So I was having this conversation with my friends the other day. We were talking about the Mass Effect 3 ending, which they have never played (they primarily play CoD or FIFA) and they said they didn't see why people cared about the terrible ending so much that the developers improved it, using the Matrix 3 as an example of an ending not being improved on. I was saying how it screwed over gamers who had invested 5 years into the storyline, and they said that nobody cares about storylines anyway, as multiplayer is what makes games successful. I said that Skyrim was successful on its own, with their response being that Skyrim was made to be single player. It seems that they don't really have any idea what they're talking about.
What do you think?
Discuss the statement in the title.
EDIT: Sorry about the shit poll options. 'Yes' if you agree with the statement, 'No' if you disagree.
EDIT: Altered the statement.
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smear emulsified CoD and fifa discs and poop on their houses and ask if plot matters now.
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1 ReplyAsk your friend if he played BF3 single player.
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1 Reply[quote]They primarily play CoD or FIFA[/quote] There's your problem.
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Depends. No one plays Super Mario for the plot, while games like Mass Effect you only play for the plot (especially ME1, where the plot is all it had going for it, really).
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Frankly I play a lot games [i]for[/i] their story. Your friends are just part of an ever growing mass who don't know how we used to enjoy games- through an epic story
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Well, if it's a game like Call of Duty that's pretty much entirely focussed on the multiplayer obviously the storyline isn't important, but that's not clearly not true of Mass Effect.
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They don't really know what they're talking about, or they used a [i]really[/i] bad example. Story does matter, when a game is designed to tell a story. Games like FIFA, they don't have a story. The game will sell and do well solely on how fun it is to play. A game like CoD is a mixed bag. They try to tell a story, but ultimately it comes off as dull, cliche, and too over-the-top. People won't really remember it for the story, they'll remember it for the online play and how fun it was (referring to gameplay). Games like TES.. they sell and do well because of their story. If they don't have a story to tell, then the game feels out of place. Ok, yeah I'm slaying a dragon. Why? Without the story, the game is confusing and might turn off some people. When you include a story, players make a connection and start to engage in it more and thus begin to enjoy it more and more. The same goes with Mass Effect. Yeah, it's a fun game to play. The gameplay is good. But ultimately, it's the story that matters in that game. You're not going to get the full intended enjoyment out of that title without a story. Ok, yeah I'm shooting space aliens. Why do I have to shoot them? Oh, they're trying to harvest all life in the galaxy? Cool! It's that story that keeps players engaged and connected to the game. Does story matter? Yes, when the game revolves around some form of central plot. If it's a game like Forza or FIFA or Asteroids, then story doesn't really play a part in the game because the game isn't really trying to tell you a story.
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Edited by ToastyWaffles: 4/22/2013 11:05:00 AMIf a game has a [i]campaign[/i] or [i]story-mode[/i], then it behooves the developer to try and make a good story. In certain games no story is necessary, and in others, the story redeems it from mediocre gameplay, or vice versa.
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Your friend is actually pretty foolish. If you've played the video game Path of Neo, the ending of Matrix 3 isn't a jesus self-sacrifice, but Neo fighting a giant Smith composed of other normal sized Smiths. In a way, it was "Extended Cut"'ed. Hell, I actually thought of this argument JUST NOW in response to your friend making the comparison and I notice people on this video have already made the comparison themselves.
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Without story, only dynamic play can progress a game. Inherently broken gameplay will let the entire game down, good gameplay will make it awesome even without a story.
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[quote](they primarily play CoD or FIFA)[/quote]That explains everything.
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They sound like absolute dipshits. I would disregard their inferior opinions.
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Depends on the game.
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If that game has a storyline in the first place, then it should be important.
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You probably know me well enough to know my answer, Bias.
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Gameplay trumps story in my book, but story trumps everything after that. Multiplayer for me is usually the cherry on the cake. The cake tastes fantastic without the cherry, but an additional multiplayer that doesn't take away from the single player experience always makes a game better.
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I would rather have great gameplay over a great story in a first person shooter any day but a great story over great gameplay for a RPG if that makes sense.
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The level of importance simply depends on what kind of game the developers want to create. It could be story-driven right the way through, or there could be close to no story and just gameplay. It all depends.
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It really depends on the game. The entire video game industry was built on games with practically zero plot, and often plots are just shoehorned into fun-to-play games simply because people nowadays like to feel like they've read a novel after completing a game.
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Depends... Was the storyline in bulletstorm relevant? On the other hand: Red Dead Redemption
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It really does depend on what kind of game your making, but if you advertise the game as having a story mode, you had better -blam!-ing deliver it or I will chase your lying ass to the ends of the earth.
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2 RepliesI agree that Story isn't what makes a game. The GAME experience made the game. I highly disagree with the changing of story. I don't know what the Mass Effect 3 ending is but I don't like that they changed it, it's almost like spitting in the writer's face for the job he did. As a writer I'd stick to what I did, no matter how many people didn't like it. Story Progression does not ruin what was experienced before, it was already experienced. That's a different discussion altogether though. As for this topic, I've gotta say, I don't completely agree with what they said completely, that MP makes a game, but the story, it isn't the game. The gameplay, the experience of the actual control of the game. That is what makes it, not just the story. The story is just a frame, for the most part it works around the game itself, it is about the interactive experience in the game. I've gotta say I disagree with you on this one. That ME3 ending thing was an overreaction. I don't care if they failed and everyone dies, it's the writer's story. Don't like the last 5 minutes? Write Fanfic or just pretend it didn't happen and come up with your own ending. Remember this, no matter how many different endings they add in DLC, the game will still always end with that original ending they gave.
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Edited by Big Boss : 4/21/2013 4:01:16 PMI don't think every game needs a story. It depends on what type of game it is. I mean there are some games that are built entirely around the story. As long as the game itself is good, I'm ok with it. If it is an awesome game with no story, that's ok. Eg. Sports games If it is a game that plays well but has a terrible story then it's a big no no. I find it hard to enjoy something if I don't like the story behind it. Eg. Star Wars the Force Unleashed 2
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1 ReplyWhy are people still badgering on about the Mass Effect 3 ending? 0.o
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1 ReplyEdited by Hylebos: 4/21/2013 3:34:00 PMUltimately, the only thing that is important to a game is the experience that the game is designed to create. If the game doesn't need an elaborate story to bring its experience to life, then that's entirely okay. Tetris doesn't really have a story. Most Mario games don't need much else than a brief "Oh no the Princess got kidnapped again!" premise to get it's ball rolling (the Paper Mario series being a strong exception to this). But if your game is trying to have an interesting story, then yes, Storyline absolutely matters. Not every gamer places value on it, which is entirely fine, but the way I figure it, if you're going to try to have a story, why the hell would you screw it up? Your friends are probably uncultured brutes who haven't experienced a game with an engaging story, so really you can't blame them.
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1 ReplyEdited by Cobravert: 4/21/2013 3:32:53 PMDepends on the type of game. Some are entirely story based. Early games, there was no back story, no plot. Just 'go'. Asteroids, Space Invaders, nearly any arcade game. Not until Donkey Kong did they even implement a extremely basic premise in the game, and by basic I mean 'monkey steals girl - rescue girl'. Then came Dragon's Lair. You tried to play a story. RPG's took off around then.