What game series do you think needs better writing

[VeloZer0]

Has a game with an underdeveloped world and poor writing ever captured your imagination? What games come to mind that you would like to see fleshed out in a competent manner?

My pick is Mega Man X. The world just seems like it has so much potential, with the growing pains of humans and reploids as the two races awkwardly co-exist. Add the ever present Maverick attacks that are seemingly going on and I think it would be a very interesting place.
Unfortunately Capcom has shown me that they are completely incapable of making a coherent story more than a paragraph in length, but I can dream.

What game/series do you wish was expanded upon?

[Storm]

I thought the plot of the Mega Man X series became more interesting in X5 and X6, although a large chunk of the plot for X6 was lost due to the worst Japanese to English translation EVER. There were massive hints in these games that Dr.Wily was somehow still pulling the strings, even though he was supposed to be long dead (The "W" forming behind the Shadow Devil, Sigma talking about an "old man" who hates X and created Zero, Isoc in X6 being able to completely neutralize Zero). I was fully expecting some great revelation in X7 or X8, yet Capcom decided to focus on introducing Axl and the New Generation Reploids.

So yeah, I agree, the Mega Man X series definitely could have used some better writing.

[Rad Bromance]

I wish there was some sort of story formed that connected all the Final Fantasy games.

[G13]

Didn't Dissidia do that?

Edit: I actually think GTA could use better writing.

[Dreddz]

Any series that isn't GTA or Uncharted.

[Madame Adequate]

The Elder Scrolls needs to look to Morrowind in future and pretend Oblivion never happened.

Morrowind and Oblivion

Fallout 3 was considerably better than OB but still pretty braindead. Hopefully Summerset Isle will be an improvement.

[Chris]

The LEGO games are some of my all-time favorite, but they often skip scenes from the movies in the games that I often consider to be of great importance. That being said, LEGO doesn't make any excuses about what kind of games they make, and I do think they vastly improved the concept with the recent Harry Potter entry.

Looking forward to the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Can't wait to see if they stick to the same concept.

[Shoeberto]

The Metal Gear Solid games.

Okay, so MGS1 and Snake Eater were damn fine examples of how to write self-contained stories that also lend themselves well to the overall continuity. Sons of Liberty and Guns of the Patriots, however, were examples of how too much retconning, deus ex machinas and overzealous plot decisions can make a story exhausting. I haven't played anything other than 1-4, and I love the overarching story, but the way the deceptions and plot twists and all that stack up by the time I finished MGS4, I was wishing Kojima would just tone it down a lot.

[Flying Arrow]

Most games that attempt to be serious or important need better writing. Action games like Bayonetta certainly don't need good writing (although it certainly would have helped) but games that aim to enthrall the player with stories generally aren't pulled off all that well in the gaming industry.

The first that came to mind when I saw the thread topic was Final Fantasy - first because it's generally my favourite series, and second because it desperately needs a kick in the ass in the writing department. Square were really on the right track with VI and VII (back in the mid-90s!) but haven't developed from there at all. In fact, I'd argue they regressed as VIII, IX, X, and XIII are all complete and utter messes story-wise. They aren't just confusing; they don't make sense and rely on cheap tricks to surprise the player. That's inexcusable. (And I'm not even mentioning the obscene use of cliches and fanservice, which is usually enough to kill the effectiveness of any story.) XIII is particularly badly done. I've never seen another game show me one thing in cutscenes and then reveal something else in the in-game codex. Hell, since when is a codex used to reveal a major plot-point not touched on by the in-game action? Shameful. I hope SE will learn from this, but I know they won't.

Another series that came to mind is Metal Gear Solid. I remember 1 being solid enough, if silly. 2 was an absolute monstrosity. 3 was not so bad either, if I remember correctly. Overall, the series is not terrible, but taken as bigger picture, it's embarrassingly silly. I've never played 4, and can only assume it picks up where 2 left off plot-wise. I can't speak to it's quality, but generally when two further games are required to clean up the mess of one, it's generally due to sloppy writing.

