Disconnected Storytelling in Games
Ever since I started gaming, I’ve noticed a particular storytelling mechanic that really annoys me: I call it disconnected storytelling: it is when a game has multiple unrelated storylines going on in parallel. Usually, this stems from things like side quests that are unrelated to the main story.
To give an example of what I mean: say you’re going through the main storyline in the game, and you uncover a secret plot by demon cultists to take over the world tomorrow. You rush to gather your companions….but Farmer bill needs you to find his wife who went missing yesterday while buying wool at the market. So you start looking for her…only for the local sheriff to require your immediate assistance tracking down a thief who stole a priceless diamond. You find the diamond, but before you can deliver it, a magic trap sends you to a sorcerer’s dungeon and you have to barter with him to escape. At this point, I’ve forgotten what the demon cultists are doing, and I can’t even remember who farmer bill IS, much less what he wants from me.
I find this overwhelming because I can never keep track of what’s going on, and often there will be like 10-15 parallel and completely unrelated storylines going on at once. It is even worse if the quests are timed, because it forces you to drop what you’re doing and shift focus to a completely new story. This is different from movies/books, which typically track one or two threads at a time. When I complete these quests, I usually remember next to nothing nothing about them, as they’re all over the place. I find this practice in A LOT of games also - basically every open world, semi-open world, or CRPG game is guilty of this, and even some linear games do it.
In terms of improvements, the main thing that comes to mind is cohesiveness. I much prefer when quests complement the main story and are completed in tandem, rather than being standalone experiences. And if it IS a standalone experience, save it as a separate endgame storyline after the main quest wraps up!
What are your thoughts, and how could this practice be improved? Is this something that bothers anyone else?