Oh yeah, the hiatus

Yeah, perhaps I should give a note on my hiatus. I realize I had been gone for awhile from the blog.

Basically, anyone following my Twitter knows I've been pretty busy from the spring until now. On top of that-or maybe due to it-I had been fighting through writer's block for almost everything(I did manage to write some Raven backstory fiction, but that's about it.

Then I've been playing my Rev2 and Tekken 7, basically my spare time was devoted to that, and also working on a real, proper Dragunov guide that is going to be turned soon into a video(!). So besides all of that, I really haven't had too much time to write my Shadowrun stuff or play other games, let alone blog.

Here's hoping I'm not gone as long again! I hope to be able to keep up with this thing semi-regularly.

Upcoming plans that I hope to be able to keep up with:

-GG vs. T7 roster discussion(AKA: How similarly they were both cut, but how differently crowds reacted)

-Tekken 7 review(spoiler: I like it a lot, not perfect but it's probably my fav gameplay wise of the series, PC version def. better though)

-Just more editorial style stuff

Also: This is the tutorial channel I work with, I mostly do PR style stuff but I will be supplying the Dragunov guide!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GTc4yWm-yiBFTuV3MsGaQ

Anyhow, nice to be back and hopefully it stays that way XD;;;

Fighting games and story: How much does it matter, and why?

With many games coming out with more in depth stories(and some without), it's here I ask the question: how much does story truly matter?

So one way I can say story does matter; the casual audience. Casual players are types who play through a story mode or whatnot, before popping the game back on the shelf for an occasional weekend romp with friends. For them, not having a good story mode can be an unsell point(or at least a point where it makes them get the game at a discount.) That's a 'mode' that they're not having as much fun with.

And sometimes those of us who aren't casual appreciate the story too. As a writer, I can certainly appreciate a good story though I'll be honest, it's rare that a story actively makes a fighting game worse for me. I mean for an example, while i think MKX has good character writing, MK's storyline for me is a convoluted mess of retconned timey-wimey dimensional stuff. I really can't get into the big overall storyline, even IF it has good character writing. (You can of course have good plot/story and poor characterization, and vice versa.) But this isn't the big reason I'm not too into MKX; I simply am not big on how NRS games play. That's all. No hate, no salt, just not my style of gameplay.

I also adore Virtua Fighter, despite its very thin story. (I will say I get a lot of plot bunny ideas from some of the ambiguity of it; if I were to crank out more fan work that I do I could do something with it for sure.) Casual players, though, are both intimidated by VF's gameplay, AND don't have much of a story to follow, so I can see where the issue pops up.

On the flipside, there are competitive types who could care less about the story. There, not there, doesn't matter. All that matters is the game. They're not going to complain if it's cool, but they may not even notice. Hell, at worst, they may think that spending too much time on that takes away from the 'game' aspect and they may feel the game ends up suffering.

Fans who are heavily into fan works(art, writing, etc), vary. I myself have no real 'cutoff' point for story. For me it's how much I like the characters and what's there. I can come up with ideas on Virtua Fighter characters very easily(in fact, I remember reading a character write up that thought Jean Kujo could have been cybernetically enhanced because of his one outfit; someone was able to get this little bit in their head, and in turn passed it on to me when I read the piece. Now I imagine he's cybernetically enhanced; this would fit in with Virtua Fighter's whole megacorporate testing as well!) Sometimes there are well fleshed out stories that I can't really add onto. With everyone, it's different. Some people require fleshed out stories to inspire them. Some people only require this sometimes.(There are times where I need something 'heavier' to inspire me, even, so I guess I'm not even so cut and dry.)

I wanted to touch on fan works since they ARE a fairly important part of the FGC in a sense, between artist alleys at events and a load of fanart that can sometimes lure people into a game!

I would say there's no easy answer to this, besides the fact I think it helps from a casual side. I guess my POV is that no game is really hurt by story improvements(I sincerely doubt it takes away from the gameplay side). But given that it's rare that game companies hire real writers(I'm not kidding; I mean even for actual RPGs they rarely hire real writers, only some of the biggest companies do this), so imagine what a fighting game story can end up as. I think the fact some of them come out as well as they do is a miracle.

See, sometimes going with the 'Obvious core characters, small story side characters' can work; see KOF and Guilty Gear. This doesn't seem to work with Tekken's fanbase though. Now I know Tekken's base can be extremely nitpicky somewhat critical(hey I'm throwing shade at myself here too, put the keyboards down), but I think what may have happened is that they got used to having a certain level of story that thinned out somewhat for the side characters.

It DID, FWIW, happen to KOF too. After everyone got used to Iori, Kyo, and such being the focus, moving onto other characters threw fans for a loop, and it did take awhile for them to warm up to NESTS(and even then, it's often seen as a slightly weaker link in terms of KOF's 'Story Blocks.')

Tekken I feel had enough older games with a smaller cast to give them all more focus(even though Mishimas were at the forefront), so I think people got a little more used to seeing 'side characters' with more meat, particularly after 3 and 4. As the cast expanded, the side characters went out of focus more(as can happen.) I think if they had sort of been like that the entire time, it may have been easier for fans to accept, perhaps? I don't mind this, but I know others who were disappointed in the side stories lately.

I suppose though this is something with no easy answer, since different games seem to benefit from different methods and types of storytelling. Some seem to be better when paying more attention to the 'side' characters, others seem to be able to get away with giving them small, sometimes funny stories and moving on. Another option, of course, would be to keep the 'side character' method, but making their small stories more meaningful, perhaps. That could help things with some.

I will say in this day and age that yeah, I reckon story IS kinda important, given the very large casual audience. Just HOW important, and in what way, with what method of storytelling, is sort of up in the air. Personally I think Virtua Fighter works well with thinner story, though I wonder if it wouldn't pick up a few more casuals with better story. Meanwhile, I think people who play Guilty Gear like their more in-depth stories.

What does everyone here think? Is it important to you? A bonus? Depends on the game?