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Jim Ward onboard Storytelling-In-Games train 06 Jun, 2005 / Comments: 14

By jp-30


Ah, the games buzzword of the year; "Storytelling". Jim Ward, president of LucasArts, gets in on the action in this interview at Boomtown
Right now there is no story in games. Gaming right now is about button management, basically. Take for instance Grand Theft Auto, a great game, I love it and play it, a fantastic game. But the story of that is just simply a broad context, you drive around some places and shoot people. But there is no real compelling story telling, very rarely you see this in good games.

In Half-Life, there was an attempt. But we need to infuse story into those games and make them compelling because every kind of entertainment, if it's a movie, a play, whatever it is, is all based on story and characters.
// Cue obligatory Sam & Max reference //

Source: Boomtown

14

14 Comments

  • Mojo on 08 Jun, 2005, 15:31…
    Who cares about what this guy says. Just keep selling and making bad StarWars games, man!!! You are just good at that at LucasArt now!!! ( The only good starwars games are done outside LucasArt, what a shame!!! )
  • jp-30 on 08 Jun, 2005, 16:19…
    I thought Republic Commando (in house) blew away the recent out-of-house SW FPSs (Jedi Academy) and was a very solid title.

    And it has been a conscious decision to pare back in-house development during a period of major restructuring.
  • Marek on 08 Jun, 2005, 06:37…
    Jim Ward is a storytelling visionary. GET THAT MAN A DEVELOPMENT TEAM.
  • Murray the Chao on 07 Jun, 2005, 15:46…
    I don't think ANY of these modern 3D games are doing ir right(besides Tales of Symphonia and Psychonauts of course!)
  • QueZTone-2 on 07 Jun, 2005, 11:58…
    what about their own games KOTOR1 and 2 :P they have great stories, (1 better than 2 tho)
  • Sven_Q45 on 29 Apr, 2008, 21:07…
    KOTOR 1 is one of the greatest titles of LucasArts. KOTOR 2 is not so good.
  • Shanty on 07 Jun, 2005, 11:05…
    Is he seriously using two of last years most popular games (if not the two most popular) as examples of what NOT to do? Is that what he's saying? Half Life and GTA weren't doing it right?! I can't be reading this right, that CAN'T be what he's saying.
  • csenosiain on 07 Jun, 2005, 00:22…
    He says there that he's excited because the raw power in the new consoles will allow for better character developing. What. In. The. Holy. Crap.?

    I mean, anyone play San Andreas? It had a pretty good story
  • woxel1 on 07 Jun, 2005, 01:32…
    I played enough of San Andreas to know that it had more plot than Mr. Ward is implying.

    I believe that the farther we move along technology wise, the easier it becomes to lose sight of the "point". They* can keep making this statement each new generation, that they're going to really work harder this time, promise! But we can only hope that for every Fight Club - The Game, we get a Katamari Damacy.

    *The Man
  • jp-30 on 07 Jun, 2005, 05:00…
    Ward doesn't explicitely say the GTA he was playing was San Andreas, does he?

    He may be referring to GTAIII which /was/ pretty poor plot-wise.
  • itchythesamurai on 06 Jun, 2005, 23:46…
    Did the unbridled hypocrisy of Jim Ward's statement fill anyone else with rage?
  • Remi O on 06 Jun, 2005, 23:48…
    I don't know, if they can produce games with good stories again, then that would be good I guess.
  • Udvarnoky on 06 Jun, 2005, 23:24…
    So, basically, longer cutscenes.
  • Remi O on 06 Jun, 2005, 22:36…
    Apparently he didn't play Psychonauts. :~