Task 8. Grr stupid windows

Well I just did lab 4 of digital electronics and then saved over lab 3 in the process. Increasing my workload is not the idea I originally had for today. Anyway, to the task at hand eh.

Storytelling in games has become an industry standard and I believe that very few games nowadays doesn’t have any storyline. It seems that gamers like to see a purpose for their tasks set. This would then indicate that gaming has now become a new way in which to recite a story to the player. I think the Final Fantasy series is the best example of gaming with storytelling as the entire hook to the game is its gripping stories.

I think games with stories are popular as the interactive element allows the user to feel in control of these characters outcomes. Although many games have only the one ending there has been games such as shadow of memories where alternate endings are available depending on your actions during the game. A very important factor to games storytelling is that it must not be longer than necessary as I feel gamers tend to give up on games very easily if the gameplay becomes repeated or the storyline isn’t gripping them and spurring them on to continue. Also creating a game story that is totally original is slowly becoming harder and harder. I feel a good example of this is shadow of colossus which had a totally unique story and gameplay and it was thus commended for its originality.

But this does not mean that all games must have a story to be successful. Simulation games like football games and racing games manage to sell vast quantities of copies just due to the fact it allows the player to pretend they are playing for the world cup or racing at 100’s of miles per hour. Also puzzle games don’t necessarily need a storyline even though a lot of them do have some form of basic storyline just to keep the player going.

I think a storyline gives the player a reason to continue with each level and this replaced the older system of trying to beat the high score. I think storylines took over as they do not necessarily depend on the level of skill for the user so even beginners will want to continue playing a game, while with the wanting to get the top score method beginners may get bored and frustrated quickly and give up on the game meaning less sales. While the story method will bring more sales and at the end of the day that’s all that really matters to the company.