Gameplay vs. Story: Which Matters More?

[JoshC1977]

Story has to be there for me. Open-ended games do not keep my interest for very long unless there is a very strong underlying narrative. The game doens't have to be "on rails" but games like KOTOR or Mass Effect are about as open-ended as I can go. Games like Assassin's Creed or Far Cry (or heck, even the Witcher series) provide way too many options and I get overly frustrated at all the stuff on the map. The recent Tomb Raider games or God of War provide the right degree of narrative versus "side quest" content for my taste.



Gameplay is secondary to me; but it at least needs to be functional. The original Mass Effect didn't have the greatest gameplay (2 and 3 much better) but it was enough to keep me moving through the game for the story.

[Turbojugend]

I'd like to say gameplay, but as someone who has finished Deadly Premonition multiple times and looks forward to doing so again, anything other than story would have to be a lie.

[tdawg3782]

Story. All day, every day, and two times on Sunday lol. I've always hated multiplayer. I just could never get invested in it. Just playing to play, and not having a true ending, was boring to me. So even if gameplay is garbage as long as the story is legit I'm in.

[NoleFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by tdawg3782

Story. All day, every day, and two times on Sunday lol. I've always hated multiplayer. I just could never get invested in it. Just playing to play, and not having a true ending, was boring to me.

Issa +1 for me!




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[allBthere]

Quote: Originally Posted by opd897

Gameplay, pure and simple. If I want a story I'll pop in a movie.

this to the three power for me. I actually find it kind of annoying when games try to be like films. Films do it better, and as you said, I'd rather watch a film if all I was interested in was getting good story (and I do that).

I also feel like game developers give themselves too much credit at times for creating a good story because they waste too much time with characters delivering lines and pausing and so on. The vast majority of the time it's all very 'meh'
I think Last of Us did a good job, but even there, if the cutscenes lasted too long and took too many liberties it would be skip central.

Know your role! lol

If I'm being honest, most games I skip the crap out of that stuff, I'd rather scan text and skip skip skip than waste too much of my gaming time watching weak pretend movie-making.

[Blzer]

Yeah I mean I'll be honest, everybody has always praised the Uncharted games for "being like a movie!" But if those were actual movies I'd say they weren't very good. It's more of a testament to the game being heads above other games in that department than to movie-like cinematics finally being implemented into games. It's one of the several reasons that I am not pining for an Uncharted movie any time soon. And it's not that I'm not appreciative of Naughty Dog's efforts. It should just be called what it is, though.

Anyway, I've thought a little bit more about this poll, and both are very important to me if you mean that the backdrop/setting is also a part of the "story" in general, but I couldn't tell you two bits about the stories of any game that I'm playing because I space out quite often in them. Games like The Last of Us (which I haven't yet finished) and The Last Guardian would be major exceptions to this rule. Gameplay mechanics still need to be there though.

[mgoblue]

Quote: Originally Posted by allBthere

this to the three power for me. I actually find it kind of annoying when games try to be like films. Films do it better, and as you said, I'd rather watch a film if all I was interested in was getting good story (and I do that). I also feel like game developers give themselves too much credit at times for creating a good story because they waste too much time with characters delivering lines and pausing and so on. The vast majority of the time it's all very 'meh' I think Last of Us did a good job, but even there, if the cutscenes lasted too long and took too many liberties it would be skip central. Know your role! lol If I'm being honest, most games I skip the crap out of that stuff, I'd rather scan text and skip skip skip than waste too much of my gaming time watching weak pretend movie-making.

I enjoyed Detroit on youtube, but can't stand the quick time event type gameplay they have....it's like it's a movie-lite. I get that it's cool branching and all, but just not worth it for me. I'd rather watch a movie there.

[Smooth Pancakes]

If I absolutely had to pick one or the other, I'd go story, can't beat a good story.

Ultimately, it's a mix of both. That and I'm not extremely picky. I've had lots of fun playing games ranging from Ghost Recon Wildlands, Far Cry, Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect Andromeda, to games like Vampyr, Fallout and Skyrim, to games like Final Fantasy, Detroit Become Human and South Park, to games like MLB The Show and FIFA.

I can usually find fun in most games, even when the gameplay or story is lacking. It's more about if the topic of the game interests me these days. Mostly the games I don't really care much for is stuff in the realm of Destiny or MMOs. The Division is about as close as I can get to enjoying games in that general vein of gaming. Give me a good solo game any day over multiplayer focused games with toxic vitriol spewing online communities.

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