[This is the fourth part of my storytelling series. I’ll keep this one short, unlike the
typical massive articles that I tend to post. I’ll try, at least.]
Genres are an expected and arguably important part of every entertainment medium, from television to movies to literature to video games. In fact, one of the first things that we as gamers tend to do with a new game is place it into a certain genre or subgenre: it’s a sandbox game, or an FPS, or a JRPG. For the most part, I don’t think this is harmful behavior: if a game is from Japan and is a role-playing game, it is, for all intents and purposes, a JRPG.
I played the hell out of Star Ocean 4, but give me a break with this shit. (At least it was set in space)
However, it’s an entirely different story when a game's plot falls into a specific genre. JRPGs especially tend to have JRPG plots: some young hero is suddenly forced to leave the comfort of home and save the world from utter destruction with the help of an unlikely band of friends. There’s almost always a certain degree of self-discovery, shoulder-crying, ugly-monster-fighting, and reaffirmations that the hero just won’t give up no matter what. I don’t think anyone’s going to argue that, by now, this shit hasn’t gotten really,
really old.
The problem is that developers seem to believe that certain plot types naturally fit in with certain gameplay genres, and they’re either not comfortable or creative enough to stray from the established genre formula. It’s easy to harp on JRPGs in this situation, but I think there are plenty of genres that are guilty of this; how many generic FPS stories have we had to suffer through?
Fixing this issue is going to require a complete reevaluation of the meaning of a genre. Many games have successfully done this: Folklore’s blend of mystery, RPG and action elements defied genre categorization (though I greatly disagree with
how the story was told), and Shadow Hearts: Covenant (which I sadly never finished) successfully set a somewhat traditional RPG during World War I. These were games that surprised and pleased simply because of what they did differently, and there’s truly no limit to the value of offering an experience that catches the player off guard.
The engaging setting of Shadow Hearts: Covenant largely carried the game.
Genre stories have always been unacceptable in many literary circles (depending on who you talk to, of course), and I think this feeling needs to carry over to video games. Sure, it’s easy to write a story that’s similar thematically or structurally to almost every other story from that genre, but it’s time for this practice to become unacceptable, both to the players and developers. Everyone involved deserves better than the easy route.
To close, enjoy a predictable and entirely overused quotation.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” –Robert Frost
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I see where you are coming from, but it makes them money at the end of the day so they have to churn out certain games to keep the market and certain audiences happy.
Also it can be very risky for designers to come up with a new genre or type of game if they've never entered the market before and even if they have previously. By all means they should risk it and see what happens, He Who Dares, Wins.
I've really enjoyed your articles so far. I would've commented sooner, but my connection has been exceptionally flaky the past two weeks.
As for storytelling within genres, it's probably best to take a step back and glance upon the current state of the industry. With steady climb into better-looking 3D games, the cost of creating a mainstream game is double, if not triple, of what it was ten years ago. While it's always been risky to create a game that isn't a name brand or sequel, it's really apparent now as it's 'safe' to stay in the comfort zone and make sequels or look-a-likes.
How does this lead into storytelling? The fact is that anyone can take the most tired of genre mainstays and still create something fascinating with the right amount of story, action and character development. Is it easy? Hell no, but do most gamers want that? Do most people really give a damn about anything other than shooting the next guy in the head? Hell yes, a lot of gamers still care, but we tend to get the short end of the stick these days when it comes to compelling, well-executed stories.
It breaks my heart that a lot of these next-gen RPGs simply don't linger in my mind like older games tend to. I ask myself: Why is it like that? Am I not open-minded enough to give everything a fair chance? For me, the case has been the story starts off fairly interesting, only to become a derailed mess that screams to me 'rushed out'. It's hard to give examples without spoiling, but I felt that too many just get cut off to get rushed through the door for that lucrative holiday cash.
You can have the most unique setting and different elements to use in your standard game, but it doesn't necessarily make the game fun or compelling. Persona 3 and 4 are good examples of taking a tired genre and infusing it with great stories, interesting characters and intriguing gameplay features. I had more fun with these two games than I have had with many next-gen RPGs. However, this is only my opinion. There will those that disagree and that's fine, but I didn't feel satisfied at the end of Lost Odyssey or Mass Effect for example.
I would write more, but the approaching thunderstorm will knock out what little connection I have. :P
A nice point is raised here, and i'm sure a focus on actual genre will break from the current fantasy setting + angst + big hair = RPG kind of style that the genre is mostly composed of.
Earthbound is technically a JRPG, but it carries none of those typical elements. The setting was a strong point in that one, which is maybe what more games should focus on.
For another example, I just finished Apollo Justice today. While that's not what we'd traditionally consider an RPG (though we still play the role of a single character) it carried some of the strongest characters and story arcs i've ever been witness to in a videogame - and that entire thing is set in court!
Sakaguchi once said that he was more of a storyteller than a game designer, and it would certainly be welcome to see more people like him take up games as a medium to convey their narratives, rather than other forms of media.
Chocobo: Awesome response: thanks a bunch for your comments. I admit with no reservation that I care perhaps too much about game stories: I'll put up with a hell of a lot of the end result is a good storytelling experience, and I know that this is the exact opposite of what many (arguably most) would do--gameplay first, they'd say. And I think that's, in many ways, right: the number one defining factor of video games is, indeed, it's gameplay. But it seems that we're similar in that we expect a lot. I personally love having unrealistic expectations of game stories and genre-breaking experiences, but mostly because I know that they're unrealistic, and I'm not one to rage when my expectations aren't met.
LeftoverSofaFoodMan: I totally agree with you. I know Kojima has stated that he got into games because he couldn't make movies (or something along those lines). I think both the gameplay designers and the storytellers are absolutely vital in this industry, and I think that the best experiences are going to come when true 50/50 collaborations occur between these two types of game makers.
@Kauza: I'll admit that I like playing games for their stories alone. Since RPGs tend to be more story-driven, I'm more critical with them when they simply don't pan out once I get to the end. It doesn't have to be a huge, convoluted story; just a well-told tale that utilizes its characters and setting well. With Lunar resurfacing on the PSP, it's a good example of something that's simple, but it utilizes that charm to make a pretty good story.
A JRPG can still have all it's typical conventions (big hair, bigger swords, love interest in tow, so on), but would it matter if the story was written extremely well? A lot of RPGs tend to be more style over substance these days which only hurts it in the end. Who is going to care about it after it's no longer that new flavor of the month? The only recent next-gen RPG I could recommend to anyone would be Tales of Vesperia. It's not perfect, but it retained just about everything that made 'Tales of' games fun without sacrificing anything in the transition. Yes, it's not a graphics powerhouse, but it still looks gorgeous with actual color instead of the next inevitable military grey-brown-bleh FPS.
Is it too unrealistic to want a strong narrative? Is it simply the older generation pining for the good ol' days?
I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with character archetypes or even necessarily plot templates. There are few stories left to tell, once you strip away everything and just leave the bones. I think the problem is less that they tell the same story and more that they tell the same story in the same way.
Give the characters a fresh context in which to exist and a personality that extends beyond their basic archetypal stereotypes then you can breath new life into even the most overused of plot structures, I think.
After all, nearly all stories go something like: protagonists's life is normal, something happens which sends them off on a series of adventures, just when things start going his way the bad guy/force for bad/whatever begins to get the upper hand and when things are at their most desperate the protagonist faces the final challenge where they overcome their flaws to win out, or not if it's a tragedy.
But that's done well for itself, hasn't it?
Good post.