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Let's step away from the hypothetical and get a bit more practical with your desire for better videogame storytelling.
You mentioned that our "acting" skills are limited, so the way we interact with the gaming world is limited too (bumping into someone for instance). You seem to be arguing that we should have more ways to interact with the gaming world, but how exactly would that look? Outside of dialogue trees and cutscenes, how would we expand our ability to affect the gaming world.
Sure, shooting the Rachni Queen's case instead of choosing a dialogue option sounds interactive, but you're still using 1. Shoot a gun. The context is different, but the action is the same.
Maybe I'm wondering how we can actually expand on that list of abilities without the control scheme being convoluted. Perhaps we're not at a level technologically where we can have people affect the gaming world in meaningful ways?
Also, throwing stuff at homeless people is ok, I guess, but I don't see it as moving a narrative along in any meaningful way, unless that homeless guy has some pretty compelling AI, and I learn that he was a Vietnam war vet, and I can sit and talk to him for hours if I want.
It's my own story, but it isn't affecting the gaming world much. Unless its accounted for by the programmers somehow, which again would point to a limit in the technology we have at our disposal. You'd have to anticipate every player action and create some sort of reaction that isn't petty. It'd have to mimic real life in a way.
Damn, that's a lot of text. I blame David for starting this wall of text that's criting everyone's eyeballs."
Next we'll see a Big Daddy on an episode of Law and Order: SVU."
Seriously though, I'd definitely like a shot at writing a review for Furmins. Dead Nation was great, and it's always nice to see developers finding a new space to release their games."
That's a pretty broad statement. Gameplay can and always should be improved. Even the best titles out there could use some help in the gameplay department, and those are the AAA titles that get tons of praise. Just think of the B or even more mediocre titles out there. Should they focus more on story? Would that make their games better.
I'll agree with everyone here that video game writing needs to develop more, but looking at the relatively short history of gaming, the writing really isn't that bad. We've had games capable of delivering mature stories since, what, the mid-late 90s? Books have hundreds of years on games, and movies have had decades to develop their storytelling. Gaming has had all of 15-17 years. Give it time.
Videogame stories are getting more and more complex all of the time. Just look at Mass Effect. :)"
That's not unusual, is it? Some franchises I'll pay full price for and pick up on day 1 (GTA, Elder Scrolls, etc.) but others are a guilty pleasure that I'll consider playing if they're used (Katamari, Bayonetta, Crackdown).
No used games means I and many others won't experience your product. In today's social world where word of mouth marketing is pretty important, if I'm not talking about your game, then your company is missing out, not me.
Used games will soon be a thing of the past, anyway. We won't "own" our games; they'll be a service provided to us by the likes of OnLive, Origin, and Steam. How about we focus on lowering the prices of digitcally distributed games, which was a pseudo-promise when digital downloads were discussed years ago, since game companies don't have to worry about packaging and shipping."
Sure, the smaller one is probably just closer to the ring than the taller one, but midget twin sisters sounds waaaaay better. :)"
I will say, however, that my nephews love the Donkey Kong bongos. I only have Donkey Konga, but it's a unique enough experience in gaming that their little 7 year old minds explode at the chance to control a character by slamming on something."
Very good article. I think you put it well when you mention that the multiple currency system lacks elegance. I'd go so far to say that Squaresoft sacrificed fluidity for the sake of immersion; sure, paying with different currencies in different zones sucks me into the gaming world conceptually, but practically? I'd rather have a coin system in place."