Home Gaming Games are terrible for telling stories, says Jonathan Blow

Games are terrible for telling stories, says Jonathan Blow

1 min read
117

Stayawhile

Braid was an amazing game, and helped kickstart a revolution in indie games being appreciated and enjoyed by the mainstream. Its clever, time-twisting puzzles and plot-twist ending hid some incredibly nuanced, appreciable storytelling. Its creator, Jonathan Blow, contends however that the medium is bad for telling stories.

“I think videogames are pretty terrible for telling stories,” Jonathan Blow told UK’s Play magazine in an interview. He says that games’ stories are too often at odds with their conflicting mechanics – which is something he may be quite right about. It’s especially noticeable in sequels to games that have some sort of light RPG bent, where for no good reason, your character’s forgotten everything they’ve learned in the previous game.

Blow also takes issue with the AAA model of storytelling which he says is a cycle of “cutscenes interrupted by gameplay bits that get you to the next cutscene,” which, he asserts, “pretty much sucks”.

Where I don’t agree with him is that he says that “storytelling in games is in about the same place it was in the 1980s, except now our cutscenes are more-frequent and in high res.” He says that creators – if they’re looking to tell stories – should probably look to other mediums.

I certainly think we’re seeing a maturation of storytelling in games – a far cry from the sort of thing you’d see in games from three decades ago. Bioshock, The Witcher 3, The Last of Us – and so many more. While I do agree that games aren’t the best way to tell a story, there are games able to weave worthwhile narratives.

What do you think? Are games good at telling compelling narratives or are they still stuck in the 80’s with shoddy storytelling? What games have told you great stories?

Last Updated: June 3, 2015

117 Comments

  1. OvG

    June 3, 2015 at 10:03

    “These footprints, they are no ordinary footprints, signs of a troll” – Geralt of Rivia

    Reply

    • Tbone187

      June 3, 2015 at 10:37

      Snap out of it man…!

      Reply

    • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

      June 3, 2015 at 10:37

      *while examining the footprints left by Trevor ;P

      Reply

  2. Mistake Not...

    June 3, 2015 at 10:06

    If a game like The Last of Us can make super sad then I think games are doing alright on the story side.

    Reply

    • OvG

      June 3, 2015 at 10:12

      If he thinks games are bad I would hate to think what he thinks of movies. I am Legend with Will Smith was like the first 2 hours of the 23hour TLOU.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

        June 3, 2015 at 10:35

        Not to mention most movies (including I am Legend) are not the original works. They’re always from a book, or a short story and then they always manage to completely f*%^ it up in the end.

        Reply

        • RinceTheElfRoot

          June 3, 2015 at 10:38

          Which end? 😛

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 10:39

            Fight Club’s end!! 😉

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 10:39

            I meant I am Legend, the movie has two. Both suck donkey dick…

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 10:41

            I know. I just wanted to throw that in there as well on the long list of screwed up endings where the books actually got it right.

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 3, 2015 at 10:49

            FRODO IS TYLER?

          • Mossel

            June 3, 2015 at 11:46

            Seriously!?! Why does his imaginary friend die, but not he himself? WHY?!

    • Hammersteyn

      June 3, 2015 at 10:13

      Valiant Hearts, another tearjerker

      Reply

      • Ir0nseraph

        June 3, 2015 at 10:33

        It was a very good game with a moving story indeed.

        Reply

      • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

        June 3, 2015 at 10:34

        That game. Oh man. Great story, great mechanics.
        One of the finest games on the list of goodies from last year.

        Reply

      • Mossel

        June 3, 2015 at 11:45

        Yes man! I had some serious dust in my eyes.

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          June 3, 2015 at 11:53

          hahaha

          Reply

    • WitWolfy

      June 3, 2015 at 10:24

      Dont forget about Lost Odyssey. I shed some manly tears in the end, what a wonderful game.

      Reply

      • oVg

        June 3, 2015 at 11:33

        The last great masterpiece from the father of Final Fantasy himself. Those added stories called A Thousand Years of Dreams were amazing.

        Sigh, what happened to the Microsoft of 2007?

        Reply

        • konfab

          June 3, 2015 at 11:48

          The Wii happened.
          Then Microsoft started focusing their efforts on filthy causal games to tap in the market. Hence their budget goes to making the kinect less of a piece of rubbish.

          Reply

    • RinceTheElfRoot

      June 3, 2015 at 10:38

      I was just going to say that.

      Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    June 3, 2015 at 10:06

    Spec Ops the Line.
    Metal Gear Solid
    Deus Ex

    Reply

    • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

      June 3, 2015 at 10:10

      Oh Lord! Yes!!

