Cut scenes, ruining the game narrative?

I was going to throw this out for discussion, but instead I decided to start with an argumentative piece to hopefully increase interest.

Is the use of the cut-scene as the primary story teller in a game a step in the wrong direction? I move that it is. Games co-exist along with two other primary stoy telling media in our society, cinematic and print. A cut scene in it’s essence is a small cinematic production. Telling a story in this way is a simple cop out, outsourcing the narrative to another medium. This concept is a divorce between game play and narrative, each being served to the player in independent servings. The strength of video games as a narrative is the ability to be involved, by allowing cut-scenes to remain the driving force in the games plot we are condemning games to always be in the shadow of cinema. A short movie with games to keep us occupied in-between as it were. (Or a game with short movies in between to break up the action, but I’m focusing on plot here)

A cut-sceen is not intrinsically bad in nature, but it should not be used as a centerpiece of plot. In title such as FFVII we can see that FMV was not used to further the plot, but to highlight aspects of the plot that were visually impressive. Often times the biggest disconnect is simply in the camera angles used. Why must the camera fade to black every time a character has something to say? Couldn’t we just zoom out a little and pan the camera to ground level? Or better yet, why not say it on the field menu? Developers should at all costs ensure that the connection between the characters they are developing and the characters you are playing is as strong as it can possibly be. That is their medium. All of the hours of exposition is for naught if there is a disconnect between the people you watch in the cut-sceens and the people you play on screen. It would be like shifting your attention between a game you are playing on PC and a show you are watching on TV. How are you supposed to establish a meaningful connection between the two characters?

Should be enough to get things rolling.

Oh wow... When I read the title, I thought 'Wow. That's ridiculous...' because I initially thought that cut scenes are completely mandatory for telling the story but then I read your argument and immediately thought of my favorite game ever made, Persona 4, and remembered how there was little full motion video and the way to tell the story required reading or listening to the voiceovers. I also remembered how much I got attached to the characters and how the story was significantly more meaningful so I stand by you in your argument.

I agree, generally speaking, with the argument presented. I don't really have a problem with using cutscenes, they can be pretty great. But then if you think about it, how many games use cutscenes to actually show the most awesome stuff in the game? Wouldn't the point of games be better served if the player actually did that stuff?

I personally don't see how cutscenes are any different from just sitting there and reading through dialogue to be fully honest.

More action based cut scences make sense in games such as RPG's, where there really isn't a mechanic for such things, but high action scenes do in fact happen.

The FMV's are capable of showing you much better visual qualities then the normal gameplay graphics, so when used at the right times It's a great way to showcase the plot to you in a very engaging manner.

One great example of an FMV is Xenosaga 2, right before you battle with Margulus(I probably spelled that wrong) you are treated to an awesome sword fight between the two. The actual battle is resolved in gameplay.

Also, ending FMV's are spectacular. After you finish the game, they are your treat for all the work you have done. No need for pressing any kind of button, the game has been beaten and this is your ending.

I'm not saying anything against your suggestions, as they are good Ideas. I just think both methods are very valid and have a place.

Too many cutscenes is bad and can make the game really annoying.

Anybody who's played KH2, aka Cutscenes: The Game, would know that it throws in tons of unnecessary cutscenes. Many of them didn't even have voice acting, just text boxes.

I feel that when cutscenes are well done, they can tell the story just fine. Real-Time Strategy games are a great example, in Halo Wars, I fully expected a cutscene to give me the scenario and a cutscene to show the outcome of my victory in battle (or lack thereof in most of the game xD).

As for Cutscenes in RPG's I fail to see how it differs much from sitting and reading textboxes :confused:

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Originally Posted by PuPu

Too many cutscenes is bad and can make the game really annoying.

Anybody who's played KH2, aka Cutscenes: The Game, would know that it throws in tons of unnecessary cutscenes. Many of them didn't even have voice acting, just text boxes.

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If it's got textboxes, to me it ain't a cutscene. Cutscenes are CGI, and CGI only.

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Originally Posted by PuPu

Too many cutscenes is bad and can make the game really annoying.

Anybody who's played KH2, aka Cutscenes: The Game, would know that it throws in tons of unnecessary cutscenes. Many of them didn't even have voice acting, just text boxes.

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I quite enjoyed it. There's always the option to skip when a cutscene feels irrelevant. And skip I did when the time came. It was only really annoying during scenes in the gummy ship, because they were timed and unskippable. Thankfully they were few!

