What percentage of computer games are fundamentally stories?

[Kyriakos]

Rogue-like games are dependent on story, but often abuse the story to cover up gameplay simplicity or ploys
By now there are many games where you only are expected to play the campaign - given there is next to no point in single scenario (some even do not have single scenarios...)

 

[Gori the Grey]

i guess it comes down to "fundamentally". what percentage of the experience depends on a defined story, vs one that player makes up on his own each time or having none at all.

i suspect most people would put rpgs and point/click adventure games into "fundamentally stories", and games like 4x as "not fundamentally stories". shooter is more of a grey area/depends on the shooter. some shooters are basically rpgs with a gun rather than different weapon. others have a clear story progression like halo or gears of war while also having competitive mp and don't have that character leveling up aspect. others still are like cs:go or fortnite where you're presented with more of a setting than a story, and at this point it's again a reach to call it "fundamentally" a story.

So with those considerations, what would you assign as the percentage?

 

[Lexicus]

So with those considerations, what would you assign as the percentage?

I don't know if there are good statistics on all video games ever. The best you could do would likely be stats for the various distribution platforms existing today but they are about a decade or two old at most.

 

[Gori the Grey]

No, no. See my answer to angst. For these purposes, I don't need an exhaustive tally of all releases. Just a rough approximation of personal experience from people who play a lot of games. I'll take TMIT's. I'll take angst's. I'll take yours. I'll take anybody and everybody's

 

[TheMeInTeam]

So with those considerations, what would you assign as the percentage?

something over 50% i guess? i'm not sure if that's enough, but for it to be what the game is "fundamentally" about that seems like it would require story to be at least half of what makes the game. ultimately this is an arbitrary definition though, i don't have a good basis for drawing the line other than some vague notion of "is it the story that drives player experience in this game or the mechanics, and to what extent for each".

 

[Gori the Grey]

I appreciate your answer. And everyone else's as well.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I'm not fluent in statistics, so I can only go by anecdotes about my own gaming.

There are games that are actually based on real stories. One of the first games I bought from BFG was The Count of Monte Cristo. It's a hidden object game with creepy music, as various suspects are questioned in various locations. Eventually the villain is found.

I enjoyed the game, so I decided to read the novel. It took awhile to find an unabridged edition in English. It's sitting on my bookshelf right now, waiting for me to get into the mood to read it.

There are also games based on The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask. And getting away from Dumas, one of the games I bought a few years ago was The Great Gatsby. Again, it's a case of "play the game, read the book". Except that I haven't read it. Yet. It's on my Kindle, waiting to be read. I've got fanfiction on my mind, though, so it'll be awhile.


Hmm... and just now, I suddenly had an idea of how to turn one of Poul Anderson's Time Patrol stories into a game. I'll have to think on that a bit more.

 

[Plains-Cow]

IDK probably at least 10% but not more than 100%. Probably 11% or something thereabouts.
Edit: I feel like most games don't really have stories anymore and people conflate "story" with "character backgrounds" now.