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        June 3, 2015 at 10:11

        There are many,many more games obviously.

        Reply

        • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

          June 3, 2015 at 10:17

          Yep! Spec Ops was a surprisingly amazing story, I still love it… And as you say, there are hundreds, if not thousands of games out there with amazing stories….

          Reply

    • Tbone187

      June 3, 2015 at 10:32

      Spec Ops was great but I kinda lost the plot as the game went on.

      Reply

  4. ReaperOfSquirrels

    June 3, 2015 at 10:09

    Haha… his surname is Blow.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      June 3, 2015 at 10:09

      I suspect he’s full of hot air

      Reply

  5. Lord Chaos

    June 3, 2015 at 10:12

    Still a better story than… literally any piece of shit Hollywood has produced in the last while.

    Reply

  6. Greylingad[CNFRMD]

    June 3, 2015 at 10:14

    Nope, I do not agree, the games that we’ve seen in just the last decade has been magnificent at telling stories, one of those titles features a mute, yes, Half Life 2 and it’s accompanying episodes, tells a gripping tale, so having cutscenes as an aid to portray something can work, depending on how well they’re done, TLOU is a perfect example of it… But claiming that games as a whole can’t do story telling? Come on, comparing it to the 80s? That’s quite ridiculous….

    Reply

    • oVg

      June 3, 2015 at 10:19

      Ashley Suzanne Johnson and her 2 BAFTA awards from her role as Ellie agrees 🙂

      Reply

      • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

        June 3, 2015 at 10:21

        Well deserved 2 BAFTA awards we might add….

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief's Adventure

        June 3, 2015 at 10:29

        Are you enjoying W3?

        Reply

        • Rock789

          June 3, 2015 at 10:40

          He bears a Witcher sign as his avatar… oVg does not bear the sign of any mere mortal games! Only the best are used… In all seriousness, I think it says a lot about how much he’s enjoying W3. 🙂 I don’t think I’ve seen him enjoying a game this much since TLOU.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 10:42

            Wow. Imagine trying to have a conversation with him about anything else but Witcher 3 now. 😉

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 11:01

            I try… Really, I do…

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 11:02

            XD

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 11:04

            Only way to win is to actually get him drinking loads of beer, then he forgets what he’s saying…

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 11:05

            Hopefully he doesn’t repeat the same things then though 😉
            Also (with regards to W3 and just to get to you) – THERE IS ONLY YENNEFER!

          • oVg

            June 3, 2015 at 11:38

            BEER is like Axii to me.

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 12:16

            That makes brandy, Quen?

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 3, 2015 at 10:48

            Just trying to catch up with what I’ve missed from the community this week

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 10:50

            Yeah. noted you weren’t about yesterday. Where you been?

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 3, 2015 at 11:00

            Was on a training course, facility was a mess, so they cut the training short and rescheduled.

            Now I don’t get my 300g steak today. Day1: 300g fillet. Day2 300g Sirloin+bacon+avo Day3: HUNGRY

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 11:00

            Man that is a fail! Steak each day, you just made me sad 🙁

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 3, 2015 at 11:15

            IKR? EPIC food, crappy training, so it was re-scheduled

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 11:01

            Just keep the steak away from Trevor. He’ll ruin it by trying to make it “well done”

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 3, 2015 at 11:02

            “How do you like your steak, sir?”
            “Rubberised….”

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 11:04

            Calling it “Well done” is just wrong as well.
            It’s not WELL done – it’s poorly done. All they did is forgot it on the fire.

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 11:06

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 3, 2015 at 11:06

            Hahaha!! Exactly!! A steak should be tender with a little red in the middle, juicy… soft… Steakgasm inducing, with a slight basting, not smothered in mushroom or cheese sauce… I’m going to stop now because I can hear my stomach devouring my innards….

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 11:08

            Or, and bear with me here, it can be cooked properly & served on a bed of sliced chorizo,& red onion, with peri-peri sauce, and a fried egg on top.

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 11:09

            mmmmm chorizo

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 3, 2015 at 11:13

            I’m drooling here, but I disagree with ruining a steak by turning it into charcoal,but I do appreciate a meal well presented… That does sound amazing though… I think I’ll be joining the Captain in steak hunting tonight….

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 11:14

            It’s the Portuguese steak at John Dory’s 😀

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 3, 2015 at 11:16

            It will be done…

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 11:17

            Third. I’ll be biting into some steak tonight too. Only cooked PROPERLY, as in medium rare.

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 11:18

            Hear hear

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 11:18

            Who’s cooking it for you then? I remember what happened last time… *run*

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 11:20

            I was being a decent host! Just because you think that means allowing players to teabag you doesn’t mean we all do!

