Article on Cracked that references the HIB...

[Pelar]

...in an interesting way. The article is about the gaming community. It makes some interesting points about the state of gaming and uses the HIB experiment to make its final point.

Just thought I'd pass it along for those who might be interested. It's definitely worth a read if you have interest in discussion about the maturity of gaming / gamers and the games industry itself.

Here's the link.

[Xiagan]

Good one, thanks!

[Alphasoldier]

Don't agree with that guy completely, especially on point 2, I value gameplay above anything, not storylines, if I'd want stories I'd go read a book.
Having a story however IS a nice thing and if you can actually mend the story with the gameplay without having an endless amount of minigames or too many cutscenes you bring out a nice game, like Aquaria.
Also that people want replayability, and this means either bringing updates constantly like TF2 of Valve, or making a game that is different each time you play it, kind of Mass Effect 2, or again L4D2. Other alternative would be having too many options and gimmicks to play in the first run, but you quickly come back to the minigames thing.
There are sadly not a lot of games that can combine perfect story telling with replayability. And that's what this guy wants.

[Pelar]

I definitely agree that there needs to be a certain blend of storytelling and gameplay to a place where it feels just right- and that varies depending on the genre and style of the game. I like the fact that you mentioned the Mass Effect series; I think that those games are very effective at gluing a player to the screen in the same way that a good book might coax a reader into the next few pages because you just have to know what happens next. The plot, character development, and gameplay are all very enjoyable. Another game that is very adept at mixing gameplay and plot is Dragon Age, which is another Bioware game... coincidence? I could list some other Bioware titles that are good examples but I'll leave it there.

Another game with a great balance in plot / gameplay is Psychonauts. I think I remember seeing that Alec or Derek is a Tim Schafer fan in the Aquaria credits; if you haven't experienced Psychonauts I highly recommend it. GoG.com has it on the cheap, if you're so inclined. Oh, and don't forget about Grim Fandango.

I know the author of that article gave Bioshock a hard time, but I really enjoyed it. The gameplay and story were both engaging. Bioshock 2 tuned up the gameplay mechanics but the storyline lacked the weight that the first one had; This made the second installment much less memorable for me.

The first two Fallout games (the Black Isle/Chris Avellone ones) were fantastic non-linear games with good story and an open world. The hex grid gameplay is a little steep for some people to enjoy, but the gameplay was good there too.

It's been said many times on these forums, but Aquaria did a pretty fantastic job of blending gameplay and story in a complimentary way too. After the first couple of areas, you are given freedom to roam wherever you want. This allows you to explore and discover at your own pace, letting you piece together the puzzle as you like.

It was certainly an interesting article, but I think that there are some games with good stories AND good gameplay.

[Echolocating]

Fun read. Thanks, Pelar. 

As far as disagreeing with the points of the article, it's worthwhile to keep in mind that the article is about the generalizations and stigmas of video gaming. They're supposed to be obtuse views, in that regard. 

[Katana]

Anyone trying that "story is important" argument fails to account for the many examples to the contrary.
Tetris, Civilization, Metroid (NO. It doesn't have a story. It's just a good thing it doesn't matter) Multiplayer Shooters, plenty of indie games (I remember And Yet it Moves didn't have a single line of dialogue or exposition), etc. Heck, even games that have a bad story are pretty awesome: Gears of War, Just Cause 2, etc.

Story is just as much icing as graphics is, but I'd rather have a good story than a Crysis-esque game.

[Alec]

Good stories can be not required in all games and also not icing in all games.

[Align]

story may or may not be important to a game, depending

[Pelar]

I'd have to agree with Align. Some types of games are built on narrative, some are built on gameplay. Lots of games would be hampered by a strong narrative- especially a lot of casual games.

Some games would die without them (heavy RPGS, adventures).

Of course, there examples from both ends of the spectrum and every shade in between.

[Zoko]

Good stories can be not required in all games and also not icing in all games.

Definitely agree with you here Alec. It's hard to imagine say, Spiderweb's Software's games without a story (or Aquaria for that matter). The story is what drives the player toward completing the game, not the gameplay.

[Nericor]

  Most games I play for the story, but I also mainly play RPGs and adventure games which need one.  I completely agree that not all games need or get any benefit from a story, some are actually hurt by adding one.

  The part I really like was #2 on the obsession with photo-realism and pixel pushing power.  If a game doesn't look better then last year it's no good, if it's not the next Crysis it's no good.  We've progressed to the point where the drive for better graphics is hurting the industry.  Games require such huge budgets that publishers (developers too?) are very reluctant to try new things and innovate in other areas, resulting in a stream of sequels and clones.

  At least for me the ironic thing is that I prefer the more-artistic-less-realistic styles which are easier to do (Aquaria, Okami, and anything by Tim Schafer being good examples).