My Conflicts with Storytelling in Video Games

Submitted by Gay_Charlie t3_104148c in consoles

Lately I've seen a lot of dislike and inaccurate responses about The Last of Us Part 2. When I say inaccurate I mean that people are still stating things about the plot that simply isn't true. There was a meme posted calling The Last of Us Part 2 a "virgin revenge bad" story and I had no idea what they were referring to. I asked but they wouldn't explain stating that it should be obvious then finally after a few replies this person told me exactly what I thought initially. They stated "Is the game not about forgiveness?" just totally changing from revenge. Personally I have never concluded these aspects as the moral of the story and I think the overall purpose is about "letting go" and it's consequences.

I've heard others calling it elementary grade story telling which blows my mind then they turn around and say God of War Ragnarok is deep which is a story I really disliked so I've been wondering if my comprehension for valuable stories is weak and I prefer simplicity according to most people?

I've listened to criticisms for The Last of Us Part 2 and it's like they're talking about another game at times with a lot of angry undertones. I can't find one analysis criticizing where it's not wrapped around being upset at the plot.

I may just prefer shocking and psychologically challenging stories perhaps. I'm not a fan of happy endings because I feel that predictability is more likely in that type of conclusion and it that's where I get bored most of the time.

For reference here is what I consider top tier story telling in video games.

  1. The Last of Us 1&2
  2. Twisted Metal Black
  3. God of War 3
  4. Mafia
  5. Shadow of the Colossus
  6. GTA 4
  7. Resident Evil 7
  8. Metal Gear Solid 4
  9. Catherine
  10. From Software - Post 2008

I look forward to your thoughts and perhaps I can get some closure somehow.

Thanks.

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Comments

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Jigin t1_j32dwfe wrote

I didn’t care for tlou2, so I stopped playing. Only stating that because I feel like some of those people weren’t interested, so they have to justify quite hard as to why they don’t like it. They want to feel validated in disliking it, so they find some reason to hate it. It’s okay to find it not personally interesting. I feel like a lot of people want a “genuine” reason to dislike it and are willing to argue points in bad faith. I don’t feel like there’s much wrong with the story, just a little uninteresting to me subject wise.

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Aggressive-Ad3452 t1_j32i8k3 wrote

Enjoyed the last of us 2 very much...it wasn't a fun game though..I remember feeling quite depressed playing it as it was quite harrowing at times. Kept me hooked though and glad I seen it through.

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mad_sAmBa t1_j32t8su wrote

My problem with TLOU2 plot is that it can go from really good and emotional, to complete nonsensical thrash in a manner of seconds, the writer really wanted to write a revenge history, and he cuts all the corners he could to accomplish that. A lot of important events are reduced to flash backs or are simply left behind so that the revenge story doesn't lose it's momentum.

The examples i can think in the back of my head are: The one flashback where Ellie runs away to find out what Joel did at the end of TLOU1, she basically runs away by herself a few years after the events of TLOU1 and she conveniently finds a recorder safely stored in a bag containing the exact information she needed. This scene makes no sense at all because Ellie was alone during this whole time, she goes all the way back to Utah by herself in a world infested with monsters and bandits with no difficulties at all, and conveniently finds the truth she set out to find? That was supposed to be one of the biggest revelations in the story and it was completely ruined by bad writing, it doesn't make any sense no matter how you look at it.

It was a plot device used in the crappiest way possible.

Another example of bad writing in TLOU2 is when Dina finds out that Ellie is immune. She seems concerned at first, but shrugs it off almost immediately. And then, when they get a breater and Ellie tries to explain she ignores it and goes " Oh, i'm pregnant by the way. But don't worry, it isn't yours" and never touches again on the subject. Again, another point that should be important in the story, being ruined by bad writing because the writer really wanted to write a revenge story.

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philthevoid83 t1_j32y14j wrote

Games are, of course, a very different media compared to film n books, which is why it can be difficult to write stories that have fulfilling flow / pathways. Hard to explain my viewpoint, hope you understand what I mean.

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GnasheR313 t1_j34zai8 wrote

I don't think we'll really get a good justification for someone disliking the story. The way i see it is, it's a great story and great game but it's just not for EVERYONE. so if someone who dislikes it explains why they don't like it, they can only describe the same story that we love so it doesn't make sense

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Mean-Implement9327 t1_j352hqq wrote

i personally loved tlou2 it felt so emotional and yeah, at times the jumping around got a bit confusing but it's still a great game imo. i feel like tlou1 was giving us a feeling of love that could easily get you hooked onto the story because you gain a connection with the characters and tlou2 was more of a revenge for taking that love away. i just think the whole story together clicks and makes sense. i'm just taking a guess here and saying some people thought it was one of those games were you could just play the second and it makes sense. I mean, it definitely could i haven't played the game from a perspective of not knowing what happened first, and that very well could've confused people and made them uninterested in the storyline and made them want to stop playing. if that's not the case though that's fine, some games aren't for everyone. you can't publish a game and get mad at people for not liking it when you still have a vast majority of people that like it. some games just aren't for everyone.

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GooierSquid0 t1_j35rhjo wrote

Horizon Zero Dawn was incredible for me in terms of the story and emotion. Watching it slowly unfold was amazing

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Rabispo t1_j35u7my wrote

Didn't play it, but bandwagon effect can be very strong. I feel like the initial impressions were tainted by recent info of Naughty Dog being exploitative and game writer Neil Druckmann was publicly making an ass of himself (which i dont know the details of, but the little i know sounds pretty bad lol), so people maybe player the game sorta already not wanting to like it and heavily influenced the discourse surrounding the game from there and well, I dont exactly blame people for this since i know how it is when the creators of something are shitty and it leaves a bad taste in you.

Again i can't personally say anything about the game, but however good or bad the game might actually be, i think the discourse around it is not very "pure" in the sense that people are engaging with it just for the sake of sharing an unbiased opinion.

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Drakullin t1_j36h5cd wrote

The problem I have with current storytelling is not the content itself, but the manner it's told nowadays. Games like Bioshock, Skyrim, Dark Souls or even Doom have strong narratives, but the way they tell you the story is by involving the player to explore the characters and the world designed. It's what we call 'Lore'.

However, current games seem to put the focus in a more guided story, with strong visuals, voice acting and special effects to highlight the drive. It's centered in the character and the way they interact each other.

Nonetheless, I think it is a vague approach, as nowadays most of the games follow this in order to feel more connected with hardcore and casual players.

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GloryXplay t1_j3702ml wrote

Don't seek validation from other for what you are finding valuable for a story. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to have fun and to seek the type of game/story we really like.

People that does'nt like something tend to be insincere about it. To seek validation I imagine.

I didn't did The last of us part 2 ( I'm on xbox ), but as I see from my position, it seems that the game have a hate wagon behind it. So don't try to overly-analyse it.

People love to hate thats the sad part of the modern video game industry.

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BigSlick557 t1_j3s8qxk wrote

For me, TLOU2 was immersive, surprising, complex, and devastating. One of my all time favorite experiences in many years of gaming. Ultimately, I don't think it was so much a revenge story as a story about the toll that obsessive drive for revenge takes on our lives. I am reluctant to go into details as I don't want to drop a ton of spoilers, but I would urge anyone still on the fence about playing this to ignore the promoters and detractors and check it out for yourself. As an author and veteran of many workshops, I have found that strong positive and negative responses means that you are doing something right.

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