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By: Christopher W. Mock
THE STORY BEHIND
THE GAME
IN THE BEGINNING….
• The first electronic game was on the Cathode Ray Tube
Amusement device in !947. The game was a missile simulator
inspired by the recently developed RADAR devices used in
WWII.
• Computer programming for chess came out soon after, followed
by Nim, and eventually Pong, Tic-Tac-Toe and other games
began to show up as computers got more focused on gaming.
• What did all of these games have in common? No story line.
THE FIRST STORYLINE
• The first real video game storyline came in 1985 with
the Super Mario franchise (the best selling game
series in history).
• After the success of Mario, other games began
incorporating a storyline such as Final Fantasy,
Wing Commander, and the second best selling PC
game, Myst.
STORYLINE IS IMPORTANT
• The argument for a storyline in videogames can be
seen just in the numbers. Some of the best selling
games in history had storylines, while relatively
simple, the definitely existed.
• The best selling PC game ever, Sims 2, took story
telling to a whole new level in which they allowed the
player to create their own life stories, however they
wanted.
• Even Halo ended up being reprogrammed to better
suit the gamer’s story telling needs.
• Here is a link for this argument,
http://www.lingualgamers.com/thesis/story_video_ga
mes.html
STORYLINE IS NOT
IMPORTANT
• The other side of the argument is that it is more about the
gameplay than it is about the actual story.
• Sports games have little to no elements of story telling,
yet the industry is constantly pumping more money and
better technology into the games. And they still sell.
• Even games such as COD, or Halo have a resemblance
of a story, but when it comes down to it, the goal is to
shoot things and not die.
• Here is a link for this argument, (potentially unreliable
source) http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Why-
Storylines-In-Video-Games-Just-Don-t-Work-12467.html
WHEN STORY BECOMES TOO
MUCH
• Recently, story lines have become more and more
complex to the point where some argue that it is way
too much.
• Games such as Beyond: Two Souls, have a tendency
to rely too much on the story, so it feels like the
player is just involved in an interactive movie.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qolJTsmmWA
here is a walk through of the game. This exceeds 8
hours, so don’t watch the whole thing, but be
skimming through, you can see my point.
WHAT MATTERS MOST?
• That really depends on the player. For me, I love a good
story, but if the story is lame and seems forced, I am
unhappy with the game. In that case, I would almost
prefer no story.
• Question 1: What is more important to you? Storyline, or
gameplay?
• Question 2: Is a solid storyline needed to make a best
selling game? If yes, explain big selling games with weak
to no story line. If no, explain games like Myst and Mario.
• Question 3: Are video games a new form of story telling
like books and movies used to be? Or are they just
another form of entertainment?

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Story in Video Games

  • 1. By: Christopher W. Mock THE STORY BEHIND THE GAME
  • 2. IN THE BEGINNING…. • The first electronic game was on the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement device in !947. The game was a missile simulator inspired by the recently developed RADAR devices used in WWII. • Computer programming for chess came out soon after, followed by Nim, and eventually Pong, Tic-Tac-Toe and other games began to show up as computers got more focused on gaming. • What did all of these games have in common? No story line.
  • 3. THE FIRST STORYLINE • The first real video game storyline came in 1985 with the Super Mario franchise (the best selling game series in history). • After the success of Mario, other games began incorporating a storyline such as Final Fantasy, Wing Commander, and the second best selling PC game, Myst.
  • 4. STORYLINE IS IMPORTANT • The argument for a storyline in videogames can be seen just in the numbers. Some of the best selling games in history had storylines, while relatively simple, the definitely existed. • The best selling PC game ever, Sims 2, took story telling to a whole new level in which they allowed the player to create their own life stories, however they wanted. • Even Halo ended up being reprogrammed to better suit the gamer’s story telling needs. • Here is a link for this argument, http://www.lingualgamers.com/thesis/story_video_ga mes.html
  • 5. STORYLINE IS NOT IMPORTANT • The other side of the argument is that it is more about the gameplay than it is about the actual story. • Sports games have little to no elements of story telling, yet the industry is constantly pumping more money and better technology into the games. And they still sell. • Even games such as COD, or Halo have a resemblance of a story, but when it comes down to it, the goal is to shoot things and not die. • Here is a link for this argument, (potentially unreliable source) http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Why- Storylines-In-Video-Games-Just-Don-t-Work-12467.html
  • 6. WHEN STORY BECOMES TOO MUCH • Recently, story lines have become more and more complex to the point where some argue that it is way too much. • Games such as Beyond: Two Souls, have a tendency to rely too much on the story, so it feels like the player is just involved in an interactive movie. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qolJTsmmWA here is a walk through of the game. This exceeds 8 hours, so don’t watch the whole thing, but be skimming through, you can see my point.
  • 7. WHAT MATTERS MOST? • That really depends on the player. For me, I love a good story, but if the story is lame and seems forced, I am unhappy with the game. In that case, I would almost prefer no story. • Question 1: What is more important to you? Storyline, or gameplay? • Question 2: Is a solid storyline needed to make a best selling game? If yes, explain big selling games with weak to no story line. If no, explain games like Myst and Mario. • Question 3: Are video games a new form of story telling like books and movies used to be? Or are they just another form of entertainment?