Video games have come a long way since the first one came out in 1958. We have moved from a simple tennis simulator, to massive universes that challenge what is possible in a virtual universe. As games have progressed, so have their stories. Almost every game that comes out has some kind of story element. Some of the oldest games were text-based story adventures, where you play the entire game through typing in commands to progress the story. But is a story necessary for a game?
Video games, at their core, are entertainment. They are made to play and to have fun, and should focus on the game play, right? But we have seen an entire genre of games come out lately that focus completely on the story and are lacking what would be considered as game play. Games that are storytelling, with the illusion of choice that appears as game play.
This illusion of choice is where you are given different options of what to do in a game situation but, ultimately, the choice you make is irrelevant. You can go left, you can go right but, either way, you don’t have an actual choice because the endings have already been programmed into the game. You will never be able to have an outcome that the developer didn’t want you to have.
"Telltale Games" has made a name for itself because of the incredible storytelling. But their games are exactly that, storytelling. The game play is usually pressing buttons at the right times or moving the joysticks in the right directions. With such simple gameplay, it puts all of the focus of the game on telling a good story. But the interactive experience you have is diminished because there is almost no game play. You can get the same experience by just watching someone play the game as opposed to playing it yourself.
At that point are you really playing a game? Your actions don’t actually mean anything. You are not in control of what is going on, and that is one of the main things that makes games enjoyable: being able to feel you have control over what is going on. You get to be the star of the story. This excludes the online gaming experience because there is an aspect of competition, that developers cannot account for, when creating a story. So, is the focus on story taking away from the core experience of playing a game?
What is a game without story? Even Super Mario Bros had a story, a goal. A game without a story is like a movie without a plot. It would be like watching people walk around for an hour-and-a-half doing nothing. There has to be a driving force that makes the viewer or player want to get to the end. There has to be something to work towards that is the driving force.
"Minecraft" is a good example of what happens when a game does not have a story. "Minecraft"t started off as a simple indie game that was just focused on building stuff in the world. But, after the game was released officially and began to gain a massive following, goals were added to it. Bosses were added to give something that people can work toward in the game.
Video games need story just as a movie needs a plot. Part of what makes video games unique is that they put the player into the world of the game and the player becomes part of that world. And as long as a game still lets the player feel like they are part of the universe, and not just choosing left or right, then story is a essential component of a game.
