User blog comment:Martolives/Losing the Plot/@comment-4807396-20121020071247

The purpose of a game's narrative is to answer two important questions for the player: "Why am I doing this?" and "Why should I care?". That said, the ultimate purpose of a game is to entertain the people that play it, and even the most lovingly-crafted story won't save a game that frustrates or bores its players. Fun is what makes or breaks games.

A well-executed story can help hold the player's interest and immerse them in the game; that's a good thing. But when the story comes at the expense of gameplay, there's a problem. Taking 10 minutes to dump exposition on players does not a good story make, and it just takes up time most players would rather spend actually playing the game; doing it repeatedly will only bore and frustrate players to the point that they stop having fun, and the game will have failed to serve its greatest purpose.

In my opinion, the best games are the ones that take a good story and integrate it into entertaining gameplay, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather have a fun game with no plot than a boring one with a good plot. Games are not stories, and the narrative is only meant to enhance the play experience, not overshadow it.