Storytelling in Games

Personally i love deep storylines in games. Theres nothing better than having a character you can relate to as you dive into a juicy narrative keeping you up till 4AM to see how they saves the world....or whatever. But it doesnt mean plotless games like Guitar Hero dont have their charms.

Storylines dont neccesseraly make a game, or even make it better but it sure can help a hell of a lot. The game mind you has to be good in the first place, as a shit game with a good narrative is overshadowed by poor quality and can be spoilt in the process. Same as a game that has amazing effects but with a rather linear plot can be just as bland. Although im personally a strong fan of a good plot with twists, turns and a fair share of back stabbings i can see how designers have to get the balance of story and gameplay right.

When it comes to who rules who, the story happening to you or you making the story happen im still a bit tomayto tomarto on. To be blunt, both. There are games you can make the story happen pyhscially by certain choices made during a game, where certain actions relates to changes in the story. Silent Hill is an example of this where for every action you take has an equivalent reaction in the plot, resulting in such story complications as NCP's living or dying. It all boils down to your actions either amounting to a good or bad ending. The good ending hosting your typical fight the last boss and save the world style finale whereas the bad ending has a more ironic world is in flames while you battle your own possessed daughter ending.

But this deosnt mean the story is merely there so the protagonist has somethng to carry out during the game. It can still be something you get engrossed in and relate to, as if it were happening to you. Some games like guitar hero are blessed with not needing a storyline to keep the game rolling, but for those that do there are tricks of the trade to get you involved in the game both pysically and through your mind. The character is one of the mains assests of a game and is the tool for getting you into involved, good games use techniques to get you to identify with the character you play, afterall most emotions are portrayed through this person, what they feel and endure can depict the plot, so you join them through this to unfold and play out the story. Its like the game is the room you want to be in and the player is the door. You get into it through the protagonist and the storyline. Personally this is how games are best played

But all games dont have to have a story though. Call of Duty, the well known WW2 FPS doesnt really involve more than kind of following the path of particular soldiers throughout the war as they leave a trail of bloody nazi corpses behind them. But this doesnt make it a bad game. Its true that CoD isnt properlly a story as such because of no real narative, but does show the journey of a person. More a loose outline of transpiring events more than a thick juicy narrative. This can still work because the story isnt the end all of a game, its merely an aspect of the gameplay experience and even in small quantities can still be blended into the game to create a balanced and harmonic gameplay that still works...i think