In mid September, Ninja Theory said that story is the most important aspect of game design. This caused quite the stir in the comments that I was unable to participate in. So, I shall post my thoughts here.
First I will say that I don’t completely agree with Ninja Theory. I don’t think that story is the most important aspect of game design. But it’s importance is growing.
For me, gameplay is the most important aspect of games design. You can have the best looking, sounding game with the best story ever, but if the gameplay sucks, it will destroy any other good will it may have had with gamers.
So where soes that leave story in the ranking? Personally, I would toss it in the same level as art direction and audio. All of which falls behind gameplay.
To help explain this, I will be looking at the 5 W’s: Who, What, When, Where, Why; and the H: How. Each of these is impacted by one of the main factors of games design in some way. (more…)