![]() ![]() The line starts getting blurry, however, when we enter into the arena of games that DO make an effort to take their “stories” seriously. Nobody buys those for the story (though they include a plot anyway). Ditto action games like Vanquish or Killzone. It’s truly a “game.” In cases like this, the plot often barely graduates beyond a thin bit of context to give shape and variety to the gameplay. While the game design certainly makes you empathize with Isaac, there’s no character growth or thematic catharsis or anything. In a game like Dead Space, the point is to deliver a funhouse experience. Still, the story of the Joker’s war with Batman over the soul of Gotham City (personified by Harvey Dent) works like gangbusters. The actual plot doesn’t really make sense at all the Joker’s actions and schemes border on incomprehensible past a certain point. This is why you have such a vivid disagreement (from time to time) as to whether the “story” of, say, The Dark Knight, is worthwhile. Stories, on the other hand, are more personal, with a deeper implication of meaning and resonance. ![]() A linking of events that move from beginning to end. As the great Film Crit Hulk pointed out, plots are cold, mechanical constructions. The way I’ve come to think about it is that a STORY is not necessarily the same as a PLOT. Part of the problem with talking about this subject is that “story” is such a nebulously defined word. Despite the way most game plots don’t matter much more than a symbolic search for Princess Peach, the quality of “story” matters a great deal to the players and producers of these games. Like, Mario isn’t participating in anything resembling a real story, but the plot element of searching for Princess Peach lends the vaguest hint of meaning and structure to the enterprise. From what I can tell, stories were primarily introduced as a means to give the gameplay experience more context - which would lead to the player feeling more involved. One thing gameplay isn’t, necessarily, is a story element. Most people consider gameplay “better” if it’s complex, difficult, or otherwise viscerally engaging. While things get hazy when dealing with predetermined quicktime events and the like, I’d say it’s fair to consider those fall under the umbrella of gameplay as well. Most of us would categorize “gameplay” as the specific actions the player commits during the game. What do we mean when we talk about a game’s story? ![]()
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