Saturday, March 30All That Matters

Movies vs Videogames: Who tells the BEST story?

by Cockney_Gamer


Movies vs Videogames: Who tells the BEST story?




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16 Comments

  • Cockney_Gamer

    This was just an opinion piece so no right answer here. But as an avid movie fan I can’t help but feel that gaming of late has really caught up and in some respects the art of good story telling in movies is being lost to the wave of CGI.

    I miss the way movies use to be made I guess. And I find myself having more gratification from stories in games these days down to the originality in how they go about themselves than I do movies.

    Reply
  • reddituser5379

    No question video games. Just like books, they have more time to unravel. Movie are too short to flesh out full potential.
    Edit for spelling.

    Reply
  • Veszerin

    Storywise? Video games have in some cases told stories better than a lot of movies for a long time. There are a number of great stories told by video games, even going back to the 90s era. There are some shit ones too. There are a lot of great stories tols by movies, and a lot of shit ones there as well. A lot of movies and video games don’t particularly try to tell a thrilling story, or even a coherent one.

    What has changed recently is an investment in computer graphics and animation, some might say over-investment.

    But storytelling? Plenty of JRPGs from the 90s with excellent stories. Other genres don’t typically focus on story but RPGs have always done so.

    Reply
  • Free-Monkey-Dude

    I like video games better overall because of the gameplay and interactivity, but in terms of just story no video game comes close to the best movies

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  • Balducci30

    It’s not even close? The best games can usually do is like a studio tent pole movie – you’re not seeing any videogames with a story like Get Out or Midsommar or Big Lebowski or something

    Reply
  • sage__the_mage

    It depends on the story you’re trying to tell. Like Far Cry 5, with how often it yanked control away from the player, should have been a movie. Whereas Dark Souls couldn’t fit in a 2.5 hour time frame.

    Reply
  • MuNansen

    Same as asking whether a movie or a book can tell a story better. Different mediums have different strengths and weaknesses, and quirks, but ultimately it comes down to the storytellers.

    A reason I like working in game storytelling is that it’s the youngest of the mediums. Plus, the player’s relationship to the game is different every time. For ALL movies, you sit down and watch while audio/visual information comes your way, entirely passive other than how your imagination is engaged and involved. In games, though, you’re basically driving yourself through a course the devs laid out for you, experiencing the story driven by your own agency. Totally different dynamic than the other mediums.

    Reply
  • burnermcburnsburns

    It’s not that video game stories have gotten better. Moviemaking has gotten worse. Memorable compelling films are shorter in supply.

    Also I wouldn’t even give games credit for story at this point with so many going to multiplayer. Games like Uncharted and Half Life would never be made today.

    Reply
  • bird720

    Definitly movies lmao. By design videogames need to have more drawn out, less tightly paced, and less focused stories in order to accommodate playtime much longer than movies. Also the best videogame stories are compared to movies, while the worst movie stories are compared to videogames.

    Reply
  • Calhalen

    I don’t compare them. Games for sure could tell a great story and have more time to do it, but for me too many games are marred by bad story, and brutal acting/ dialogue. There’s a clear gap in quality in the writers between movies/games. Only a handful of games I’ve played have kind of measured up like the TLOU, GTA and RDR games, Bioshock, Cyberpunk, Control etc. and even then they don’t hold a candle

    Reply
  • SergeantChic

    I don’t think they’re really comparable. A game like Final Fantasy Tactics can tell a pretty fantastic long-form story of political intrigue taking place over decades, because you as a player invest dozens of hours in it. Others like Mass Effect take a cinematic approach, but still depend on your choices as an active participant. Which I think is also a lot of why video game movies tend to suck – they’re trying to adapt a type of storytelling that doesn’t fit into the format or time restrictions a movie has.

    A movie doesn’t have to be interactive. It can focus more intensely on characters, dialogue and story. It’s not necessarily a better form of storytelling, just different. It’s also worth noting that games with complex storylines haven’t been around *nearly* as long as movies. I just don’t see the point of debating which is “best.”

    Reply
  • AdministrationWaste7

    this is a such stupid comparison.

    how do you even judge “story” between two completely different mediums?

    like for me a good “story” in film is being able to tell a plot with good pacing, little to no wasted moments or meandering plot lines while each “strand” in the plot attributing to the overall narrative or theme.

    the plot itself has to be logical and follows the rules that the film sets out. bonus points for “complex” characters, interwoven plotlines, etc etc.

    ​

    for video games a “Good story” is so nebulous and depends on the game. for example a game like stellaris can offer “good stories” by creating interesting scenarios or situations based on player actions.

    ia “good story” in an open world game is a narrative that allows players to tackle the story in any they choose(for the most part) while still making logical sense. Good stories in open world games also do a good job of providing motivation for players to continue to engage within that gameplay loop.

    Reply

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