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How is a video game superior to TV? Storylines on prestige TV shows blow most videogames out of the water

pdntspa 4y ago
Idunno, beating Cyberpunk 2077 elicited more of an emotional reaction from me than anything TV or movies has done. Baldur's Gate, Anachronox, Oblivion, hell even the old final fantasy games had so much more going for them story-wise than pretty much anything Hollywood could come up with save for its most longest-running series.
- ask_b123 4y ago
  I don't disagree with the value of videogames, but I'm sure that my grandma could say the same about (some of?) her soap operas/doramas.
  - pdntspa 4y ago
    The apt comparison there would be books to soaps, I would think. I have a hard time seeing how anyone could defend soaps for their narrative depth.
- brewdad 4y ago
  So it's a matter of personal preference rather than an inherent value in video games. Plenty of sports fans have emotional responses to their team's successes and failures. It's not my scene, but the popularity of the various -Cons suggests there is a huge crowd who feels similarly about certain TV shows and movies.
taeric 4y ago
I will make no defense of video game stories... but I find it laughable to hold up most "prestige" TV shows. How do the "prestige" video games hold up against most TV shows? :D Putting charity to the claim, since you do have to interact with games, I could see how the thought could be that they are more mentally stimulating. Gambling, of course, gives the lie to that claim. Addictive does not mean productive, and all of that. That said, why do so many folks obsess over productivity?
- FormerBandmate 4y ago
  I’m not saying TV is better than videogames. I’m saying Breaking Bad is better than Clash Royale, and as such, judging all videogames as worse than TV is absurd. The Last of Us (game) is much better than MILF Manor lol
  - taeric 4y ago
    Right. Is why I offer no defense of games as a whole. But "prestige" of either is good. And probably is more sophisticated than the norm of the other. That said, I offered charity to the idea. Breaking Bad is entertaining. Is it mentally stimulating, though? Tetris is probably as mentally challenging. More, in many ways. That said, even with that charity to the idea, I think it is misguided. Mentally stimulating can just be addicting with no growth. And then further, I think the idea that you need growth is misguided. Being entertained is fine.
mgdlbp 4y ago
Compromises, compromises. Play a visual novel. There! Snark aside, I should note the flexibility in storytelling that all interactive fiction provides. Namely, as the author you get to use time travel without having it as a plot element. That way, you also avoid the overemphasis that long-running linear stories place on their singular endings. Hmm...this has definitely been said on HN before in some thread related to the Netflix CYOAs. I wonder if a useful robot9000 is now feasible with modern language models, with aggregating and summarizing of perennial forum debates.

Idunno, beating Cyberpunk 2077 elicited more of an emotional reaction from me than anything TV or movies has done. Baldur's Gate, Anachronox, Oblivion, hell even the old final fantasy games had so much more going for them story-wise than pretty much anything Hollywood could come up with save for its most longest-running series.

ask_b123 4y ago
I don't disagree with the value of videogames, but I'm sure that my grandma could say the same about (some of?) her soap operas/doramas.
- pdntspa 4y ago
  The apt comparison there would be books to soaps, I would think. I have a hard time seeing how anyone could defend soaps for their narrative depth.
brewdad 4y ago
So it's a matter of personal preference rather than an inherent value in video games. Plenty of sports fans have emotional responses to their team's successes and failures. It's not my scene, but the popularity of the various -Cons suggests there is a huge crowd who feels similarly about certain TV shows and movies.

taeric 4y ago

I will make no defense of video game stories... but I find it laughable to hold up most "prestige" TV shows. How do the "prestige" video games hold up against most TV shows? :D Putting charity to the claim, since you do have to interact with games, I could see how the thought could be that they are more mentally stimulating. Gambling, of course, gives the lie to that claim. Addictive does not mean productive, and all of that. That said, why do so many folks obsess over productivity?

FormerBandmate 4y ago
I’m not saying TV is better than videogames. I’m saying Breaking Bad is better than Clash Royale, and as such, judging all videogames as worse than TV is absurd. The Last of Us (game) is much better than MILF Manor lol
- taeric 4y ago
  Right. Is why I offer no defense of games as a whole. But "prestige" of either is good. And probably is more sophisticated than the norm of the other. That said, I offered charity to the idea. Breaking Bad is entertaining. Is it mentally stimulating, though? Tetris is probably as mentally challenging. More, in many ways. That said, even with that charity to the idea, I think it is misguided. Mentally stimulating can just be addicting with no growth. And then further, I think the idea that you need growth is misguided. Being entertained is fine.

mgdlbp 4y ago

Compromises, compromises. Play a visual novel. There! Snark aside, I should note the flexibility in storytelling that all interactive fiction provides. Namely, as the author you get to use time travel without having it as a plot element. That way, you also avoid the overemphasis that long-running linear stories place on their singular endings. Hmm...this has definitely been said on HN before in some thread related to the Netflix CYOAs. I wonder if a useful robot9000 is now feasible with modern language models, with aggregating and summarizing of perennial forum debates.