Tapsearch Com EditorWhy video game plots are so terrible
June 8th 2007 01:23
Wired has the scoop, from a game writer-turned-novelist:
The only thing I'd like to add is that it's not just the stories that suck; it's the dialog, too. You can play an M rated game -- supposedly designed for ages 17 and up -- and they'll still be saying ridiculous things like "Damn you, Scartorus! I'll do whatever I can to stop you!" It's like a comic book or cartoon for children.
By Robert VerBruggen
"Writing a novel was completely awesome because parts of it could suck and I could throw them away," he laughed. "I didn't have to know the ending until I got there." Stories for video games, on the other hand, are very rarely revised. Grossman recalls how game developers might start building the animation of a final battle scene right after he'd delivered an outline of the story. Even if he realized later that having the battle there was stupid, it was already coded and couldn't be changed.
He believes video game stories are stronger when designers use the "waterfall" process, beginning with a small prototype of the game, then playing and altering it continually throughout development. "Companies have to accept more uncertainty in the design process," Grossman argues. "That's the only way to get a good story."
Another problem comes when designers try to shoehorn storytelling devices like character development into games. "Video games have their own emotional vocabulary, their own language," Grossman says. "Maybe they just don't do character."
He believes video game stories are stronger when designers use the "waterfall" process, beginning with a small prototype of the game, then playing and altering it continually throughout development. "Companies have to accept more uncertainty in the design process," Grossman argues. "That's the only way to get a good story."
Another problem comes when designers try to shoehorn storytelling devices like character development into games. "Video games have their own emotional vocabulary, their own language," Grossman says. "Maybe they just don't do character."
The only thing I'd like to add is that it's not just the stories that suck; it's the dialog, too. You can play an M rated game -- supposedly designed for ages 17 and up -- and they'll still be saying ridiculous things like "Damn you, Scartorus! I'll do whatever I can to stop you!" It's like a comic book or cartoon for children.
By Robert VerBruggen
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