The older I get the less I care about endless gameplay loops and carrot on a stick mechanics. A good story keeps me invested and caring about what happens on the screen. Games like God of War, Last of us, Witcher are gold standards when it comes to this. They are not movies on rails, they are engaging and interactive experiences like you can’t find anywhere else and for this I will always love these types of games more than any other medium.
Why do people want games that are just stories without any gameplay, these days? Why not just watch a movie for that?
Submitted 11 months ago by PlogLod@lemmy.world to [deleted]
Comments
Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
scarabic@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I really like the characters and voice/motion acting in Baldur’s Gate 3. Magnificently rendered. Very well written. But the story is totally on rails. You can nod your head at an NPC and they will say “Anyway, let’s get on with things…” or you can tell the NOC to eat shit and die and they will say “Hey no need to be vulgar. Anyway let’s get on with things…”
There are some branches and choices in the game but overall it feels pretty prepared. I enjoy hunting for fun Astarion reactions to random things, but the game frequently offers fake choices, and the consequences of choices are usually 1. the story continues as written or 2. the story thread just ends 3. oh no combat or 4. some really weak alternative thread that you know isn’t the main one and they threw in just to pad.
Games are not superior medium for telling stories. All the good parts are the ones taken from movies, and the interactivity is still weak. When a game has GPT-level improvisation then I’ll be impressed but that will just be a sandbox anyway.
NewPerspective@lemmy.world 11 months ago
“Why do people have preferences?”
rosymind@leminal.space 11 months ago
Why do people like cake, I just don’t get it. Why not just eat cookies if you want something sweet
scarabic@lemmy.world 11 months ago
As I scroll this thread I’m really wondering how much people still read books. When people say they like story games, is that because that’s the only source of stories in their lives, and they’re saying “of course I like stories?” Do they have any great stories to compare with, from books?
The responses make a great deal more sense to me if I assume no one reads anymore. I speak as an avid reader and gamer.
minyakcurry@monyet.cc 11 months ago
I’d like to think I’m an avid reader (and gamer) as well. I view both highly and both have their strengths.
SPOILERS
Video games shine in terms of player interactivity. I genuinely felt visceral, strong emotions by simply having to press the square button 3 times in TLOU2. Bashing someone’s head in is the only way to proceed. The music gets more distorted, the screen itself becomes blurry – I felt as Ellie felt. Distraught, upset, angry, and everything else in between.
I felt the acceptance that I have been honing in my countless loops of Outer Wilds when I finally pulled the system’s “life support” out. Flying through space one last time while the music echoes this final journey really made me feel things.
I’d summarise the edge video games have as “This is what you (the player) have done. You have agency. Deal with the consequences of your own actions, or reap the benefits.”
A huge disclaimer, I know that the story is already established in the writers room. I’m not saying that games allow you to craft your own story. I’m saying that they allow you to craft your own experience.
Of course, great writers can accomplish the same. I love Atwood’s writing in particular, and she does conjure up wonderful emotions. But you always feel for someone or something. You don’t have any agency in what happens, so emotions tend to be dampened as well. That’s my personal opinion anyway, feel free to disregard it!
Gamoc@lemmy.world 11 months ago
This is the weirdest comments section I’ve ever seen. Stories are why I play every single one of my favourite games. I just finished Control and it’s absolutely phenomenal. Yes it plays and looks great, but the story and lore is why it’s so good.
Gork@lemm.ee 11 months ago
< The Board thanks/precipitates you for your contribution/factotum >
rikudou@lemmings.world 11 months ago
Have you played the DLCs? The AWE one is great.
Gamoc@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Yep, it was great. I picked it back up after not finishing it so did the DLCs to stretch it out as I was near the end. Finished The Foundation yesterday, not as good as the main game or AWE. I’ve downloaded Alan Wake Remastered now, so that’s next.
scarabic@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Please take this as a genuine question and not an insult or challenge: do you read books? I’m curious if games are just the way you consume stories in your life, or if you also read stories but game stories are different in some way that matters to you.
Gamoc@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I listen to an audiobook every day, watch TV and movies regularly.
shrippen@feddit.de 11 months ago
Well it is a game from Sam lake, for me that means good. I hope he has a few more games in him.
beefcat@lemmy.world 11 months ago
an interactive medium offers unique avenues for storytelling not available to something more static like a film or a novel.
think things like environmental storytelling or branching narratives.