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 11:23

            I sincerely hope the teabagging was in-game.

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 11:23

            ….sure.

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 11:24

            And we should all celebrate such diversity in opinions, not criticise them simply because they’re different.

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 11:25

            BWAHAHHAHAAHAHAH! Cough.

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 3, 2015 at 11:19

            ^This…

          • Hammersteyn

            June 3, 2015 at 12:14

            ^This

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 11:08

            That’s it. I’m having steak tonight.
            Though I don’t do sauce on my steaks, but I can appreciate the idea of it 🙂

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 3, 2015 at 11:14

            Well, the fillet had quite a magnificent red wine sauce, which complimented the baked baby potatoes and fresh veg nicely

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 11:03

            Too late, ate it that way last night. And it was glorious!

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 11:04

            HAHAHAHA

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 10:51

            You missed this lot?

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 3, 2015 at 10:52

            Believe it! You have no feelings so can’t be expected to understand.

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 10:55

            How dare you! I do have a feeling.

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 10:56

            LOL

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 10:52

            You were gone? 😉

        • oVg

          June 3, 2015 at 11:37

          If going to bed at 1-3am every morning counts, then YES ITS FUCKING FANTASTIC 🙂

          Reply

  7. Koko

    June 3, 2015 at 10:17

    the fun part of playing games is not ‘reading/telling’ the story, but PLAYING/BEING the story. Reading a book, watching a movie is “passive” and doesn’t have the same immersion that playing a game has to really make you feel part of the story.

    Reply

    • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

      June 3, 2015 at 10:20

      I believe games require a sense of manipulating the story, changing it as go forward, naturally if it’s CoD it’ll take 15 minutes and it’ll be linear, but it’s something to experience, not just sit idly by….

      Reply

  8. Blood Emperor Trevor

    June 3, 2015 at 10:18

    Pretentious indie twaddle. (c) Geoff

    The medium isn’t bad for telling stories, it’s that telling a good story is very difficult. Always. No matter the medium. A game doesn’t even have to have a story. The fact that in a game you pause the story in order to interact with and actually play the game IS THE POINT OF PLAYING A GAME instead of watching a movie or reading a book.

    Borderlands 2 has a fantastic story if you actually listen to it, Spec Ops The Line kicks those tropes he’s whining about right in the frame rate, Telltale’s TWD, Contrast, A Story About My Uncle, VtM games… Witcher 3? The fact that you shoot something or swing a sword in between story-related moments doesn’t make it terrible for telling stories.

    He’s taking the piss, surely?

    Reply

    • oVg

      June 3, 2015 at 10:21

      His young nephew probably showed him Destiny, the man stands by his words…

      RUNS

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        June 3, 2015 at 10:22

        What’s Destiny? 😉

        Reply

        • oVg

          June 3, 2015 at 10:24

          That game with a higher production value than Avatar and has the Imp from game of Thrones doing extraordinary Thespian voice acting followed by Paul McCartney’s number one hit.

          It was so deep yet so tiny 😛

          Reply

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 3, 2015 at 10:33

            Just like the Imp. hur hur!

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 3, 2015 at 10:37

            Avatar’s story was about as predictable as they get.

          • oVg

            June 3, 2015 at 11:34

            Avatar was a reboot of Final Fantasy Spirits Within, if you ask me 😛

            The first real CGI movie with Buddhist undertones. To think that was in 2001 is crazy 🙂

          • konfab

            June 3, 2015 at 11:59

            Avatar was Fern Gully in space.

            Not much to do with FF Spirits WIthin (Which if you ask me is one of the most underrated movies of all time)

    • RinceTheElfRoot

      June 3, 2015 at 10:42

      Right in the frame rate, I see what you did there.

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        June 3, 2015 at 10:44

        I would’ve said 1080p’s, but didn’t want to brag. 😉

        Reply

  9. Kromas,powered by windows 10.

    June 3, 2015 at 10:22

    Say that to Commander Shepards face!

    Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      June 3, 2015 at 10:23

      Will he have to choose between being beaten red, blue or green instead of the regular black & blue? 😀

      Reply

  10. Johann

    June 3, 2015 at 10:27

    Planescape: Torment, enough said.

    Reply

  11. Tbone187

    June 3, 2015 at 10:29

    There are sacrifices made for the game’s sake of course but some players (maybe most) won’t be too bothered if the story makes way for awesome gameplay.Although there are story driven games where the focus is the story, kinda like Tell Tales stuff…Ultimately the medium is fine, it just depends what the developer is after.

    Reply

  12. Captain JJ the_scarrrr

    June 3, 2015 at 10:33

    Play the Witcher you twit. Then talk again

    Reply

  13. WitWolfy

    June 3, 2015 at 10:35

    Grim Fandango and ALL Monkey Island games.

