

It’s-A-Me, Ishmael: Can Nintendo tell a proper story? - Thevet
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/03/25/its-a-me-ishmael/

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Torgo
I appreciate how Japanese works can defy a canon. I am thinking of Tenchi
Muyou, or the Evangelion reboots, or the endless doujinshi made of every
story. Redo all the characters, if it's interesting. In contrast it almost
feels like Western media and fandom is obsessed with finding the theoretical
"correct" version of a story, and declaring it canon. Arguments over Star Trek
physics, and "retconning" remind me of this. The fact that Legend of Zelda
games cannot be rectified with each other doesn't bother me one little bit.
Nintendo games aren't lesser because of it.

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fsk
Also compare Anime to American cartoons. In an American cartoon, main
characters never die (or even minor recurring characters). In Japanese Anime,
major characters do die. The story usually has a beginning, middle, and end,
instead of Batman fighting the Joker each week, puts him in jail, and then the
Joker escapes again.

Star Trek has the same problem. Episodes were produced independently, which
means the state of the universe has to be reset at the end of each episode.
More recent American series tend to have a season-long plot, though.

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gizmo686
Another thing I have noticed is that Japanese Anime tends to be more willing
to end a show once it is over. American cartoons seem to keep a show going for
as long as it is popular. Of course there are exceptions to both.

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fsk
"What makes a good game" and "what makes a good story" are two different
things.

Doom didn't have a plot. Tetris didn't have a plot.

Also, if you want the game to have a MEANINGFUL plot, then you have to pretty
much make the game linear, which isn't the point of a game.

Trying to make a game like a movie is missing the point.

When I hear things like "This game has 20 hours of gameplay!", I cringe,
because if it's a really good game I want to play it more than 20 hours (one
reason I like roguelikes).

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kedean
Not all games should be 80+ powerhouses. The Costume Quest games, for
instance, each clock in at approximately 8 hours to complete, maybe a bit
longer for 100%. And that's perfect. Any longer, and you get tired of the
combat and repetition, but during those 8 hours you feel magnificent because
somehow they're able to recreate the feeling of being 9 years old and trick or
treating. The actual overarching story serves to keep you from overindulging
and boring yourself with the mechanics.

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MollyR
Different people like different parts of games. Some people like games that
are immersive and really long like skyrim. Others like shorter games which are
more cut down.

Other media example: Some people love serial television, other love 2 hr
movies. Some people like both for different reasons.

It's okay for people to like what they want for whatever reason they have.

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zenlot
And after all, I still prefer chess.

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wodenokoto
I thought the examples were very cherry picked. Super Mario has been running
as a very popular cartoon for many years. The Zelda comics were highly
regarded by many fans. Pokemon has spawned endless cartoons, movies and
comics.