Elevator7009@kbin.run 11 months ago
I like visual novels because of how I can change the story with different choices. This isn't much gameplay but it is still interactive and a lot easier to do with a computer than with manually flipping between pages in a Choose Your Own Adventure book.
Now, kinetic novels, where you do not change anything significant in the story with your choices, those I agree with OP's sentiment. Some people like them and that's totally fine, but I personally don't see the appeal. Maybe it's getting exposure to stories from people who had an idea but not a high enough budget for a movie?
mcmoor@bookwormstory.social 11 months ago
branching narratives
Lots of “plot only” games I see start to eschew even that and have tons of fake choices lmao, making it even movie-er.
Microplasticbrain@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Yea dude this is often such a false promise, im sure some games pull it off but often its like one choice that makes a drastic difference in outcome.many times it’s not like a nuanced calculation of the decisions you make over an entire playthrough
petrol_sniff_king@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 months ago
What games are we even talking about? Like Gone Home or something?
The perception of choice still matters. A movie can’t ask you to choose anything, not even a false choice. So if that’s important, a movie simply can’t do it.
rosymind@leminal.space 11 months ago
Damn straight, beefcat
Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d type
cobysev@lemmy.world 11 months ago
For me personally, video games are interactive stories. I love movies and TV shows, and being able to have some level of control over the action is an amazing experience for me!
I’m also not competitive and don’t care so much about scores, rankings, or online multiplayer vs. games. Just give me an intriguing plot and let me be the protagonist in it. I’ll play that game for hours on end.
I don’t like games that are essentially movies with a few interactive scenes between clips, though. It has to be really interesting if I’m going to sit through a game like that. I’m here to play, not to watch. The only series that’s been interesting enough for me to deal with hundreds of cutscenes dispersed every few minutes throughout is the Metal Gear Solid series.
I realize I don’t speak for the whole gaming community, but this is my personal view.
Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world 11 months ago
On PC - Steam alone, 12000 games were released in 2023.
OP, your statement is vague and generic. Please show the math.
gencha@feddit.de 11 months ago
In a game, you’re the protagonist. In a movie, someone else is. Two different experiences.
neatchee@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Because all you name below are AAA games where everyone wants to flex their budget. It’s like asking *why do big budget movies focus so often on explosions and action, instead of stories? What happened to things like Shawshank Redemption?"
As soon as you step away from big AAA games that lean heavily on cinematic influence, you get much more gameplay-focused content. I could name a million of them.
But it’s a spectrum, not an on/off switch. There’s a huge array of different types of games with different accounts of action, cinematics, dialog, quick-time events, racing, flying, rhythm-matching, puzzles, and on and on and on
Tell us what you’re actually looking for and we could give suggestions :)
Don’t tell us what you don’t want. Tell us what interests you
vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 months ago
These days? Remember Dragon’s Lair?
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Dungeon quest. Oregon trail. Materia Magica. And a dozen other MUDs
Prater@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Even if a game technically has great gameplay, it can start feel pointless if the story is trash.
AndiLeudedadraussen@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Involvement. Because no matter how perfect the gameplay is, if you use your brain occaisonally, you should ask yourself WHY? Why am i doing it.
If you play since the 80‘s, you hit, flew, drove, shot, build and puzzled almost everything.
Stories consist of motivations. Otherwise there is nothing of consequence going on. But cheer up. There are many more people like you, Stanley. Push the button. Keep pushing it.
SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyz 11 months ago
Almost everything in this world stresses me out.
I want to feel involved in something while going at my own pace. Video games give me to power to finally be in control. That’s why I like them so much. Movies force you along.
ADHDefy@kbin.social 11 months ago
Different kinds of games fulfill different interests. Minecraft and Detroit: Become Human were two of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. One has absolutely no story, one has essentially only story and is basically a long, glorified QTE.
I love both for different reasons. I love stories in general, so a game with a good story is going to hook me and I will play until I know how it ends. God of War and God of War: Ragnarok both had absolutely stellar gameplay, but the story is why I couldn't put it down. I just beat the original Alan Wake recently, and that story would have made for a fine movie or TV show, but there's a certain depth and intensity you get from a game as you are personally engaged in clawing through the poltergeist-infested wilderness for dear life, wondering how you'll make it out of this crazy situation. I'm really glad I got to experience that story as a game.
