Goodbye 2006 – you did a great job of setting up the next generation of immersive gaming
By Michael Lafferty

We have the graphical power at our fingertips, now all we need are the stories

Here we are at the end of another year, one that has blown by, but still managed to bring a host of wonderful gaming treats. It is the last day of the year, and also my birthday, so there is some introspection that takes place – double it actually.

Invariably, thoughts turn to the gaming industry.

In 2006 there was delight and wonder with the release of a pair of next-gen consoles, in the form of the PlayStation 3 and Wii. There was also a certain amount of disappointment when it was found out that PS3 was not totally backwards compatible, as promised. But then, Microsoft had promised the same with the 360 and that turned out to not be true either.

There were also some truly amazing titles, such as The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Final Fantasy XII, and the much-hyped (and delivered upon) Gears of War. The Wii showed us innovative control schemes that were both challenging and, in the right game, a heck of a lot of fun. The showcase of PS3 titles at launch was wonderful, including Resistance: Fall of Man, which took online multiplayer sessions to new heights.

But with every good aspect, there are some that are lamentable. Such as … with very few exceptions, what happened to stories in games? Honestly, in the flash and pizzazz of next-gen consoles, what has happened to great stories? Have we become so wrapped up in quick play and pretty graphics that we have willingly sacrificed deep story lines that lure us in, wrap around our minds and makes us think of them day and night?

Great storytelling will have to make a comeback in the coming year and years. After all, we now have the consoles to deliver astounding graphics time and again. The audio has, more or less, always been there, but with high-end graphics becoming commonplace, the focus will have to – eventually – shift to creating games that become part of pop culture. And that will require stories.

I remember years ago talking to a friend about a session he had of Eidos’ Deus Ex. The game had invaded his mental space. Full of twists and turns, as well as being of the first games to allow for sniper head shots and rag-doll reactions, it had him going crazy trying to figure out who to trust. There have been other games in the annals of gaming that have had a similar effect. Take Sierra’s Return to Krondor (an extension of the DOS game, Betrayal at Krondor, a story derived directly from the fantasy world developed by Raymond E. Feist, a fantasy writer) as an example. It was a story-driven plot that evolved and lured players in to the fantasy world. Or how about Eidos’ (and Crystal Dynamics) original Thief story, or the first Soul Reaver tale, also from Eidos? BioWare’s original Neverwinter Nights had a tale that had a few plot twists that were shocks as they unraveled (Lady Aribeth’s sub-plotline still surprises me to this day).

There have been previous columns in which I have lamented the lack of great stories in games. And I’m not talking the puzzle games, like Katamari, or Loco Roco. Those are what they are; they offer a focus for gamers that is light, involving, addictive and entertaining. But is it really so hard to take adventure gaming, RPG gaming, even RTS games to the next milestone in terms of the story told?

Or, am I completely missing the mark and consumer surveys have shown that people like to be inundated with the same tired plotlines sporting different character and place names? It just seem that gaming has become a “Groundhog Day” in terms of plots. We are reliving the same stories over and over and over.

This past year was yet another reminder of that. But now, at least, we have some new consoles to tinker with. There is promise on the horizon, as well as diversions to keep us entertained while, hopefully, developers put their minds to crafting deep story lines, or – at the least – hiring those who can give the games an undercurrent of substance.

Ok, not every game can pull us in with great immersive stories. We do have to come up for air sometime soon. But it feels as though the video-game industry, the developers, are on the cusp of taking the whole entertainment genre to the next level. Well, either on the cusp or at the crossroads.

And so we say goodbye to 2006, a year that was much like the second act in a three-act play, setting up the dramatic third act. Except this play shows no signs of reaching a finale, but rather may well roll on and on. But in the second act, we saw technology development that opens the door to brighter vistas.

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