The objective of this column is to discuss storytelling in video games, something I feel pretty strongly about. I'm of the mindset that it's actually the most important feature in any video game. It's the reason I get out to the store to buy them and invest time to play them. And lately I've been thinking about storytelling in video games because of my recent exposure to Bayonetta, which is a game that has some cool, fluid gameplay but doesn't feel like the story is at the heart of the experience. It's just a bunch of cool shit and that's it. And that got the ball rolling on why storytelling is so damn important to me. Something I intend to detail in this here column.
In all forms of entertainment - be it movies, comics, or even boring old books - story is the core. The narration is really the nucleus of the whole experience. It takes all of the pieces, all the fragmented ideas and stitches them together to make one coherent whole. And as of late, barring a few various titles such as MGS4, Bioshock, and the more recent Uncharted 2, I feel like video game developers are pretty much sitting in a room and thinking up all the cool shit they can do in their game instead of starting with the base foundation; detailing what makes for an interesting story or one they have the passion to tell. Then taking that central narrative and spinning cool gameplay experiences out of it. Working outwards from the core (or nucleus if you prefer that analogy), not the other way around. This might be a little harsh, but I feel that with video games, just like with movies and comics, if you don't have a story to tell, then there's no point in making them.
One of the big reasons for this mindset is now that video games are so technologically advanced and can appear so photo-realistic, storytelling capabilities are near limitless. There is nothing our technology can't do. However, you look at the games that release yearly, discounting a few titles, and most are laughable in the narrative department. It seems that with the advancements in technology most video game developers, like their brothers and sisters in Hollywood, are more interested with the "SLAM-BANG-POW!" of the technology instead of using it to create more human, character driven narratives.
