Sad? What's sad about playing games for what sets them apart from any other art form? If I want to experience good stories I don't at all need games. If I want to experience gameplay that games like Sekiro or Bayonetta provide, I won't find it in any other art form.

[Rachel_Alucard]

I see it's still hard to have a differing opinion without being swamped by the hivemind who disagrees.

[FanboysKiller]

If you are going to this route just don't look into reviews scores, you need to be picky and retro at the same time.

[BABI-PANGPANG]

For a second there I thought you were going to say that Bloodborne's story was bad but on the contrary you pretty much summed up why it's so absolutely brilliant. That aha moment you get when you realize everything in the game screams Lovecraft!

[SterlingSilver]

Thank you, I'm glad you actually read the article. Bloodborne and the Souls series integrate story very well into games!

[MWH]

good read, you might steer away few readers though because of that ambiguous title.

[OB1Biker]

Its not ambiguous though. Its a straight bad title.

[Gamist2dot0]

Bat title and Bloodborne for thumb nail for super click bait.

[LoveSpuds]

Yup, I make a point of not reading these pieces if the title seems like click bait, I just think it is a disservice to your work if you sell out with a lazy title like this.

[SterlingSilver]

I don't understand why people are saying this is click bait when the title of the article is literally the premise of the entire article. I made that title to be straight forward about what I'm writing about. I'm not going to make the title "Most video game stories are bad but a select few are pretty good"

[OB1Biker]

It's easy to understand. 'games stories are bad' is easily acknowledged as false by everyone because its well known a few are good. 'most games are bad but a few are good' leaves room for interpretation. Don't forget it's also a very subjective matter. All in all, it's a matter of getting the reader interested enough to spend more time reading.
False statement isn't appealing to start with even though negativity is a typical clickbait.

[harmny]

Most stories in films and books are bad too

[rainslacker]

Because the framing of the title could be taken in a way that you weren't intending.

Instead of saying "Why game stories are bad", which implies that you think all game stories are bad, you could say something more like, "What causes a game story to be bad". Or something similar that doesn't generalize the topic, and focuses more on the fact that you are analyzing what makes a good or bad story, as opposed to just implying(even if unintentionally) that all game stories are bad.

[william_cade]

I really enjoyed this article. To be fair writing in general is awful in most movies and books. However, video-games do not have a Camus, Dostoevsky, or Kafka. I think time is a huge factor as the written word has been around much longer, yet not as long as vocal storytelling (a much shorter way of telling a story).

Video games are a unique medium for story-telling. They are part movie, part book, part campfire and part game. I would give it a another 100 years.

[v3nny]

Another April Fool's Joke?

[CrimsonWing69]

Have you played God of War, Spider-Man, Metal Gear Solid, Uncharted 2,3, and 4, The Last of Us, and Alan Wake just to name a few?

[SterlingSilver]

I have played most of those games, I say in my article that there are some really good video game stories out there, but as a medium, video game stories tend to not be good.

[CrimsonWing69]

so it's a click bait article?

[sampsonon]

They're not bad if they're Playstation 4 exclusives.
the majority are good.
I don't know about the other publishers.

[EmperorDalek]

Games have more time to tell their stories, and have the chance to get the player involved. I'd argue they're better than films for storytelling potential.

[bujasem_89]

This is dumb

[SterlingSilver]

Thank you for not reading the article and then commenting!

[bujasem_89]

Hehe Yea, I totally jumped the gun on this one.

[Dirty_Lemons]

Utter crap.

[bujasem_89]

Fine I'll read the article because of what the comments are saying. Conceptually though, not behind this title at all. Game's stories can be incredible, I don't know when people will see the true potential of video games. It's like a magical place where you get combine all mediums of entertainment and art doing with it what you will.

But onto reading this article I guess.

[bujasem_89]

OK the article actually isn't bad, the writer has some fair points. However, I'd say the good stories are almost as much as the really bad ones. Also, some franchises make an effort to connect the dots, eg AC series true it got rid of Desmond but honestly I loved Unity, black flag was a wonderful crime on Ubi's part and honestly the only one I couldn't finish was the London one, I played Origins and that game kind of summed the story up on the assassins side of thing and where they began, we might be getting a game showing how the Templars started too but who knows, I think the corner Ubi made for themselves wasn't killing Desmond, it was never making the present day game we all thought was just around the corner.

Movies do that too, I like the X men franchise, they basically ended up making a Netflix choice game out of those, and I think that could be awesome.

[SterlingSilver]

I just think the story in current AC games takes a huge backseat and it shows. I think there is an interesting conversation to be had about whether those Netflix choose your own adventure movies are more games than movies

[bujasem_89]

@sterlingsilver It is true the first AC had story in between every mission. I'd actually say this article is a right step in the direction video games should be taking. I also think the control scheme that most of us know on a controller should change. I actually have an Idea for a game that I would like to make someday. I believe that anyone who enjoys games and wishes to see them grow up as a medium in a respectable form should make their voice heard. Even if it's as simple as writing an article just like this one if not making a game.

I guess I was put off by the title because I am so passionate about video games, even as far as believing certain people who make them actually pour themselves into it.

[quent]

bc same with movies a good story needs to end and have a good ending, which are very rare, videogames even more, but when it comes to videogames I feel its best just to enjoy the ride while it lasts

[Arty84]

There sure are alot of overrated ones

[ShadowWolf712]

Mm, can't really agree. Video game storytelling has gotten a LOT better over the last ten years. I also don't think sidequests necessarily detract from a game's narrative, as it mirrors life; things will happen irrespective or unrelated to your personal goal. Sometimes you need to deal with them along the way. It happens.

Idk, I feel this is selling things short based on personal taste more than objective judgment.

[SterlingSilver]

I tried to be as objective as possible. I don't think side-quests always detract from games, I just think Skyrim handled them poorly because so many of the side quests are not memorable and neither are the characters. I agree that side-quests can mirror life, but I think if we compare real life type side quests to video game side-quests, the side quests in rel life are a lot more meaningful

[Elda]

Not all.

[AK91]

Depends on the game.

[Imortus_san]

"Why Video Game Stories Are Bad" - easy one, if you don't like the story you dont like the game, most people dont buy those games or just don't care because it's not appealing to them.

[SterlingSilver]

Not true, someone can like the gameplay but not like or care about the story

[Alek83]

Almost every RPG begs to differ.

[SterlingSilver]

whew, that is not being objective lol

[harmny]

What games are you playing?

[Brash]

The Atlantic already published a story with a nonsensical header a while back.

[Thundercat77]

There lots of games with good stories. Stories even better than some movies.

Bloodborne has a fascinating story... Once you understand it. I remember finishing the game the first time and still have no idea what was going on.

[pinkcrocodile75]

The narrative is broken into set pieces, leading to less nuanced story telling.. That and the old adage "Those who can Write" and "Those who can't write video games"

Compared to Authors and screenwriters, game writers are piss poor

[Cavalier]

The author has a clickbaity title and somehow wonders why people are reacting to it. lol