Storytelling in mods Created 16 years ago2008-01-11 00:29:30 UTC by srry

I was reading the PC Gamer I just got today, and found this really interesting article. Clicky.

I think it's a great read for any modder, although more specifically those who work on single player mods. Any thoughts on what approach to storytelling works best for you, and which you like best? Of course, we probably all like Half-Life's no-cutscenes approach, but this article sort of made me wonder, what does it take to make an immersive game that also has a deep, interesting, and thought-provoking story? The Metal Gear Solid series did their cutscenes extraordinarily well, but with their overwhelming length they managed to pull you away from the game like nothing else, and you felt like the whole purpose of playing the game was to be rewarded with yet another cutscene. On the other hand, you might say the Half-Life series comes very close to perfection in storytelling, but you'd be hard pressed to say that the detail of the character's interactions rivals that of most well made cutscenes. Not only is the main character's involvement here seriously lacking, but it makes it hard for the developer to have detailed and meaningful interactions when you don't even know where the player will be looking.

Anyway, that was a bit long-winded, but I just wondered what people liked and didn't like in regards to this, and what in their opinion the best option would be, especially for modders.

I feel that as good as Half-Life (2) was without the cut-scenes, that it could've done something there. Whether being interactive cut-scenes or so, or a scripted sequence (which we seen a few of) with much more involvement.

Rainbow Six: Vegas completely eliminated the problem of cut-scenes by using a Comm box in the corner of your scene relaying you a video while your playing (a short video for the most part) to get you up with what's going on. Other than that, it was pretty much like Half-Life as far as cut scenes...

I think Half-Life 2 has story events that only occur when the player is looking right at the spot.

or a scripted sequence (which we seen a few of)

wat

Yes, there are indeed so few scripted moments in HL2. :rly:

If valve ever had to resort to a cutscene in HL2, I would be very disappointed in them.

Gman sequences are quite cutscene-y.

I'd call them dream-y, and some of them even allow you to move around.

lol.

Good to see the US copy of PC Gamer is still as shit as I remember it.

I don't know if you kept up with the original UK PCG vs US PCG TF2 match, but the yanks got their arses kicked.

In most action games, the storytelling is shit, unless a lot of work has been put into it - eg. HL2. In these games, unskippable cutscenes paired with crappy voice-acting is a real mood-killer.

In other games like RPG's, I'm fine with lengthy cutscenes with zero player control. Think FFVII. I loved the story, I felt for the characters... even though the plot is cheezy as hell and most of the dialogue sounds like it's straight out of some crappy dōjin. It was still compelling.

So yeah, really depends on the type of game you're trying to sell to the player. If the entire game relies entirely on good action sequences and the developers haven't really much effort on the story, cutscenes are gonna be a bitch.

Hunter, what the fuck is your problem? Does the outcome of some TF2 match have anything to do with the topic here? And if you would, please explain to me what you find so shitty about this article, because I thought it was quite well written. I like to hear developer's views.

I meant, like the g-man sequences... or the breen sequence... or the ep1 train sequence...

I like the story line of half-life2 epi1-2 about the train when the city is blowing up