Growing up, I was heavy into playing video games. I don’t play them that much nowadays, but as a kid I was a video game addict. Throughout the last ten years I have seen video games change so much. Don’t get me wrong, there are still video games where you can play and enjoy yourself, but what I’ve seen is how video games have gotten better when it comes to story writing.
Growing up I was more used to games like "Crash Bandicoot," "Sly Cooper," "Jak and Daxter," and "Kingdom Hearts." Not saying those games had no type of story context towards them, but as a kid you knew playing them was for straight fun. So I guess the question is, has story writing taken the fun out of video games?
Look, personally I love how video games have become more story driven over the years. Especially from the video game company Naughty Dogg. This company has put out two of my favorite games in the last ten years: "Uncharted 3" and "The Last Us." These games were so well written and character driven that they almost felt like you were playing through an actual movie. As a matter a fact, those games were so good that I don’t want to see Hollywood make a movie out of it. I’m afraid they would just ruin it. But I know people that miss the way video games used to be made when we were growing up. You know what I mean. You know that feeling of playing "Crash Bandicoot" and getting nervous when running away from that boulder. Or when you used to get hype when you reached a new level on "Sonic the Hedgehog." Yeah, you know that feeling.
I look at it like this: I think there is still a place in the gaming world where we can both have fun and appreciate a story driven game. I mean, I like destroying and shooting stuff, but at the same time I like a story that's written well enough to hold my attention. There is nothing wrong with having both. It’s all about how you are able to do it, that’s all. Games like "The Last of Us" and "Uncharted" have definitely proven that. Now excuse me, I’m going to go play some Injustice 2. Peace.