On the other hand, I also love sandboxy games like Satisfactory or Necesse that let you loose to express yourself, accomplish goals on your own terms, and basically do whatever you want. I spend a ton of time in games like that, too.
Sometimes I want to care about and connect with characters, other times I just want to build or break shit. Regardless, video games offer an excellent, interactive medium to take an active role in a predetermined story or develop your own narrative as you go.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Tetris?
Pechente@feddit.de 11 months ago
It’s a terrible tale of oppression if you read between the blocks.
ADHDefy@kbin.social 11 months ago
Sure. The premise is that blocks are falling and can't be allowed to reach a certain height. There is drama in knowing that, no matter what, it will eventually reach that height. You're given the tools to fend off the inevitable for as long as you can. There's conflict, resolution, and the plot details are determined both by the decisions you make and the order the game delivers the blocks to you.
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 11 months ago
The story of Tetris is the story of the entire history of Russia.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8
Enjoy :)
0ops@lemm.ee 11 months ago
I think I disagree that all games have a story because there are a lot of games that are closer to sports than interactive stories. Mostly multiplayer games like fps’s and rocket League, but also a lot of single player driving games like mudrunner or any of the rally games.
Most analogue games fall in the sports category too imo. There’s no story to poker, and you really shouldn’t overthink the lore of chess.
ADHDefy@kbin.social 11 months ago
If you've ever heard an old guy describe a baseball or football game he watched as a kid, you've heard the story of a sports game. "It's the bottom of the 9th, the bases are full loaded, Babe Ruth steps up to bat. Everyone falls silent. The pitcher throws the ball, everyone was on the edge of their seat." This is just the climax of the story of that game. Hell, televised sporting events even have narrators (commentators).
Also, don't hate on chess lore. From what I've heard, the white bishop conspires against it's queen because it is in love with one of the rooks who, unbeknownst to the King, is secretly the lovechild of his and a young pawn who was taken by a black knight just days after birthing her baby. She left her little rook a note to be opened only after his parapets had fully developed explaining his royal birthright. What the bishop doesn't know is that the rook has no real feelings for them, but their romance is a mere manipulation because the bishop is so close to the monarchy. Or at least, that was the case in the beginning... but his feelings may have become more real than he is willing to admit.
s_s@lemmy.one 11 months ago
Now?
Today?
This is the era of boomer shooters…
We haven’t had a new stand alone Uncharted game for…7 years.
Kiwi_Girl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 months ago
I can go at my own pace with a game. I pause the story and the rest of the world is still there to interact with.
christophski@feddit.uk 11 months ago
I wasn’t aware of this, what games are you referring to?
PlogLod@lemmy.world 11 months ago
The Last of Us, The Walking Dead game, and I guess it’s just a general trend I feel. A lot of games seem to focus on story-driven elements more than gameplay, with an obsession around graphics and story more than anything else (see what Mohamed Enieb says on Twitter, for example).
And I guess this is somewhat separate, but… why don’t trailers show any gameplay, just cinematic stuff? I don’t play games for the visuals or story personally, I just want good gameplay. I find it increasingly hard to find games I actually enjoy.
What happened to the likes of Ratchet & Clank, Jak and Daxter, Lost Planet, or the Halo series? Those are games with good gameplay, and I couldn’t care less about the stories.
Pratai@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
Have you even played TLOU? And the Witcher? Really? It’s pretty much ALL gameplay!
I honestly don’t think you e played any of these games beyond the opening scenes.
Nibodhika@lemmy.world 11 months ago
What are you talking about? Ratchet and Clank had as much story as God of War, they were both released for the same console, and both of them had a new game released recently. If you don’t care about story Halo and CoD are very similar, and there’s a new CoD every year, why not play that?
Plus there are plenty of games that got released recently and are focused on mechanics, have absolutely awesome gameplay and are not “story” heavy e.g. Dead Cells, Spider-Man, Stellaris, Two point hospital, Factorio, Rimworld just out of the top of my head.