    Reply

  14. Rock789

    June 3, 2015 at 10:37

    I get where he’s coming from, but that doesn’t stop me from completely disagreeing with him! He should go play games like The Witcher 3, The Last of Us, Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite… Then he can get back to us and tell us if he still thinks that way.

    Hell, just look at a game like Myst or Riven from back in the day – a more intricately woven story you will not find!! Great story telling.

    Reply

  15. RinceTheElfRoot

    June 3, 2015 at 10:39

    yeah. because the mechanics behind Thomas Was Alone really detracted from the story.

    Reply

  16. Captain JJ the_scarrrr

    June 3, 2015 at 10:40

    “stories are too often at odds with their conflicting mechanics”
    So then COD single player must just have the most horrid of conflicting mechanics.

    Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      June 3, 2015 at 10:43

      Not for long.

      Reply

    • oVg

      June 3, 2015 at 11:44

      lol

      Reply

  17. RinceTheElfRoot

    June 3, 2015 at 10:41

    I am sure the Matrix is crap because the mechanics behind the awesome fight scenes detract too…

    Reply

  18. Loftus

    June 3, 2015 at 10:47

    That guy plays to much Fappy birds. (not a spelling error)

    Reply

  19. Gareth L (That eXCheez Guy)

    June 3, 2015 at 11:06

    Mass Effect 2 made me cry. *drops mic and leaves*

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief's Adventure

      June 3, 2015 at 11:21

      Mass Effect 3 broke my heart, that final walk of Shepard, all messed up.
      Legion….sniffs
      Also, that tower and that Salarian…

      Reply

      • konfab

        June 3, 2015 at 11:30

        Especially if you shoot said Salarian ;__:

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief's Adventure

          June 3, 2015 at 11:33

          Damn onion ninjas…

          Reply

  20. The Sten

    June 3, 2015 at 11:16

    This guy is on drugs. There are good stories, bad stories, okay stories and ones that dont fulfill their stories potential in games. The rise of online gaming has seen good stories become a bit harder to find but the quality is the same.

    If you cant find good stories in the games you like then you:

    1 – Not looking in the right places
    2 – Not looking hard enough
    3 – Dont know what you actually want

    Reply

  21. konfab

    June 3, 2015 at 11:17

    Ok, if games are so terrible at telling stories then why do we have games like Journey and Flower, which have no dialog, yet are able to tell very moving stories.

    Reply

    • oVg

      June 3, 2015 at 11:40

      A good example of how atmosphere can be more powerful than writing narrative. LIMBO is my fave.

      Reply

      • konfab

        June 3, 2015 at 11:42

        LIMBO gave me the creeps >__<

        Reply

    • Robert Vincent Peace

      June 3, 2015 at 12:32

      It’s a paradox man. Only

      Reply

  22. Wiehahn Diederichs

    June 3, 2015 at 11:37

    I think there is a plethora of games with brilliant narratives. To me games are a truly immersive means of conveying stories. Off the top of my head the Mass Effect saga, Bioshock Infinite and more recently, Ori and the Blind Forest are great examples of effective storytelling in video games.

    Reply

  23. Mossel

    June 3, 2015 at 11:49

    No horror movie has ever frightened me like horror games. What’s worse than watching the protagonist walking down an empty corridor? Controlling the protagonist and doing the walking yourself!

    Reply

  24. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    June 3, 2015 at 11:59

    My response to Mr Blow – “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH!”

    Reply

  25. CypherGate

    June 3, 2015 at 12:12

    Far Cry and Mass Effect tells great stories and thats just two of the best story based games out there. Lets not forget Metal Gear Solid etc Not sure but i think his a little bit of an ass.

    Reply

  26. Satellite11

    June 3, 2015 at 12:31

    He’s right. Most games have piss-poor storytelling in them; lousy script, one-dimensional characters, stupid plot-twists, etc. But hey, who plays games for that stuff?

    Reply

  27. Attera Eternus

    June 3, 2015 at 13:26

    Um… Mass Effect…

    Reply

  28. DiegoZicoB

    June 3, 2015 at 18:50

    Whaaaaaat?! This is a very ‘blanket’ statement and both the author and him need to clarify if they’re talking about modern games or all games and also what genre. Because almost all the turn-based RPGs I’ve played throughout my gaming years have told amazing, shocking, beautiful stories that have made me angry, sad, laugh, smile like a fool at a screen.

    This has been said over and over but games bring together every single art form. I’ve been told stories that I still remember to this day from games. Just because he can’t seem to tell a story in whatever he is doing does not mean it is true for the industry as a whole.

    Reply

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