Oh, and the bloated and overwrought dialogue. Shut the smurf up, Hideo.

[blackmage_nuke]

Any game that doesnt explain the setting because they assume you've read the prologue in the instruction manual before the game starts to know whats going on in the story.

[Shiny]

The Resident Evil series because "Jill Sandwich" is unacceptable. Resident Evil 1 was probably one of the most unintentionally hilarious games I have ever played. I would also like to see Capcom make a game ending for these that don't involve things blowing up at the end like they tend to do in literally every friggin' RE game.

[Madame Adequate]

We don't get howlers like "master of unlocking" and "Jill sandwich" anymore but Resident Evil really does need to undergo a major change if the plot is to make any sense.

However, it is blasphemous to suggest that the ending could be anything except giant explode.

[Bolivar]

I don't know if games can necessarily be saved by "better writing." I know Gears of War 2 and Modern Warfare 2 both brought on real writers to handle the plots; Gears had only a very minor, yet noticeable, step in the right direction, but MW2 was like payment to a corrupt dictator because there was essentially no plot at all.

I think what would save games the most is creative directors and producers who have genuinely interesting stories to tell and care a great deal about bringing an imaginative vision to life. We have plenty of games that get the job done anyway without them, I don't think games should try to pretend to be better by hiring storywriters, that only makes a more bloated budget.

The Metal Gear Solid games.

Okay, so MGS1 and Snake Eater were damn fine examples of how to write self-contained stories that also lend themselves well to the overall continuity. Sons of Liberty and Guns of the Patriots, however, were examples of how too much retconning, deus ex machinas and overzealous plot decisions can make a story exhausting. I haven't played anything other than 1-4, and I love the overarching story, but the way the deceptions and plot twists and all that stack up by the time I finished MGS4, I was wishing Kojima would just tone it down a lot.

I think maybe Kojima gets over-ambitious, then tones it down like from MGS2 to Snake Eater and from MGS4 to Peace Walker. Still, every game has wonderfully written dialogue, and deals with major issues in real life (information proliferation in MGS2, the privatization of warfare in MGS4). The story structure, however, did indeed become too comprehensive in MGS2 and 4, but I can't fault them when they do so much on the other fronts of writing.

[Depression Moon]

I'd argue they regressed as VIII, IX, X, and XIII are all complete and utter messes story-wise.

WHAT!? YOU GOT TO BE CRAZY!

[Madame Adequate]

I think what would save games the most is creative directors and producers who have genuinely interesting stories to tell and care a great deal about bringing an imaginative vision to life. We have plenty of games that get the job done anyway without them, I don't think games should try to pretend to be better by hiring storywriters, that only makes a more bloated budget.

Pursuant to this, I think the best way to help would be to integrate story and character as an integral part of the game, indeed fundamental (In the literal sense of the game not being able to exist without it). The story should be decided before a single piece of code is written and the game should be built to accomodate it. In reality, folks make a game and shoehorn a plot into it because it's pretty rare that a company will just say, for instance, "a bunch of people are having a fight, enjoy your Tekken guys" or "Here are some guns and monkeys, you can figure the rest out". We're in this weird sort of place where story is considered necessary* in almost all circumstances, whilst being regarded as a burdensome afterthought a lot of the time.

So I don't really think the problem is storywriters or their absence, in fact I think it's a very good idea to bring in people who know how to write a story, but the story needs to be approached by someone who is a gamer as much as they are a writer - someone who understands the medium, genre, conventions, etc. - but regardless of who is involved it should either be a central and fundamental part of the design which directly informs the rest of the game, or it should just be said that the story is unecessary and here's some quirky characters beating each other up.

* I've got a feeling that this arose as a response to the charges in the 90s that games were gratuitous murder simulators, and thus a story-based justification for your heinous acts became necessary.