Notes from an ongoing (work) conversation

[greatsword]

I’ve been thinking and talking about some issues related to game storytelling. I propose that the following things do not work in games:

Unsympathetic protagonists.

There is a difference between thinking "Man, the main character is an asshole" and "Man, I'm being quite the asshole here." GF2, yes, I'm looking at you

Comments

[chorus]

Well, when it comes to unsympathetic protagonists, the details matter. If the story is in part about their growth as a person, it could work fairly well. Or if the main character is only one of several important characters, it can work out, too. As ianhess alludes to, a few of the Final Fantasy games have lead or important characters who are pretty screwed up people, but despite that, FF7 is actually one of my two favorites in the franchise (which is saying something, because I'm a total FF fangirl). On the other hand, there's Summoner. And Orphen, which I actually quit playing fairly early on because the main character was a complete jerk.

I soundly agree with your second point, though. I understand that some games are intended to set up sequels, but I agree that unless the sequels are planned to come out fairly quickly, cliffhangers are not a good idea. (The first .hack did it fairly well; you didn't get answers quickly, but the stopping points weren't bad, and the games came out reasonably quickly.)

I don't mind games that have a bad ending if it's one of several, not all bad endings, and I actually like dark settings (I'm fond of Silent Hill, after all). OTOH, the thing that frustrated me most about UT3's storyline was the way it ended; no matter what path you took, you got the same result, and it sucked rocks. So I'm ambivalent on the concept, but agree it can be implemented very poorly.

[greatsword]

I'm trying to figure out the difference, from my point of view, between "series story" and "pilot." Halo 2 was too much of a pilot for me. ODST could easily be the first in a series, but it does draw to a satisfying completion.

I don't mind flawed protagonists; I think there's a big difference between flawed and unsympathetic.