The problem with skipping scenes is, well, you never know what you are going to miss. When I was faced with the sappy Snow/Serah scenes in FFXIII I wanted to skip them, but what if something significant happens at the end and I miss it. You can't always tell what you will be missing if you skip something. The worst thing is to skip a scene that is boring and has nothing happening, only to find yourself dropped into a completely unexplained circumstance.

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Originally Posted by VeloZer0

The problem with skipping scenes is, well, you never know what you are going to miss. When I was faced with the sappy Snow/Serah scenes in FFXIII I wanted to skip them, but what if something significant happens at the end and I miss it. You can't always tell what you will be missing if you skip something. The worst thing is to skip a scene that is boring and has nothing happening, only to find yourself dropped into a completely unexplained circumstance.

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Happens to my girlfriend all the time. She's the Queen of Skipping scenes. I had to pretty much explain the plot of FFXII to her despite the fact that she was always further into than I was and actually went to the effort to try and beat Omega Mk. XII.

I don't find cutscenes annoying at all. I think, if used properly and not too much, they add to the experience of playing a game instead of detracting from it. I thought Tidus was a whiny bitch throughout FFX, but his flash of awesomeness in the intro kept my opinion of him high enough until the story got interesting enough for me to like him for other reasons.

Personally, I'm against using too many cut scenes to tell a story. When a game uses them too often it can create a disconnect between gameplay and plot that results in breaking immersion and making the player feel less involved. I think FFXIII is a good example of this, because aside from most cut scenes in it really doing nothing to advance the plot, it becomes a game of fight some battles, sit back and watch a cut scene, then go fight some more battles. Lather rinse and repeat. It's made somewhat worse by the fact that these cut scenes are a bit jarring when you get to them.

I've preferred the way things are done in games like Half-Life or Portal for a long time. Much of the story is either conveyed while the player is still in control of the character and can move around and do what they want, or is simply strewn about the game world for the player to discover on their own. It makes for a much more immersive experience, and in the case of a game like Portal, can result in a story with more impact than had the details been spelled out for you in a cut scene where a character simply talks at you while you listen.

That doesn't mean cut scenes have no place in games and can't be useful tools in conveying the story or getting the adrenaline pumping, but far too many games seem to rely on them rather than exploring unique story telling methods in the medium which are often more effective in games.

Dont know which game you are talking about, but I bought ff4 for ds because it said beatiful cutscenes, and then it only had one good one

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Originally Posted by Goldenboko

If it's got textboxes, to me it ain't a cutscene. Cutscenes are CGI, and CGI only.

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If English worked like that, then it would be an even more screwed up language than it already is.

There are specific words to be used for 'CGI Cutscenes'--words like Full Motion Video (FMV) or Cinematics. After all, cutscenes were in video games before CGI came about, before full cartoon animation or live-action video was feasible.

In the video games, a cut scene is a sequence when a player has little or no direct control of their character. I like to think of a 'cut scene' as any time when direct control is 'cut' or 'severed' from the player. Quick Time Events are also cutscenes.

I do understand that most people consider cinematics as cutscenes, and that's usually what people mean when they talk about them, but cinematics are not the exclusive application of the word.

As for the topic, the prevalence of cutscenes are not the exclusive reason why I don't play most JRPGs, but I suppose it is a big part of it. Many JRPGs don't give me a story or characters that I care about, so the story sequences already lose their value.

I love cutscenes to be frank. Sometimes it's nice to carry on conversations while still playing the game, other times I like my fancy angles and motion capture. The fight between Raiden and Vamp is cool. I wouldn't get actual choreography playing it as a boss fight and I'm too sick of Quick Time Events at this point to have buttons pop up every 10 seconds. Good times for me.

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Originally Posted by JKTrix

Quick Time Events are also cutscenes.

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BITCH, THIS AIN'T A CUTSCENE! PRESS A! PRESS A! :p

Anyhoo, I don't mind cutscenes in moderation, but I greatly prefer the story to be given in the HL2 style. After playing through that game I went online and found out several things I had missed out on about the story because I just didn't look hard enough, but none of these things took away for the games story for me. Cutscenes are more or less made for commercials now IMO, so they can be shown off in all their prettiness and get more sales. Or to lazily try and tell a story by taking the game away from me for 5-30 mins.

CGI sections can add some neat technical flair, but overused they basically make you ask the question, "why is this not a movie?"