TASK 8: Once Upon A Time...

Stories. They're awesome. Without them we'd all be pretty bland individuals...well, bland-er in some cases. Stories are told every day, and not just that one about that girl and those seven midgets. People tell others about how they were sooo drunk last night that they were sick all over their girlfriend while telling the barmaid that they should run off together and get married at a casino, Or a young child detailing his day at school to a semi-attentive parent.

So there are stories behind pretty much everything, it makes things a lot more interesting and explains a lot about what's going on. Games obviously fall into a storytelling category too, well, most do...Pong doesn't.
Donkey Kong. He's a big monkey, he's got a King Kong vibe about him. Well, you see, he has a bad day down at the plant one Monday and decides to kidnap someone. Now the big ol' monkey didn't just go for anyone, no no, he went for a princess. So some guy in a red cap and dungarees, supposedly the princess' "man" decides that this kind of behavior just isn't on. He decides to take action and save said princess while dodging barrels thrown by Mr. Monkey...Or something like that.
Without a story of somekind the game would still have playability, but you'd have no idea why the hell you're climbing up all of this scaffolding...well, maybe.



The Final Fantasy games are renowned for their story-lines, as is the Zelda series. Final Fantasy VII for example, is widely considered as the best game ever by a good number of gamers. I wouldn't agree but I can see where people are coming from. Now, if I had to play for fifty hours doing nothing more than wandering around and fighting random encounters with no story...I'd shoot myself. The combat system isn't that fun, it's just the same over and over again but the story MAKES it a very enjoyable and immersive experience.

A strong story isn't always necessary in a game though. A game such as Super Smash Bros for example, has next to no story... I mean come on! Nintendo statues come to life and start fighting each other. There's no reasoning for their actions, there's no REAL explanation as to why these statues are now alive but the game is REALLY fun all the same because everything else is just right.

Some games even allow the player to create the stories. The Sims invites you to get making virtual people to your liking, then you build a virtual house however you like and then you guide them through their own little virtual lives depending on how you think things should happen. Brilliant idea Will Wright! Open-endedness is a good factor in a game, especially when you're creating the story for it as you play.

In my opinion (and my response when I'm accused of playing games too much) playing games are like reading books; you're going through a story, but unlike when you read a book, you actually get to take direct control of the main character(s) and in some cases, change that happily ever after into something different.