User blog comment:Martolives/Losing the Plot/@comment-2228120-20121018201510/@comment-2076032-20121019032201

I think you missed the point, but just a little - gameplay CAN divert from the story, because both elements are up to the player. What the gameplay CANNOT divert from is the diegetic plot, of one exists. This is demonstrated best on games where a plot doesn't exist. The EVE sandbox is full of stories, and virtually limitless ways to play the game. There is no plot to divert from, therefore the gameplay, or the way a player chooses to play, is what creates the story. So it would be more accurate to say that the story cannot divert from the gameplay, not the other way around.