| Miyamoto wants to focus on Gameplay, not Story; Discussion Topic | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Aug 3 2011, 01:00 PM (561 Views) | |
| WolfenAmphithere | Aug 3 2011, 01:00 PM Post #1 |
|
The Crazy Hat Lady
|
Recently someone brought this up in another topic (Storm said it was the "New Nintendo Console" topic; thanks for pointing me in the right direction!) Here's the link to the article, but it's also in the spoiler box below for your convenience: http://gonintendo.com/?p=160965 "Iwata Asks" interview My reaction: I'm proud of you, Miyamoto-sama. Still challenging the entire world of game designers as always, eh? You don't go for shortcuts, you -know- what the most important things about game design are. I know exactly where he's going with this: he's not saying NOT to include plot, but to not focus -entirely- on it. Games should be fun without a plot. They haven't given Tetris a plot; why should Mario? And by "plot", I'm not counting simply "save the princess". It's good to give players a reason for their quest, but never to force-feed them everything. It stunts creativity and imagination in the players. Of course, Plot is never a bad thing, but it doesn't need to explain every detail of a story. The player should be able to figure things out on their own. We shouldn't be fed everything; I'm glad he's finally getting on Aonuma-san's case about this; the Zelda series followed Miyamoto-sama's beliefs until Wind Waker, when Aonuma-san took over as the main director. |
![]() |
|
| Super Slash | Aug 3 2011, 01:15 PM Post #2 |
![]()
Rank 14: Omega
|
Personally, I enjoy the story in Zelda games. I think it'd be rather disappointing if they stopped being story-focused entirely. Zelda's always mainly been about the gameplay, even with the plot. |
![]() |
|
| Catbread | Aug 3 2011, 01:44 PM Post #3 |
|
welcome to the cauldron of hate
|
I don't know about this... I can see where Miyamoto's coming from. In a video game, the gameplay aspects are the main source of the entertainment...no, that's not even always true! This is a tough issue. I think what he's saying makes more sense in some games than others. Focusing on the gameplay above all else is a great idea to make sure everything stays fun, and it's true that making too many sacrifices for the sake of story can't be helpful. Still, I love good writing. Some of my favorite games are marked by their writing. There's no way what he's saying can be applied to all games without trashing one of my favorite parts of games... This issue is too hard for me to comment on this early in the morning! I'll try again later. |
![]() |
|
| Lotus Prince | Aug 3 2011, 04:21 PM Post #4 |
|
Rank 11: Bahamut
|
Whatever; Mario and Zelda games never exactly had stellar stories to begin with (this goes triple for Mario games), so it should be all good. |
![]() |
|
| WolfenAmphithere | Aug 3 2011, 04:41 PM Post #5 |
|
The Crazy Hat Lady
|
He never said he'd get rid of the plot entirely; he simply says he wants to put -more- emphasis on gameplay. This does have a lot to do with the genre of course; visual novels and interactive movies (MGS) are obviously excluded from this statement, and RPG's can also be easily destroyed by a bad story. I also don't think he was referring to -all- games. I think he was almost entirely referring to the Zelda series, in fact. In which case, a more vague story might actually help; some of the weird specifics in the later games really messed things up, and even contradicted each other.
It was almost 3pm when you posted that >_>; Do I need to start calling you when I get up as an alarm? >____>; |
![]() |
|
| Super Slash | Aug 3 2011, 05:33 PM Post #6 |
![]()
Rank 14: Omega
|
Hmm, true enough.
Yeah, I was thinking "2 PM isn't the morning". XD |
![]() |
|
| Enrei | Aug 3 2011, 10:16 PM Post #7 |
|
Chinese Gold Farmer
|
It's like someone took a dump in my brain! I don't want all devs to adopt this idea, the bulk of my favorite games are really story focused, and if we have everyone setting story aside, every FPS will become Halo of Duty: Mr. Derppy in Grey Land, RPGs become Small Boy Saves Village, Platformers become Guido Saves Girl, etc. etc. |
![]() |
|
| Raven | Aug 4 2011, 01:05 AM Post #8 |
|
Red Mage of Light
|
Depends on the genre. I mean, Miyamoto isn't exactly inexperienced with game design; the guy knows what he's doing. But for stuff like RPGs, story and writing is important, I feel. I certainly agree with him that the characters themselves should be likeable, as it gives a reason to care about what's going on. |
![]() |
|
| Catbread | Aug 4 2011, 06:29 AM Post #9 |
|
welcome to the cauldron of hate
|
Hm... Imagine, say, Or, imagine Which is better? They're each good in there own way, but is one preferable over the other? Is there an ideal balance? Knee-jerk reaction: I'd much rather be playing MM than LttP...is that significant at all? |
![]() |
|
| Polantaris | Aug 4 2011, 05:42 PM Post #10 |
![]()
Die pig!
|
The only part of "stop focusing on story" I agree with, is the part where people are trying to make timelines and crap. It's just excessive. I don't really care which Zelda game goes "before" another. I really don't care. The debates people have as to why Game X goes before Game Y because of this that and the other thing...it's quite frankly annoying. Most of the time there's no concrete evidence to support either side, and when they asked (Was It Miyamoto?) to tell us what order they go in on the spot....that's just unfair to the guy, so I can see his position. I don't think even he ever gave such thought to the idea, and it just fueled his distaste for the entire idea. Now, that's not to say games should have no story. The only type of game that should have no story should be sandbox games, where the point is to do whatever the hell you want. Outside of that...a majority of players want a drive, a reason to do what they do in the game. Why would I raid some dungeon with little to no loot in it for just the hell of it? As the developer you should be giving me SOME reason, regardless of how far fetched and crazy it is. A game without a story is just as devastating as a book with a bad one. It really does make or break the game for a lot of players. All games, in some way, could technically be considered an RPG at the root of the wording. You are playing the role of someone or something in a game, and as such that something or someone needs a story behind it. Why is some dude just running around and cutting things with some sword? Without a backstory or a reason behind what even the main character is doing, the player is never absorbed into the experience. Why would I care about a generic shmuck? I wouldn't. Now, if that generic shmuck was actually a Hero whose friend was kidnapped so he went on a quest to save her, now I care, even if that story has been used a million times. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Nintendo · Next Topic » |








9:32 AM Jul 11