I’m really trying to understand your argument, but really can’t:
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You mention games without gameplay and list as examples games that were acclaimed by their gameplay as well as storytelling
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You say you don’t care about graphics but list games that were at the top of the graphical capabilities of their time
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You talk about a recent trend and provide examples from 10 or more years ago
I’m not sure you know what you like in a game, I think it’s quite possible you enjoyed those games because you were in a different mental situation when you played them, and now nothing quite stands up to them because you changed and are not able to enjoy things as much. I’m saying this because objectively The last of Us is a masterpiece in every single aspect, not only one of the best stories I’ve seen in a while, but also a lot of great innovative mechanics and a gameplay that fits just perfectly, even if you skipped every Cutscene in the game you would still be playing an absolutely awesome game, it might not be your thing because you don’t like stealth, or scare easily, but to claim it’s a game without anything but story is more proof that you either haven’t played it or are trolling.
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chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Ratchet & Clank and the Jak series are platformers which have fallen out of favor with most companies because they don’t sell well anymore. You could try A Hat In Time if that’s what you are looking for. As far as Lost Planet and the Halo series, I wouldn’t exactly call them sparkling examples of gameplay. Lost Planet was a pretty OK third person shooter, which you can still find a fair amount of out there (see: Ghost Recon, et al.), and Halo has Halo Infinite, the MCC, or you can go the route of Call of Duty, DOOM, Dying Light, or one of the many arena shooters that have come out in recent times, just search for “Boomer Shooters.”
As far as your commentary on trailers, it’s often because visuals sell, and being able to script a cinematic to hit on every dopamine receptor is something that advertisers have been perfecting for generations. They don’t show gameplay because most of the time the gameplay is the same gameplay that you’ve seen before. If you want innovation, you have to go indie for the most part, and they don’t have trailers that often.
SkyeHarith@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Try Celeste. There’s a great storyline but you can ignore it if you want. The gameplay speaks for itself
redcalcium@lemmy.institute 11 months ago
Most of those games still have actual gameplay mechanics, unlike, say, Detroit Become Human which is a better fit for this category.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
FF7 remake def feels like this to me. Short play, huge cut scene. Repeat.
FMT99@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Having to click from time to time keeps me awake.
AceFuzzLord@lemm.ee 11 months ago
For visual novels with no input besides the occasional choice, I personally like to enjoy the music and story without having to worry about skill issues or in some cases, it being hard to get past a certain section that prevents me from progressing. And a couple things most visual novels have that movies don’t would be the ability to go at your own pace and choices that alter the dialogue and the overall ending.
Though, that’s just my take on it from my perspective from someone who likes both no-input visual novel games and normal games.
mcmoor@bookwormstory.social 11 months ago
Don’t worry OP. My observation of people who eventually stopped playing those games and instead just watch the story on YouTube validates your experience. Some games are worth less than their let’s plays.
whaleross@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I wanted something retro cyberpunk RPG recently and installed VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, only to discover that there is no action and barely no game. It’s just endless nexting through a narrative that smells of teenage bedsheets.
Apparently it’s massively popular.
I don’t get it at all. For me it’s like reading wet fanfic while double tapping the space bar and perform the most tedious implementation of what can barely be considered a puzzle or memory game.
Tkappa@feddit.it 11 months ago
buys a Visual novel gets a book with moving images :(
I get your point, but some people do really just want to relax with a choose your own adventure book with some cool art and catchy music, no need to act surprised when people have different tastes than yours!
whaleross@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Yep, it’s my mistake. I assumed it would have some gameplay elements as suggested by the “action” in the title, something along what interactive stories used to be in my mind.
As I said, I personally don’t understand the appeal of it. I’d rather read the story as a book or even a graphic novel because for me tapping the spacebar and dragging icons does not add anything for me. It’s plain annoying both as game and distracts for a novel. Oh, and obviously I didn’t expect it to be about horny tech furries. It was simply not for me.
Nacktmull@lemm.ee 11 months ago
[deleted]Vlyn@lemmy.zip 11 months ago
That’s why niche titles like Elden Ring or Baldurs Gates 3 totally flopped. Ah, wait…
rikudou@lemmings.world 11 months ago
Seems times have changed indeed, seeing an elitist gamer like this would be unheard of a few decades ago.
Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
They were so fucking elitist in the past it was hard for anyone else to enjoy themselves because they did not fit the mold of tRuE gamers.
SloganLessons@kbin.social 11 months ago
Those ultra-casuals, consume games not because but despite being games.
lmao
thundermoose@lemmy.world 11 months ago
In reading this thread, I get the sense that some people don’t (or can’t) separate gameplay and story. Saying, “this is a great game” to me has nothing to do with the story; the way a game plays can exist entirely outside a story. The two can work together well and create a fantastic experience, but “game” seems like it ought to refer to the thing you do since, you know, you’re playing it.
