wlj

I am 35 years old. I think alot of us here are of the older crowd which is why I like it so much. We have civil and mature conversation most of the time. Anyway, I find that the older I get the less I care about a game's story. This is even a little more weird since RPG has been my favorite genre for the past 3 years. Story is one of the biggest parts of alot of RPGs. This change may be from having limited play time having a family and full time job. I find myself either skipping cutscenes or avoiding story driven games altogether. For instance last night I fired up Batman Arkham Asylum and there is a very long cutscene at the beginning of the game. It is certainly well done, but jesus christ did it drag on what seemed like forever...I almost fell asleep. By the time the cutscene was done, I only had a few minutes to actually play the game before going to bed. I just prefer games I can jump right in and get some good action for a couple of hours. I am a big Dark Souls fan and the lack of a detailed story really works for me. For instance in WoW, I just rush through the dialog to get to the quest and I will at least read where the NPC wants me to go, but I don't sink into the lore...which is supposed to be amazing. In diablo 3, I skip through the dialog, in Marvel Heroes, i skip through the dialog, do you see a pattern?

chuckd21

I'm the opposite. If a game doesn't have a decent story these days I just zone out. Recently played Remember Me which is a gorgeous game. But the story was total junk, and it became a chore to finish.

Rob V

I'm the opposite too. While I'm not a fan of a super long cutscene --- especially those you can't skip if you die, I do appreciate a good story like The Last of Us over a flimsy premise with good action. And because I'm older with all the job and family responsibilities, I can't get into games that are more open world anymore... I almost need a linear experience so it doesn't take me 4 months to finish a game. I've also given up on sports games.

RichC2

I'm the opposite as well, unless it's just a really fun game like Splosion Man.

I just don't play RPGs anymore, which I used to love. They seem to drag their heels to get going anymore and are just entirely too long.

Mind you, I don't like cinematics in most games, because I find them to be a lazy way to integrate story, but there are ways to integrate gameplay with storytelling.

K&AJones

You're still "young" in my book...I listen to my daughter about her 'being old"....but all things aside....
It's Yes & No with me....depends on the game, the mod, solo or with friends. I've never been one to rush through games. A lot of time and effort goes into these "Art Productions" and with updated visuals I'm finding myself wanting to take more in.

Again it depends on the game itself for me. On one hand we move at a brisk pace say in Diablo II. On the other I pre-ordered The Last of Us for the PS4 and will take my time on it soaking in the story. Infamous;Second Son was a mix...a quick pace and taking in both Evil & Good storylines.

Gooter

I'm an "older" gamer too. It depends on two things, a) the story quality, and b) the game itself.

a) If I'm interested in the story the designers are trying to tell and if the writing/acting is semi-decent, then I'll watch and pay attention. Otherwise, I'm hitting buttons to skip that crap as soon as I can.

b) If I'm digging the game, then I'm more inclined to watch the cutscenes and pay attention to the story even if the quality, acting, etc isn't the greatest.

musick

completely disagree with the OP subject

I love the Uncharted series because of the rich characters and story (of course the gameplay and graphics are top notch) but failed to see any value in The Last Of Us because the characters were cookie cutter and boring

Hokeyboy

Exact opposite with me as well. As much as I enjoy fine gameplay mechanics, without a compelling story I couldn't be any LESS interested.

FWIW I'm 43.

wlj

I am definitely in the minority I have determined

MoviePage

Opposite for me too. Mindless action (or looting, or whatever) gets old really fast. The story is what keeps me playing.

And I disagree that Dark Souls doesn't have a detailed story. You just have to dig around a bit to find it.

spainlinx0

I love games like Fallout for their story, but I don't want to sit through voice acting. I actually just put on the subtitles and read and skip. I read pretty fast so I get all the dialogue, but in much less time.

story

Story like story.

That said, I haven't even bothered with the single player campaign for Battlefield 4. Just dove right into the multiplayer and left it at that.

Nausicaa

I only like stories in the context of RPGs like the Elder Scrolls games, where I have lots of freedom to immerse myself in a world that feels personal. Even then it's the lore and experience more than the story that interests me.

Linear story driven games? Haven't played one in years. Definitely not interesting to me anymore. Nothing more dull than running down corridors gunning down hundreds of enemies to get to the next "cinematic" cutscene. If I'm going to shoot people, I want to compete with humans in MP. Favorite genre is strategy games, city builders, management games, etc. where I can create my own story.

fumanstan

Also the opposite, story was king for me in the best games of last year like Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite (in both cases gameplay was the weaker aspect), and story driven games like Mass Effect and Uncharted were my favorite series of the generation. Also, games like The Walking Dead and A Wolf Among Us definitely emphasize story.

Although I agree with spainlinx, most of the time voice acting is slow for me to stop and listen to and I read the subtitles and skip through.

wlj

I think Nausicca "kind of" agreed with me at least.

Draven

I've been playing games for 30 years and If I never had to see a cutscene again it would be too soon. Just give me a block of text to read so I know if there is anything specific I'm supposed to do and then get to the actual gameplay.

My ideal game would drop you straight into controlling a character in the first level the second you hit start. Preferably with a gun in hand.

Rob V

South Park is the only RPG I've played since FF7 and it's the last RPG I'll play... until the SP sequel.

19K

I'm a little mix of both sides as far as story goes. I always watch the cutscenes and for the most part enjoy the acting and cinematics that go into it, but I really could care less about how "captivating" the storytelling is and would never judge a game (good or bad) based solely on the story. Take for instance a game like Battlefield that has consistently been bashed for its single player campaign. I actually liked playing the single player campaign in BF4. I played through it 3 times, and watched the cutscenes every time. The story may seem absurd to most people, but that didn't factor in to my enjoyment of the game whatsoever. To me, the game was fun... and the cutscenes were impressive as hell to watch.

chuckd21

Yep.

I would play seasons and seasons of Tiger Woods, NCAA and Madden. Now I have absolutely no patience to do so.

Trevor

I'm the opposite too, I want a story. Even a lame story is better than mindless shooting or interacting with Live gamers.

BobO'Link

Then I'm there with you...
Me exactly - right down to the number of years playing video games (I remember the first time I saw Pong in a bar right after it came out). The first time I saw a cut-scene I was looking for a way to skip it and get on with actual game play and I still try to skip them. If I want a "movie" I'll put one in the player. If I can't skip your "cinematic" I may not play your game again and will avoid those you publish in the future.

wlj

*High Five*


I knew there had to be somebody out there

Brack

Depends on the game. I like a good story, but if the game play sucks I just don't care. And if the actions you make don't make sense to a game, then I lose interest easily like I did with inFamous: Second Son (a game that looked great but was repetitive a hell).

DthRdrX

33 here, and I have thought about this over the last two years. I don't play games without stories anymore. Most Nintendo games fit that bill.

Dan

I get where you're coming from. Titles like Metal Gear took it way further than they need to. But I find that the COD games don't put enough actual story into the SP campaign. There's a fine balance that's hard to get right, especially when expectations vary so much.