Play the Game, Skip the Story: Difference between revisions

== Fighting Game ==

 

** Pirated versions of this game usually cut out the ''Subspace Emissary'' cutscenes (among other things), so the game can fit on a single-layer disc. And since it's one of the most popular games for [[Wii|the most pirated seventh generation console]]...

* Arguably, almost every single tournament [[Fighting Game]] in existence. There are detailed backstories, different endings per character, and even events in sequels that tie in to past story elements. But with the exception of some hardcore fans who care about such things and compile vast [[Universe Compendium|Universe Compendiums]] trying to figure out what's [[Canon]], almost everyone just picks their character and joins the fight.

== MM Os ==

 

* Every MMORPG with a team mechanic falls prey to this. "Hey guys, wait up, I want to read the history of Doomy McEvilton and why he wants the [[MacGuffin]] of Glory to...ah nuts to this, where's my XP?"

** ''[[Guild Wars]]'' also has this happen. Most people who engage in the [[PvP]] aspect of the game probably have never seen any of the cutscenes in the game. On the plus side, though, it's possible to play through the story campaign yourself, where you don't have a message saying 7/8 members of the group want to skip the scene and getting yelled at by everyone else for making them sit through it. (Often justified with runners, who've probably seen the cutscene [[Memetic Mutation|over nine thousand]] times and don't wanna hear it ''again''.)

** The same thing can happen in ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]''. Some group quests vital to the main storyline requires you to talk to [[NPC|NPCs]] to get the quest going, but the first one who gets there can activate the NPC without the rest of the group getting a chance to read whatever plot information that NPC were willing to share. One example is in Moria, where the players are heading into a dungeon to find a powerful axe, and ends up fighting the Watcher in the Water. If one person gets there before the rest and activates the Watcher, it's not impossible that players don't realize they just saved a NPC who was taken by the Watcher and presumed dead earlier in the storyline, until they actually talk to him again. Lately the game has been steering away from this, making most of the main storyline solo-playable so that people can enjoy the story in their own pace.

* ''[[Runescape]]'' varies between this and [[Excuse Plot]]. This is a more subjective example; some of the quests are rather bland, especially the ones you get for free but some of the others in the members world really have a lot of detail in the history of Runescape. Lately, the older quests have been integrated more closely to the main storyline.

* ''[[Maple Story]]'' has a story long and detailed enough for an [[Archive Panic]]. Problem? Almost ''all'' of the players who can actually do the quests to find out the storyline are a ton of [[Munchkin|Munchkins]]. The game's [[Backstory]] is so easily ignored that there are some players who ''don't even know it exists.''

== Platform Game ==

 

** Taken to a head with ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]''. That game gives the hero at least five different [[Origin Story|origin stories]] and reasons for existing. The only thing fans remember? [[Narm|"FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM!" "Where's that DAMN fourth Chaos Emerald!?"]]

 

== Real Time Strategy ==

 

** On ''[[Diablo]] II'', multiplayer mode ''skips'' cutscenes, which doesn't help.

*** Only if you do not have them installed. You can skip them at will or watch.

* ''[[League of Legends]]'' has a surprisingly deep and complicated story for the League, the various factions and many of the champions. You'd never know from playing the game, though, as most of the lore is on their website, and the story unfolds in the Journal of Justice newsletter.

 

== Role Playing Game ==

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' falls victim to this to a degree. ''Oblivion'', for example, contains numerous books full of expository text which most players ignore, "reading" it only to see whether or not you get a skill point from it. The [[Beige Prose|blandly written]], woodenly voice-acted NPC dialogue also tends to make people skip through all the exposition until a quest flag is triggered.

** It's not alone. ''Morrowind'' had no voice acting to speak of beyond simple greetings and taunts, yet something like ''six times'' the written text of ''Oblivion'', in the form of both NPC dialogues ''and'' books. Some of it is actually kind of interesting and well written (containing a lot of subtle hints to your quest), but most is pretty much the quality of writing you would expect from a video game [[Seinfeld Is Unfunny|at that timeframe]] and consequently rather forgettable.

* ''[[Too Human]]'' suffers from this trope when playing co-op, as it automatically skips every [[Cutscene]].

* ''[[Baldur's Gate]] II'' tends to fall under this trope with numerous cutscenes of either Irenicus' and Imoen's fate after being captured or dream sequences featuring both of them. While quite endearing the first time you play the game, every next time - necessary due to class and race oriented quests - it's just plain boring and irritating.

* In a non-game context, many classic movies are treated this way by film historians and students. Nobody teaching ''[[Birth of a Nation]]'' in a film class wastes any breath on the plot; they just focus on the film's many stylistic tropes, and if they have time make mention of the historical context and heavily racist overtones. Similarly, ''[[Metropolis]]'' is watched today for its groundbreaking special effects, futuristic architecture, and kickass robot - not its romantic plot or political message (as the screenwriter intended).

** That often ties in with [[What Do You Mean It's Not Didactic?|its own trope]].

 

== Tabletop Games ==