1) How important is narrative within a videogame to you?
It depends upon the genre of game I suppose. You have different expectations for different types of games. Arcade games can get by with barely any story and still be fun to play if it has a quirky, addictive, gameplay that keeps the player going (perhaps Angry Birds as an example).
FPS type games can certainly have good story telling, but the emphasis in these types of games have been historically action and setting based (and in multiplayer FPS the story can be as simple as “defeat the other side†and it might still be fun as it’s the dynamics of being a part of a team that motivates in that case).
Point and click adventure games rely heavily on good story telling and it is the main element that motivates the player to keep playing the game. Advancing the story and continuing the characters journey through the game world acts as the main reward for overcoming the puzzles and challenges presented to the player. If the narrative isn’t very good then it won’t act as much of a reward to motivate the player to advance it.
2)If a game has a poor plot but good gameplay, is that preferable to a game with poor gameplay but a good narrative? Or are both equally important?
Both are important, but if I had to choose one I would say gameplay is more important. If the gameplay is poor and makes playing the game difficult/frustrating then I probably won’t get a chance to experience how good the narrative is before I quit playing.
3)Have you ever stopped playing a videogame because the narrative was too poor? If so, what was it?
Probably, I can’t think of any good examples at the moment, they were just that unmemorable I guess…
4)How do you feel about gameplay/story segregation? Examples: You dodge a trap in game, and later in a cutscene, the character falls for the same trap. And the inverse, a character suddenly being far more competent in a cutscene than his in-game actions would imply. Should a character be as competent in their actions as the player is?
It should be kept as consistent as possible, but it falls under that suspension of disbelief thing. The players knows they are playing a game and the brain is trained to overlook such inconsistencies as long as the actions being performed in the cutscene are appropriate to the character they are playing.
5)Do you feel that with growing technical abilities in game engines, narratives in games have become more sophisticated as well, and have benefited from a more filmic feel?
The existence and use of game engines allows for more time to be spent on things like art and story which provides opportunity for more elaborate results.
6)Do you think that different gameplay styles affect how we view the same plot? For example, rescuing a fair maiden from a dragon's lair, presented in platformer, first person shooter, and point and click adventure game style, with the only differences in the presentation being how the game plays. Dialogue, pacing, and aesthetic remain identical
Definitely, although I would think it would be extremely difficult to apply the same dialogue, pacing, and aesthetic to all three of those gameplay styles. Each style has different strengths that you would want to emphasize in how the scene plays out.
It depends upon the genre of game I suppose. You have different expectations for different types of games. Arcade games can get by with barely any story and still be fun to play if it has a quirky, addictive, gameplay that keeps the player going (perhaps Angry Birds as an example).
FPS type games can certainly have good story telling, but the emphasis in these types of games have been historically action and setting based (and in multiplayer FPS the story can be as simple as “defeat the other side†and it might still be fun as it’s the dynamics of being a part of a team that motivates in that case).
Point and click adventure games rely heavily on good story telling and it is the main element that motivates the player to keep playing the game. Advancing the story and continuing the characters journey through the game world acts as the main reward for overcoming the puzzles and challenges presented to the player. If the narrative isn’t very good then it won’t act as much of a reward to motivate the player to advance it.
2)If a game has a poor plot but good gameplay, is that preferable to a game with poor gameplay but a good narrative? Or are both equally important?
Both are important, but if I had to choose one I would say gameplay is more important. If the gameplay is poor and makes playing the game difficult/frustrating then I probably won’t get a chance to experience how good the narrative is before I quit playing.
3)Have you ever stopped playing a videogame because the narrative was too poor? If so, what was it?
Probably, I can’t think of any good examples at the moment, they were just that unmemorable I guess…
4)How do you feel about gameplay/story segregation? Examples: You dodge a trap in game, and later in a cutscene, the character falls for the same trap. And the inverse, a character suddenly being far more competent in a cutscene than his in-game actions would imply. Should a character be as competent in their actions as the player is?
It should be kept as consistent as possible, but it falls under that suspension of disbelief thing. The players knows they are playing a game and the brain is trained to overlook such inconsistencies as long as the actions being performed in the cutscene are appropriate to the character they are playing.
5)Do you feel that with growing technical abilities in game engines, narratives in games have become more sophisticated as well, and have benefited from a more filmic feel?
The existence and use of game engines allows for more time to be spent on things like art and story which provides opportunity for more elaborate results.
6)Do you think that different gameplay styles affect how we view the same plot? For example, rescuing a fair maiden from a dragon's lair, presented in platformer, first person shooter, and point and click adventure game style, with the only differences in the presentation being how the game plays. Dialogue, pacing, and aesthetic remain identical
Definitely, although I would think it would be extremely difficult to apply the same dialogue, pacing, and aesthetic to all three of those gameplay styles. Each style has different strengths that you would want to emphasize in how the scene plays out.
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