What is a Story?

I want to ask a question. What is a story? I don’t mean what is the definition, but what is a story supposed to be? Many games use stories very differently and truthfully some are a lot better at it than others. There are some games that have spent a lot of time developing an interesting story, but have maybe spent less time on gameplay with maybe limited movements or commands implemented to make sure that you can engage with the story. Some games put so little effort into the story that you can honestly forget about it entirely during actual gameplay, which is usually fine since those games tend to be really fun to play. So what is the goal for a story in a game then? Is it supposed to serve as a backdrop to a game or is it meant to be the main focus? It’s kind of hard to say for sure but I personally think that the best way to experience a story is when you can experience it

while actually playing the game. By the way, I don’t mean that there should be cutscenes sprinkled in between gameplay sections while adding in things like quick time events to keep you engaged. I am talking about when the game teaches you about the world through organic storytelling. I don’t need the game to tell me that I am the destined hero of greatness, when I see that the world is on fire and I seem to be the only person willing to do something so as to not die, I think I can figure it out. I makes more sense to me to just have it so that everything the game has me go through feels like I am actually a part of the story. I don’t mean I have to tell my own story, but I want to have a clear sense of the stakes at hand.

You might be wondering why this has come out of the blue. You may also not be wondering if you area regular reader here. I will say that there are two reasons for this topic today. The first is that there have recently been some games that mainly serve as a reaction sort of game. They serve as a way to get a reaction out of someone, particularly an emotional response. I will not name any names, because that would be rude and I am a generous individual (lies). However, I will say that I have been taking notice of the trend as of late and so I wanted to bring something to people’s attention. Are you ready? Ok, I want to say that just because you have done some world-building in your game, that does not mean anything if the world that you have built isn’t very interesting. Even if it is interesting, I don’t want to be told about how interesting it is. I want to be able to see for myself what the world has to offer and that way I will know for sure it what the world has is in any way worthwhile. I will feel the emotions more strongly if I experience the world without being taking on a ride so to speak. Personally speaking, if a game is only going to try to elicit a response out of me, I want it to at the very least be done well. So remember to make sure that the story and gameplay aren’t so disconnected that I don’t care what happens to the characters. Keep me engaged, but also keep me entertained.

The other thing on my mind has been multiple stories. Since that new information came out recently on the new Pokémon game, I have been thinking about the fact that there are multiple ways to play. So I wonder how that will go? You may know that most games is the series have this fascinating obsession with trying to make a ten-year-old the most powerful trainer and have you fight the Elite Four, while also stopping the world from ending or the region from being destroyed or something crazy like that. I wonder then if now those will actually be split into separate story lines for once. It would be interesting to see how that might go, especially since the legendary is now used as a motor vehicle. I am curious as to how these games could actually change the formula aside from the obvious open world setting. Only time will tell for sure, but it has been on my mind. I feel like this world will definitely be fun to explore, even if certain parts of it looked to be a little questionable. I really don’t know how the whole school aspect is going to work, but at least it feels normal to be a part of a school at ten years old. Seriously, how is this only being done now? To be honest, I am not that invested in the story, but it would be nice to be surprised is all. I am tired of games dishing out the same old stories and the same old messages. I want to be surprised. I have always thought that a good game is the expression of an idea with the story and the gameplay complementing each other. I just don’t feel like that happens very often now. Sometimes I feel like a story is there to give some loose context and that’s it. Sometimes the opposite is true where the story is all a “game” has going for it. Can’t we have the best of both worlds? Is that too much? Recently someone told me a game they were playing was fun, but the story was trash. It seems we still have trouble fitting in decent narratives into games. Hopefully, one day everyone will figure it out. Until then, I keeping on hoping.