What happened to the PLOT?

[krazyorange]

Flashy 3D effects seem to be the only driving force behind contemporary games. In the past, all it took was a brilliantly-constructed story and an imagination to build the most spectacular video game. The newest 3D graphics code and the Havok physics engine are now the gods of the new wave of games. Agreed, the focus of most target consumers is "I just wanna blow stuff up, watch them bleed, then blow more stuff up," but a plot could still drive the game and prove more intriguing. Instead the previous example, look how much a plot can drive a game:

"I am Max Nukem, the last survivor of the colony seed ship Argonaut, which crash-landed on a barren alien wasteland three millenia prior to the planned reactivation. Now, I find myself alone in an intergalactic war between the angels of Gabriel and the viscious alien species who made home to this God-forsaked rock. Hailing from a lava-world in the farthest galaxy from Terra Prime, these beasts have conquered every last habitable orb between Terra Prime and their homeworld. Now, I must blow everything up between me and their Warlord-Emperor Maximus the Mighty, watch it all bleed as I remember the trillions of lives he destroyed, and then blow everything else to pieces."

Think incredibly hard for three seconds, then say out loud which would be more satisfying to play. All I want is a game with Doom 3 graphics but a story which will make players genuinely feel emotion for the characters and their surroundings.

[Aku]

I think most "target" consumers want intelligent games like you describe as opposed to mindless fragfests. People buy what the market produces. For years - decades - television viewers watched lots of stupid sitcoms, so you could say that's what people wanted. No, that's what the t.v. networks pushed on people, so viewers became complacent and that's what many of them watched. Today, with cable and satellite and tons of stations, viewers now watch an enormous spectrum of shows, from news shows to history shows, home improvement, wildlife, stand-up comedy, etc. The same holds true for games. People will buy intelligent games if the market produces them.

[Mochan]

I think plot is overrated, I prefer character-driven to plot-driven anyday. But I know what you mean.

Sorry though, if you want that kind of game go to the darkside of gaming (Japan side! Hahha) and stay out of the Western PC world.