A relatively new genre in game is the "cinematic storytelling" genre. Games like Life is Strange, The Last of Us, and Heavy Rain, take a different spin on the gaming format, by turning it more into an interactive movie. You, the player, move from cutscene to cutscene, making decisions that affect you and the characters around you, slowly working your way towards an epic climax. No longer is the finale of the game some intimidating final boss you have to overcome. Instead, it's the climax of a story, that (hopefully) you've become heavily involved with through the personalities of the characters, and their struggles throughout the game. In the end, you make one final decision: one that is more important, and has a bigger impact than any single decision before. What is your opinion on these types of games? Do you think they're a great combination of movies and games, combining two worlds into an even better interactive experience? Or do you think games should go back to being all about gameplay, and less focused on the cutscenes and storytelling?
I say games have better story telling since movies are usually allotted 10-2 hours and if they are lucky, they could get a sequel. Games can take you 10+ hours to beat so there is more time for story and you can slide in more background into certain easter egg characters or just little puzzles that tell a story. In movies, it is harder to lay a good easter egg that tells a story that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb or info that becomes distracting.
Well, I mean, it's a movie you can restart, pause, or rewind as desired, but...where's the actual draw to it? What makes it any different from a movie or a story? Will your choices actually influence where the story ends up, or are you simply 'on rails' as you watch the events play out with cutscene trigger after cutscene trigger? Granted, I believe this schematic can be done well, in situations where your actions can have a direct (or even indirect) impact on the story and where it ends up, but if there's only 1 path to watch and take, it's not a video game at all. If you try to make a game into a movie, and only a movie, then your premise is fundamentally flawed, because games require some sort of conscious audience response. I've not been a fan of this particular genre, and I don't think I will ever be.
I am not a fan, tbh. It feels too overdone and some things in Heavy Rain are just, just.... Well, I do not what to think about it too long.
