Game Storytelling: What Makes a Narrative Engaging?

During the early days of console gaming, studios needed to work within the limits of available technologies, so they decided to offer value through amazing plots, narratives, and storylines.

The most famous games then were “action” or “sports” related, but others relying heavily on storylines appeared. Let’s learn more about how studios are losing their core customers due to lazy stories.

People Wanted More

Arcade games were often designed to overstimulate players for a few minutes. Games were designed to last seconds or minutes while packing as much punch as possible during that short time. Arcades made money each time a player started a new one, so it was in their best decisions to invest in titles that brought in as much recurring revenue as possible.

The advent of gaming consoles allowed players to play as much as they wanted while only paying for the title once. Players could only enjoy casino titles at sites like HitnSpin Casino, sports, and action-themed alternatives for so long until they began yearning for more.

Technological advancements meant that manufacturers could ship more capable consoles with expanded storage and options for external storage. Open-world and “adventure” games emerged during this period and grew considerably in a relatively short timeframe.

Studios could no longer get away with “basic gaming mechanisms” for Soccer or Mortal Kombat. They needed to build characters and storylines that engage and interest players to continue indulging for months or years. One of the most famous success stories is the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise, which captured the world’s attention and became an essential part of life for many in the 2000s and 2010s.

TV Series on Steroids

Most of the most successful video games of all time feature open-world concepts. The success of these types meant that everyone wanted to make them, but the cost and scale of these games meant that only the top 0.1% of gaming studios could afford to invest time, effort, and talent for multiple years to develop a new open-world title. Additionally, creating such games was akin to making a TV series but 1000 times more complicated.

Every great TV series has a main cast, supporting cast, and frequent extras. Every character has a storyline and personal life that ultimately connects to the main group and storyline. Rather than doing this for 30 people, video gaming studios were doing this for hundreds of thousands of characters with different lives, personalities, and realities.

It’s easy to overlook a potentially influential character’s story and development or write lazy plots and dialogues. People always notice these things and are quick to call them out because the best gamers become obsessed with the titles they play and overanalyze every feature, character, and pixel.

A Bit of Everything

No game in history has been able to embody all the core tenets of storytelling perfectly, but some have come close. It might be impossible to create a product that’s perfect in the eyes of the majority, but every few years, a new title drops and changes the way we experience gaming products.

There’s no perfect way to design plots or tell stories. Minecraft and GTA are successful franchises that are infinitely different in almost every way possible. Minecraft is the most profitable title in history, while GTA ranks in the top 5.

Great plots and story arcs need to feature a bit of everything. You want enough action to keep players hooked. Emotions are also necessary, as the main characters must have a WHY. Why are they motivated to do what they do? Players will care more about their experience if they can connect with the characters.

Some of the things most gamers want to see moving forward include:

  • Less Micro Transactions. It’s hard to escape the world of microtransactions, making many games seem like pay-to-win. It’s almost impossible to have a great experience with some popular titles without investing incredible sums in what the companies offer.
  • Quicker Production Timelines. Many studios make enough from microtransactions, so they’re willing to hold off on updates or sequels while shelving plans for new titles. A handful of games have been at the top of the ecosystem for over a decade, and things aren’t looking promising.
  • Debut Finished Products. It seems like most newly launched franchises are unfinished. Within hours of Cyberpunk 2077’s launch, players discovered unexcusable glitches and bugs that should have been identified by a competent team or company. Marvel’s newest game also launched to incredible hype only to disappoint many as bots “took over” the playing experience.

Better Stories Lead to Better Experiences

There’s incredible untapped potential because companies are unwilling to invest the time and effort to create games that focus on customer experience. These titles feel rushed and “emotionless,” this is slowly killing the ecosystem from the inside because things might not get better anytime soon.