"Everything is Possible" Game Storytelling Article at GameSpot

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GameSpot has published an article about storytelling in games, entitled Everything is Possible. Initially, this is supposed to be an answer to the question of what game would one take with himself on a desert island, but later on it points out how misguided the gaming industry currently is and how totally it misses the point of entertainment. Storyline is stressed as the most important factor to a great game, in opposition to the reality of excessive graphical effects serving as a flashy exterior to cover an empty inside. Here's an excerpt:

Here's the real question: For a medium that's unnecessary and therefore all about excess, why is it that so many games seem to aim only for the bare minimum--to meet your expectations and call it a day? Shouldn't more of them aim to move you or otherwise surprise you?

I share the theory that the game industry is like a private eye who's so busy following the wrong lead that he lets his real target slip right through his fingers. Look at what games are doing: They're pushing more polygons and piling on more features. It's the equivalent of adding more explosions to an action movie; at some point, you start to get diminishing returns for your crazy budget even as the whole thing just turns dumb.

I think game designers should be pursuing a much more elusive objective: tapping into the true potential of this medium, using it to give the game player an eye-opening, virtually life-changing experience and turning the game player's world completely upside-down. And I believe the only way to accomplish this is through storytelling--using a game to tell a good story. This does not mean tacking a best-selling author onto a game as an afterthought; this means fundamentally constructing a game out of a story.

Read the whole thing at GameSpot.