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Reading recently about Lost Odyssey and the massive amount of work that has gone into making it a most excellent game, I came upon an interesting fact. In fleshing out the characters, Mistwalker Studios hired an actual novelist to help with the process. This is a move I applaud wholeheartedly. The games that stick, I feel are the ones with stories and characters that draw you in, and the fact that such care was taken with this game almost makes me want to go out and buy an Xbox 360 this very moment.
I feel games (RPG's and non-RPG's alike) can get by too often on action and clichés. If gaming is to be taken seriously as something more than just another way of passing the time, then real effort needs to be made to produce quality storylines and characters.
Some games are made to be blockbusters and that is fine. One of the most entertaining games I played recently was Uncharted: Drakes Fortune and everything about that game uttered shallow, clichéd, and over the top and that was fine. But like films, which video games are becoming more and more like in many respects, the medium cannot survive on extravaganza alone. The value of gaming will ultimately be judged on its ability to deliver entertainment that is at the same time intellectually and emotionally stimulating. Essentially, games that make you think.
In the context of RPG's I think there are some things that definitely need to be solved. Whatever you do with gameplay, the story needs to be good. This is most true for role playing games where the action tends not to be as viscerally intense in games like shooters or platformers. An example I use far too often is Final Fantasy XII. Gameplay, while flawed, was really fun, but the fact of the matter for me at least was that after the first few hours as the story slowed down and the characters became shallow and uninteresting I found myself playing it as work rather than for fun. Suffice to say I never finished the game.
I don't think I am the only one who looks at games and sees not just the potential for a fun time but a deep and meaningful one. Think of the moment when Aeris died in Final Fantasy VII. It is a moment of history in gaming; the first time for a lot of people that a video game really succeeded in plucking their heartstrings. Why don't more games try to make us feel that way? After all Mario might be fun, but I highly doubt there will be ever be a Mario game which makes you feel anything more than the simple glee of getting another power star.
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