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Ever since I started to play computer role playing games, I evaluated my enjoyment of those games by the quality of the story. The more crpgs I played the more I started to contemplate, what exactly is this mythical "story"? Is it an actual story - events that unfolds during the course of the game? A plot that reveals itself the more you advance the game? Or maybe there is more about it? Maybe the setting itself, how it's presented in game, constitutes to a story? Recently I watched few episodes of BG2EE blind run of one of the respected Twitch streamers and it hit me. I realised which part of the game must meet my expectations, that I could say the "story" is great. And I was surprised by this realisation.
Now, let me list a couple of things that I feel constitute to a "story", a general term I usually throw to assess if the game is awesome or not. The number of the listing is relevant, the first listed are the ones that I feel are a must for me for a good "story".
1. Writing - yes, this is a big epiphany for me. Watching this BG2EE stream made me realised how damn good writing this game has. Even after all those years, it didn't age a bit. I haven't played it in ages and I forgot much of it already, so this hit me by surprise. Then I recalled my failed attempt to play Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen last year. I read the story is pretty decent and the game is really worth a shot, but as soon as I started to play it, I realized that writing is atrocious. It almost looked like the game was written in another language and was machine translated to English later. I couldn't get past it, it completely stripped my enjoyment of following the main plot. Adding two plus two together, I realized I cannot enjoy a game with a decent main plot, if writing doesn't meet my standards. It doesn't need to be top of the top, but it cannot make me cringe.
2. The main plot - this history told in cRPG is the second most important thing, that makes the "story" good for me. The sooner I get hooked with the events that my protagonist got involved into, the better. But that's not mandatory - if the mystery reveal is slower, but the build up itself is exciting, the result is the same. I have enjoyed games with rather underwhelming main story, but I don't think I enjoyed games with underwhelming writing. This is the most important part of my recent epiphany.
3. The setting and the lore - The setting is also an important part of the general "story" term for me. I'll write about this topic in more detail in another post, when I have a chance, but now it's suffice to say, that there is a good chance the game will pique my interest, if setting and its lore will interest me. And maybe more importantly, not just the lore, but the way it's introduced to me.
NPCs and side characters - the games that had memorable characters were usually at the top of my ranking of beloved crpgs, but in reality it's not the most important aspect of the "story" for me. I also enjoyed games that didn't have exciting persinalities. I very much like party interaction, banters and NPCs rich backrounds, but it's like a nice addition for me not something that could strip me from enjoying the game.
Side quests - I realised there are not that many games where side quests are no worse than the main story. Very few studios can write excellent side quests. And it's OK, I, played a lot of games where side content is significantly inferior to the main game events and I still enjoyed them.
So, what makes a story good for you? What *is* the story exactly for you? Is it just one thing, or a group of game aspects? I'm looking forward to read your thoughts about it.
Now, let me list a couple of things that I feel constitute to a "story", a general term I usually throw to assess if the game is awesome or not. The number of the listing is relevant, the first listed are the ones that I feel are a must for me for a good "story".
1. Writing - yes, this is a big epiphany for me. Watching this BG2EE stream made me realised how damn good writing this game has. Even after all those years, it didn't age a bit. I haven't played it in ages and I forgot much of it already, so this hit me by surprise. Then I recalled my failed attempt to play Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen last year. I read the story is pretty decent and the game is really worth a shot, but as soon as I started to play it, I realized that writing is atrocious. It almost looked like the game was written in another language and was machine translated to English later. I couldn't get past it, it completely stripped my enjoyment of following the main plot. Adding two plus two together, I realized I cannot enjoy a game with a decent main plot, if writing doesn't meet my standards. It doesn't need to be top of the top, but it cannot make me cringe.
2. The main plot - this history told in cRPG is the second most important thing, that makes the "story" good for me. The sooner I get hooked with the events that my protagonist got involved into, the better. But that's not mandatory - if the mystery reveal is slower, but the build up itself is exciting, the result is the same. I have enjoyed games with rather underwhelming main story, but I don't think I enjoyed games with underwhelming writing. This is the most important part of my recent epiphany.
3. The setting and the lore - The setting is also an important part of the general "story" term for me. I'll write about this topic in more detail in another post, when I have a chance, but now it's suffice to say, that there is a good chance the game will pique my interest, if setting and its lore will interest me. And maybe more importantly, not just the lore, but the way it's introduced to me.
NPCs and side characters - the games that had memorable characters were usually at the top of my ranking of beloved crpgs, but in reality it's not the most important aspect of the "story" for me. I also enjoyed games that didn't have exciting persinalities. I very much like party interaction, banters and NPCs rich backrounds, but it's like a nice addition for me not something that could strip me from enjoying the game.
Side quests - I realised there are not that many games where side quests are no worse than the main story. Very few studios can write excellent side quests. And it's OK, I, played a lot of games where side content is significantly inferior to the main game events and I still enjoyed them.
So, what makes a story good for you? What *is* the story exactly for you? Is it just one thing, or a group of game aspects? I'm looking forward to read your thoughts about it.