G4 Editor in Chief Adam Sessler dissects the art of storytelling in video games, where it’s been and where it’s going. Taking a look at Uncharted 2 and Brutal Legend as the best of the recent crop, Adam chats about what makes for a good story, and how dialogue and acting have vastly improved in games over the years. Yes, back in the day, the story just got in the way of the action, but now the story often drives the game. Why? What changed? Tune in and find out. Enjoy!
Comments
Displaying 1–20 of 36
122
Blue_Vortex
I think what makes video games such a great way to tell stories is that you aren't just watching these characters your being them and experiencing what they're experiencing (well sort of).
Valentinog
Sweet! Hope to play Brutal Legend sometime soon, but playing Uncharted 2 in the meantime. lol who was playing uncharted in the background and jump of the train at 4:52 instead if going on top of the ladder?
tale170iota151
Adam was in the N.O. I live one city over. why were you in Louisiana?
Syncya
You have quite a way with words, Mr. Sessler; I must commend you.
pmc_soap
uncharted is more my type of game the multiplayer reminds me sorta of gta and halo combined unfortunately i have a 360 but i dont want brutal legend but brutal llegend is deffinatley a game for my friend to get
sinnquest
PS3 Uncharted 2 does look good. I want a PS3 for this game and FF14 Online. Which brings me to say, we have evolved since pong and long drawn out stories are nice, but still not necessary. Look at the Mario games Mario saves princess from bad guy) not a "nail biter" but the gameplay is what makes Mario Mario. Rpg's need a good story to keep the player interested.
Don't get me wrong Adam, I love Xplay and all, but come on... Tim Schaefer's wit and humor is why everybody loves his games. I would love to play Grim Fandigo and Full Throttle again, (if I knew where my they were) So no need to be on a soapbox about this topic Adam.
pmc_soap
but that had nothing to do wit the video obviously i like the fact these games are getting deeper with stories that means that those stories can be exxpanded tobooks and comics similar to some movies like star wars and videogames like halo gears
RRODisBack ShowHide(17 Replies)
Uncharted 2 is the greatest story ever told.
fatman2008
Adam, I almost agree with you during all your soapboxes.... but to say Conker isn't funny any more is not something i can agree with, going back and playing that game i still find it funny, that may just be me though....
also i will say i don't remember if N64 version or the Xbox remake had differences in the way the voices sounded or not. obviously i would choose to go play it on the Xbox and not the 64.
teshazman
i am glad that this revelation has come about for you sess, because i, for one, like to have a good story to drive the gameplay. there is nothing that i hate more than a game that has me killing someone or in some setting and me thinking "what the hell am i doing here".
heres to the future.
PS3fears360
RRODisBack
"This game(Brutal Legend) has an 84% on Metacritic and falling fast. By tomorrow the that score will be below ODST's 84%."
@RRODisback
I just checked Metacritic and Brutal Legend(great game btw)still has the same score but the "greatest story ever told" score went down. lol
Mancer1516
Does this mean we will finally see the end of the silent protagonist? I mean how does one get his ph.d in theoretical physics with out saying a word?
crocodilius
I always thought Forrest Gump was the greatest story ever told..
implodinggoat
As an admitted Bioware fanboy I love a good story in my game.But I'm really not getting the appeal of Heavy Rain. The graphics are clearly gorgeous, yet it seems to me like a throwback to the outdated concept of a game as an interactive movie where the narrative is progressing and we make a little choice here or there or engage in some random mini game to give the illusion of interactivity. It looks impressive it just doesn't look fun. Am I missing something ? Maybe someone who's been watching this game closer could enlighten me cause honestly it looks pretty damn dull to me.
Chaos2711
I agree with you for the most part Adam, except for the fact that I think there are some really, really good stories in games, that are years and years old. Games like Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Final Fantasy 6, 7, 8, etc.
I like to have a good story in my game, because I like to know what's the driving force behind the protagonist's actions.
Fex_Anderson
Yeah, game storytelling has made it a long way, but there's still room for improvement. I've mentioned on here many times before that I'm a Metal Gear fanboy, but I'm not so in love with that series that I'm blind to it's flaws. I do love the story, but I kind of think the writing suffers being translated from Japanese. I think pretty much all games translated from another language suffer because of that translation. And I think that problem is un-fixable, I think we will always have that... But also that problem is not unique to video games. It's in movies, anime, and other things as well.
There's also one other thing in video games that really bugs me... Why do pretty much all video games need some kind of supernatural plot twist? Video game developers, I think, have been missing some big marks by adding all of these supernatural twists. For example, I was very dissapointed in the first Uncharted when the gold turned out to be cursed(SPOILER!!! SORRY!!!). I though that was stupid. It also happened in the Condemned series and that bothered me... I thought I was playing the game version of Seven, and all of the sudden, I'm being attacked by possessed dolls. RETARDED!!!
mronoc89
I'm not entirely sure Alan Wake should be on that list at the end. It's trying something (kind of) new in the television approach, but it's not as if television writers chose this segmented format for artistic reasons, it's just kind of a necessity, ultimately any piece of storytelling with a single, continuous, coherent narrative would be better off without interruption, the only reason something would be broken up like that is for financial purposes, but we've already bought the game, so why make us sit through recaps and "next time on..." sequences? This seems especially problematic for a game in the horror genre, because it destroys any semblance of immersion, which is essential for scaring a player.
Empyu
I'm still where Adam was 10 years ago - only because I tend to define things based on truths that apply to all forms of the thing being defined.
To me, a game is a challenge that you either win or lose. Whether a story is involved or not is dependent on the game, but it isn't required. That isn't to say it's not an important element. I bought both Uncharted2 and Brutal Legend, and the story just makes them all the more enjoyable. And I agree that for those games, the story is an incredibly important part of what makes them entertaining.
A game's story is like a tie on a business suit. A lot of suits have them, but a terrible tie can ruin a perfectly good outfit. Sometimes it's better not to have it on at all.
abelpc
I am enjoying both games..The humor in Brutal Legend is great along with the imaginative environment and Uncharted actually has a coherent story line and is enjoyable.. not to mention how beautiful it is and excellent controls....
I think Uncharted is better than Brutal Legend.. but both games are excellent in their own right.
Secondtooth
weird, I was just having a conversation with a friend about what the pros and cons are of a video game as a story telling medium...anyhow, kudos to you Adam on a really well thought out soap box, proving again that while not always right, you are indeed the smartest of talking heads at G4..well done sir.
Displaying 1–20 of 36
122
Add a Comment