Message #328931

[KnightsFan]

60281

I will admit I've never played Minecraft, so I can't speak for it specifically. But I believe games of that genre are popular because they allow a pygmalion-esque method of creating one's own story. Also, people play games literally to waste time, and in that case you'd be right that they don't care about a story. I'm talking about games that require a little bit of thought and time commitment to play (not minesweeper or similar).

The fact that games are interactive simply adds a new dimension, just as films have an added layer that books lack. In Deus Ex, the story is literally built around player choices. I'm a little confused: are you arguing that games shouldn't have stories at all? That's like saying movies shouldn't have conversations because that's what books are for.

Also, story isn't just the sequence of events. It's also the characterization and nuances that make a game world believable. My favorite sequence in the original CoD was the car ride. You just sat in a seat and shot enemies, but the conversation between your friendly AI was so funny it was an awesome mission. Virtually every subsequent installation of CoD tried to emulate that mission, even though it had less gameplay than any other mission. Or take Bioshock, in which half the awesomeness comes from the narrations from various people about the downfall of Rapture.

I would also agree with Flipz that story is A reason and not THE reason games are fun, though for me personally, story is a huge part of games.