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Bad Storytelling in Modern Gaming

by Alex Yusupov July 4th 2008 8:16 PM CDT7 Comments

Lately I’ve been thinking (not often) about some of the problems with gaming as a medium. I went through several epiphanies, only to discover that we’ve all actually had them already, realized the problems, and set them aside like some dirty shoes we’ve outgrown.

And that’s when I discovered our biggest problem. People, it’s been almost 40 years since videogaming took off as a form of entertainment, and we’ve made very little progress in the way it is presented. Yes, the visual representation has become jaw-dropping, but the same thing can be said for movies. Graphical improvements were a natural growth; it’s actually impossible to avoid the leaps in visual effects. If the technology is available, then it’s only natural that it is utilized.
Unlike technology, however, creativity is not as readily available, and that’s where we get back to the biggest problem in gaming.

No creativity.

I’m not talking about gameplay. I’m talking about story. Dialogue. Script. Personalities. Character development. Let’s take a look at some famous games’ cores and find out what they’re all about.

Gears of War
You play a rugged, badass man-fest with huge muscles, a kickass voice, huge guns of death and hi-tech armor. Your goal is to save the planet Sera (pretty much Earth) with your buddies. Along the way you lose your Sergeant, and you defeat countless enemy aliens.

Halo
You play a rugged, badass who-knows-what with genetically modified muscles of doom, a kickass voice, and very hi-tech armor. Your goal is to save Earth as well as the universe with your buddies. Along the way you lose your good friend and Sergeant, and you defeat countless (severely mentally impaired) aliens.

Call of Duty
You play a man who is, perhaps, rugged. We know he’s badass, and he’s got to have huge muscles to pull off some of the things he does (you cannot rapid-fire a Desert Eagle like that without ripping your wrists off, people). You have bullet-proof armor and a red-dot sight. Your goal, again, is to save Earth with a close group of buddies. Along the way you lose some friends and your Captain (it’s a spoiler, but why are you reading this if you don’t even own the most popular 360 game?). You also defeat countless enemies, albeit not aliens, they’re still enemies, and damned if they’re smarter than the hilarious Grunts of Halo.

You see my point here? There is no originality. The games may be fun to play, but, honestly, who here returned to the game’s single player campaign to replay it? Would you ever even attempt Legendary if there were no achievements in store? The answer is no. That is because there is no replay value.

There is no replay value because there is virtually no story. No hooks. No twists. Just terrible writing. What gets me is that these games don’t have to be like this. The developers aren’t idiots. All they need to do is hire better writers. Maybe have a whole separate position just for somebody that writes the story.

Actually, a lot of games do employ these people (Epic is doing this with Gears of War 2). The problem is the pay isn’t very good, and when the pay isn’t good, what kind of talent are you attracting? Look at it this way: if you’re a Class A writer, would you rather have a job at Bungie getting $30,000 a year, or a six-figure salary in Hollywood?

Multiplayer oriented gamers may not see the problem here, but the majority of us (believe me, it’s a majority) prefer having a terrific single-player quest in addition to a terrific online mode. Believe me, naysayers, it can be done.

However, with most games lately it seems like it’s either having a fantastic multiplayer or a fantastic single-player. It is apparently impossible to do both. Gears of War had an amazingly addictive multiplayer formula, and perhaps the worst story of any blockbuster title ever released (though this could be rectified with the highly anticipated sequel). Lost Odyssey? An amazing single-player experience, one that leaves you inspired and craving for more. The downside? There wasn’t even a multiplayer mode!

I don’t understand why games have to always be an “either/or” experience. There is plenty of room for both.

Have questions or opinions? Want to rant about today’s column to your heart’s content without being bound by website rules? Send me some love at spektralex@gmail.com. Who knows? There could be a fan segment in the future, and you could be in it!