Sacrificing Gameplay for Narratives

The two largest parts of a videogame experience are the narratives that they tell, and the enjoyment players get from them.

[ArchangelMike]

There are actually more than just a few games that blend both gameplay and narrative. You kind of have to define what you mean by gameplay though - since gameplay can mean different things to different games. Take strategy games - lets say X-Com for example; the gameplay is excellent, and it could be argued that the narrative is inconsequential - by that I mean that the story is a bonus. People play X-com for the gameplay, and not for the story. However, the story (especially how it progresses from X-Com to X-Com 2, is actually very well done).

Then you have games like the SoulsBourne series, where the story is deep and intriguing, but essentially has to be discovered through gameplay. Then there are outliers, like Oxenfree, Inside, Braid etc etc that have uniques blends of narrative and gameply

However the obvious examples of a near perfect marriage of narrative and game play, I would say the Mass Effect series (not counting Andromeda). The fan outcry due to the ending of ME3 was a testament to the impact and importance of the ME narrative, specifically as it related to gameplay. People felt cheated with a cheap narrative hack because through gameplay they had made specific choices that didn't seem to carry over narratively.

Would you kindly allow me to name just one more game that is an example of near perfect narrative and gameplay balance - Bioshock.

[kneon]

The ending of ME3 didn't bother me, mostly because I was already aware that your in-game choices were mostly just an illusion of choice throughout 1 and 2.

[AspiringProGenji]

The Last of Us nearly perfected this balance in its campaign which is what made the game so enjoyable and immersive to play, then there's the MP which is so much fun to play. That and Infamous 2 are my mold of what AAA games should be: Fun, have a great narrative, and improve upon the 1st game in all aspects. Love these 2 games to death... Gimme a Infamous 2 remaster Sony NOW

[SyntheticForm]

Infamous 2 is a great example of a good narrative-gameplay balance with a good story, well written supporting characters, and really fun, over-the-top gameplay.

The Last of Us is another good example with good gunplay, satisfying melee, and good stealth. The characters, story, and pacing were excellent of course.

[ShockUltraslash]

Tlow has awful gameplay though.

[TK-66]

Nah. It was still weird seeing Ellie as pretty much immortal/undetectable when she was an AI companion. God of War did it better. Especially when you lose control of Atreus after he begins to get cocky and he fires arrows whenever he wants rather than on command. That was a subtle but well done way of balancing the gameplay with narrative.

And there's the obvious thing where AI will take notice of Atreus and attack him.

[AspiringProGenji]

That’s what I meant when I said it nearly did. Those moments broke my immersion every time a bit. Hopefully that isn’t thing with TLoU 2

[Potnoodle999]

It was obvious god of war took so much inspiration with Atreus from tlou and ellie.... given that tlou inspired greatness in gow I think it’s pretty impressive. Anyway not gonna go into it but tlou is an incredible game and always will be.

[Sevir]

Sacrificing gameplay for narrative... Playing a video game is simply mashing buttons at the very distilled analysis of the term in video games.

If you're trying have the argument that video game designers put more effort into the narrative at the cost of engaging gameplay mechanics then that's another story.

There's something to be said if Narratives suffer due to the fact that developers often develop them seperately due to budget and scope and time then try to meld them together at the last minute, as that for the longest is normal industry practice. But if the Game is developed with Narrative that lends itself story to emergent and engaging gameplay mechanics then we get games like God of War, and Uncharted and Horizon and The Last of Us where every form of game play mechanic ties into the lore, and story the world itself is telling.

But let's not kid ourselves, Narrative heavy games like God of War and ND's PS3-PS4 era games don't suffer because of their Narrative. Not have they sacrificed gameplay for narrative.

At the end of the day you're simply pushing buttons to trigger contextual movements and actions on screen. And that is the very basic interface of playing a game on consoles and handheld machines.

[Imalwaysright]

"Playing a video game is simply mashing buttons at the very distilled analysis of the term in video games. "

No it isn't just like playing chess isn't just moving some pieces. I'm doing more than pushing some buttons even in games that seem simple like tetris.

[Shiken]

Sounds like you have been playing more naratives than games if that is all you think good gameplay is.

But I will agree that games like God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn did indeed strike a beautiful balance.

[FanboyPolice]

Geez ,that's garbage. Narrative and gameplay are not two elements that goes on the same balance. The fact that your gameplay is awesome does not mean that your narrative must suck. They are correlated, but the lack of one does not complement the other. It's a very narrow way to see development.

You do have to have equally experienced and committed people working in both sides, that understands and love the project.

[OB1Biker]

I dont want waste my time with this article but GOW seems the opposite of that. Its strenght is precisely the gameplay.

[raWfodog]

"It isn’t as fun as Super Smash Bros or Mario Kart. But, God of War (2018) manages to be a better game as a whole due to its combined efforts of story and gameplay."

I hate when writers try to pass their personal preference as fact. God of War was more 'fun' for me than either of those two other games but to each their own.

[rainslacker]

One is an experience, one is just game play. Both are valid ways to design a game, but people are going to play them for different reasons, and people are capable of liking both equally, or differently.

Video game is a broad term, and game play doesn't have to take a hit because of narrative. Game play is it's own thing, that is sometimes presented within a narrative structure, and much of the narrative in games is separated from the actual game play. More modern games are adopting the idea of narrative through gameplay, or narrative during game play. Souls games do a lot of narrative through game play, while GOW does narrative during game play. Games like a Mario platformer only use a backstory for their narrative as a pretense for game play.

[capjacksparrow]

I actually really enjoyed the Last of Us' gameplay. Wouldn't have played the multiplayer so much otherwise 🤷‍♂️