The past couple of weeks I have been playing a couple of games that quite frankly I have loved because of the gameplay. Two games that automatically spring to mind are DJ Hero and Bayonetta. Both of these games hit the mark when it comes to core gameplay in my opinion, with DJ Hero bringing something new and unique to a very popular genre and Bayonetta which nails all the game play elements of the 3rd person hack and slash game and capitalizes on them. This has got me thinking, new games such as these are nailing the game play but not necessarily going all out on story. Now this can be seen in two ways:
The Good Way – Games coming back to their roots
Lets face it, back in the days of Space Invaders, Pac-Man and Tetris. The storyline in games was pretty much non-existent. It was all down to the gameplay, even though it was very simple back then, people loved it and wanted to get good. To this day I still find it a bit of a struggle to complete Pac-Man but when it comes to Tetris I like to think of myself as quite the Tetris demon. With that in mind the games I have played recently have gone back to the games of Christmas past and have heavily focused on the gameplay element. Personally I think this is a great avenue to go down. Think about it, games are not films, some games these days focus way to much on story and cutscenes and not enough on player interaction. *Cough* Metal Gear Solid 4 *Cough* So with Bayonetta in mind, the creators have gone back to their gaming roots and produced some pretty awesome gameplay. You can definitely tell that the story was second runner to the gameplay. In regards to DJ Hero, and indeed all ‘Hero’ games in the franchise, there is nothing but gameplay; which suits me just fine. I really am not a hip hop fan but the gameplay in DJ Hero is so good I frequently see myself hitting Game and HMV in Oxford Street to get my hands on the disc scratching action.
The Bad Way – Developers losing their touch?
Some games in the past have had fantastic storylines and have glued me to my TV set till the bitter end, aka the end credits. Games such as Fable, Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto and Golden Sun have had me drilled to my consoles. With all that said you can argue that developers could be focusing way to much on the gameplay and kind of copping out on the story. People want to be taken on a journey when it comes to gaming. They use games as a way of escaping the real world. If a game has an excellent storyline then the journey for the gamer is far more enjoyable and a great way to forget about their worries of the real world. Playing games like Rock Band or Guitar hero don’t tend to take gamers on that journey, those type of games tend to be a different means of enjoying your favorite music. Bayonetta on the other hand can be just seen as a poor attempt at story, not that I am totally slating it as I have not played it to the full, but the story and Bayonetta herself are a little strange and possibly a bit cliché.
So as you can see gaming nowadays is taking two different routes. The pure gameplay route that stinks of the classic gaming that us retro gamers grew up with and loved. Then there is the in-depth story route that immerses the gamer and takes them away from real life. Personally when it comes to gaming 80% of the time I am a gameplay gamer, meaning if the gameplay is second to none then I am quite happy, whatever the story is. I mean I have to admit, I have a little bit of a soft spot for Viva Pinata. What I have played of Bayonetta has made me want the game beyond belief, even if the story is a tad strange and DJ Hero has really taken me by surprise as I am not a hip hop fan but really like DJ Hero’s game play, even to the brink of thinking about buying it.
Gaming comes in all sorts of genres, tastes and difficulty. So what is your preference? Gameplay? Or story?
The problem with this is that while a game can exist with good gameplay and no story, a game cannot exist with all story and no gameplay.
In the past, in the retro days of the NES and Mega Drive, there was no drive for game developers to create games that were solely gameplay and no story – they were simply using the tools they had to the best of their ability. I’m sure games like Zelda would have loved to have more storyline and narrative, but in the end they just didn’t have the resources to do so – that’s why games like Zelda: Ocarina of Time did so well once they had the power to do so.
While I’m a big fan of good gameplay (which is pretty much an obvious statement for anyone), loving games like Devil May Cry and God of War for their fluid and enjoyable combat, the games wouldn’t be half as enjoyable without the story to back it up. Dante’s fun to play because of his personality, and his background as a kick-ass devil hunter with his fratricidal rivalry with his brother, and Kratos’ anger really comes across through his brutal killing – but the rage comes from the story, how he has been continually used and betrayed. This emotion is what makes me connect with the character and appreciate the gameplay even more – it’s not mindless fighting, it’s primal rage.
An interesting game is Fahrenheit, however. This title had gameplay that would probably be downright awful on it’s own, but the gameplay more turned the story into an interactive experience.
Final Fantasy is one of my favourite series’ and is obviously one of the most heavily story-oriented games out there – but the gameplay is nevertheless fun, and many of them have been the most enjoyable games I have played.
Story and Gameplay aren’t two opposite forces, they are two elements to be used together to create amazing experiences. While games can exist without good story, no game can rival one that excels in both story and gameplay. That’s largely why Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of this years’ top contenders for 2009′s GOTY.