My personal favorite example of this is Outer Wilds. The thing you played was a platformer puzzle game and it was executed very well. The story drove the gameplay perfectly and was a fantastic mystery you solved as you played. As an experience, it was about perfect to me; the gameplay was fun and the story made everything you did meaningful.
I loved the story of TLoU and was thrilled when HBO adapted it. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone enjoying the thing TLoU had you do separately from the story it was telling. It was basically “walk here, press X” most of the time with some brief interludes of clunky shooting and quicktime events.
I get the gameplay making the story more immersive, but there’s no reason the gameplay shouldn’t be judged on its own merit separately from the story.
iliketrains@kbin.social 11 months ago
I love games that are story driven. Although if it does not have adequate interactivity, like meaningful choices and actions, then I would rather have it as a movie.
fubo@lemmy.world 11 months ago
There’s lots of kinds of games.
You want chess? There’s chess. Like, no other game has better software than chess. Lichess is maybe the cleanest goddamn game experience that anyone’s ever written in code. There’s no bullshit whatsoever. You can just run it and play chess, with the computer or with a human. It’s just a game.
The best Go game I can point you to is KGS and it’s not as good as Lichess.
You want to play a run-around-and-whack-stuff-with-a-sword game? Yeah, buy yourself a Nintendo and play the latest Zelda game. They’re good at that. Especially if you have a strong stomach and don’t get all pukey when your guy goes flying in the air.
Or you want to play a Dungeons & Dragons game with factions and fights and gnolls and hot drow ladies? Yeah, you go install Steam and play Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s okay if you didn’t play Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2.
Asudox@lemmy.world 11 months ago
[deleted]ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de 11 months ago
Pretty much all Ren’Py VNs fall into this category.
verysoft@kbin.social 11 months ago
Basically Playstation exclusives. They are heavily marketed and hyped up, they make good stories, but there isnt any gameplay other than walking through some foliage ridden areas (foliage spam is the 'game looks good' tactic) and maybe the odd enemy to shoot.
I agree they would be better suited as tv shows/movies than games.
amanneedsamaid@sopuli.xyz 11 months ago
A Way Out is a perfect example of this, it’s literally a co-op netflix show you have 0 control over except a choice between two endings (which of you wins a gunfight at the end)
redballooon@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Just watch the Let’s play if you want the movie 😀
OpenTheSeaLegs@lemmyf.uk 11 months ago
I occasionally enjoy them when I’m between games, and I know I will not have the time or energy to start a new, more involved game.
I see these kind of games as a different medium to tell a story and, if done well, the controls can be a part of the storytelling. The Last of Us is a great example of using controls for this.
As to why not whatch a movie? I cannot sit in front of a screen passively anymore. If I’m with my partner, we can sit together and watch something, otherwise, I want to interact with the screen, even if it’s only by walking.
martino@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Why do people watch movies when books exist? They’re different mediums for delivering a story.
I saw this thread and assumed you were talking about actual walking simulators like Firewatch or Gone Home, ones that don’t really have any gameplay. But from your comments you seem to be taking issue with games like God of War, The Last of Us and The Witcher which makes me think you’re a little misguided as to what those games really are. Those games have a story but that’s not the sole reason they’re popular. They’re all groundbreaking titles in their own right from a gameplay perspective, they just happen to have good stories because that makes them resonate with players even more.
thundermoose@lemmy.world 11 months ago
This is an honest question, not a troll: what makes The Last of Us groundbreaking from a technical perspective? I played it and loved the story, but the gameplay was utterly boring to me. I got through the game entirely because I wanted to see the conclusion of the story and when the HBO show came out I was thrilled because it meant I wouldn’t have to play a game I hated to see the story of TLoU 2.
It’s been years, but my recollection is the game was entirely on rails, mostly walking and talking with infrequent bursts of quicktime events and clunky shooting. What was groundbreaking about it?
9715698@lemmy.world 11 months ago
What was groundbreaking was the character and world building. Joel and Ellie feel like real people, with interesting backstories and relatable emotions. In the PS3 era, it felt ahead of its time.
scarabic@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Well, a movie and a book are quite different. I think OP’s point, right or wrong, is that a story-based game with minimal or no gameplay is very close to exactly what a movie is.