GeekNights Tuesday - Zelda: Breath of the Wild

After I had tonsil surgery I was in a lot of pain and on some heavy opioids. I started playing Dark Souls for 12-16 hours a day and made it to Anor Londo (specifically that shitty archer). Then the drugs wore off and I went “meh”.

Question: Is there a difference to you whether an NPC tells you in a voiced prompt “Oh! You found an XYZ sword, the preferred weapon of the knights of ABC kingdom in the time of Queen Blahblahblah and they etc…” or the exact same information in an item description? To me there is little difference.

[quote=“panfriedmarmot, post:42, topic:638”]
the knights of ABC kingdom in the time of Queen Blahblahblah and they etc…"
[/quote]That’s already waaaay too much “lore.” “and they etc…” implies that this is a novel just pasted across the game items.

It feels like playing a movie. The escape-the-dystopian-city scene, the graveyard scene, the boat scene, etc. all play like you’re in an action movie.

I think then it comes down to taste then. I love JRPGs and games with lots of notes and side dialog and basically, the novel pasted across items and NPC dialog you described. Perhaps folks like me who are fans of Souls and Bloodborne beyond just combat mechanics and fighting dudes might also be the sort who enjoys that genre of RPG which I seem to remember you and @Apreche not being the biggest fans of.

If I want to read a book, I’ll read a book. If your book was good enough to be a published book, it would be. If you gotta paste your book on a video game to get people to read it, it’s not likely to be a good book or good game.

So basically you’re saying a video game story is always inferior to that of a book?

[quote=“panfriedmarmot, post:47, topic:638, full:true”]
So basically you’re saying a video game story is always inferior to that of a book?
[/quote]Usually? Yeah.

More pointedly, if it’s that much text, why is it even a game? Why not a game and, separately, a novel?

No. There are stories that can only be told in game form, or are told best in game form. They are game stories.

There are just many games which have stories that are not game stories. It seems like there are many writers who failed in the world of tv, novels, or movies especially, who get scooped up in the world of video game writing. They write a story separate from the game, and then it is tacked on.

A game with a good story when the two are the same thing. The game should be the story, not have a story.

The stories generated by Dwarf Fortress are better than those written in almost all games. If you can’t do better than that, why bother?

I’m not much of a gamer, but in all the games I have played, none has a story that comes anywhere close to what is available in any average novel.

However, the experience of a story can be far superior to what is available in any average novel.

2 Likes

Because it is fun to be able to interact with your fiction. Just as an example I’m playing Persona 5 which would make a pretty great fantasy/scifi novel which I would totally read. But it’s a blast to play as the main character and lead your team to fight your enemies and go through the story.

Are you kidding? Dwarf Fortress from what I understand can cause interesting or funny situations but not a narrative.

Someone should make a gif of Link fighting the hoard of Agent Smith’s from Matrix Reloaded but instead of flying away he uses Revali’s Gale at the end.

No wait, that’s stupid. I’ll think of a better one.

1 Like

2 Likes

OK, so here’s my take on this discussion. Everyone likes their own method of storytelling. Each method applies to a group of people, and one is not necessarily better than another as long as your medium targets your audience.

While I prefer the optional in-depth story; other people prefer a simple story in a video game. While most of us agree that if you want a truly deep story a novel is your best bet.

1 Like

It’s not just a matter of depth, it’s a matter of how it’s presented. The story should add to the game, not be something I have to read instead of playing the game.

1 Like

I think he addressed this. If you refuse to read any text then the method where you read item descriptions probably isn’t for you.

Some people like it when the story isn’t forced on the player, they have to seek it out themselves. They see it as a game within the game. It’s it’s own intellectual challenge. It’s not for everyone but calling it bad in and of itself doesn’t acknowledge the people for whom it’s ideal.

1 Like

There was a game called Prototype that came out a few years ago that had a method of ‘additional story information’ gathering that I really enjoyed, and would like to see more of.

The idea is that your character has been infected with a genetic bio-weapon that allows you to absorb the DNA of people that you come into contact with. The main utility of this during the game is using it on people wandering the streets of Manhattan to restore your health, or to learn new weapon skills by killing soldiers that are using the weapon that you want to level up. (In fact, the game entirely takes place on the island of Manhattan, and is a pretty solid representation of the city that you can explore GTA-style).

But when you kill important bosses or characters tied to the story, you get a quick 10-second cutscene from their perspective, as though you’re absorbing their memories. This is how you learn the backstory of the plot and your character, or find out what your next objective is, and where it’s located. There are maybe a dozen of them that are required to complete the game and most of those happen automatically as you progress through the story, but there are over 100 additional people wandering through Manhattan that provide extra information about the plot, characters, or your history. So as you learn something from one person, suddenly the two or three people that they know will light up as points on your map, and you can spend hours traveling throughout the city fleshing out as much of the backstory as you like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83b-j9RVSps

Apparently when you whistle and make a bunch of noise, that scares fish away. But what if you are facing towards the beach? The fish run away and beach themselves.

4 Likes

Transistor does this! With the giant USB stick you wield as a weapon.