Stories in Games?

[StarSock64]

I think video games are able to tell stories in a way that other things aren't. Think about Majora's Mask. The act of helping the townspeople gets you personally involved, and I don't think the three day system would work in other mediums. I don't think I'd care much about Shadow of the Colossus's story if it wasn't a video game, either. I think establishing a good atmosphere is an important part of a game, and a story can certainly contribute to that. Rather than being independent, the story and gameplay can be used to support each other. Some games really need their stories. Seriously, would anyone care about Persona 3 if not for its characters and social links? Without those, it'd be pretty lackluster.

Even if video games usually don't have good stories, that doesn't mean you should discourage people from trying to push the envelope, especially if the story can make the game feel better overall. Don't stories contribute to some of the biggest cult hits? Judging the use of stories in video games based on the majority is stupid.