Something that I haven’t seen mentioned here, and would like to point out, is that Storyline and Gameplay aren’t mutually exclusive.
I could’ve played Darggerfall withuot any form of storyline for dozens of hours, and to some degree, have. I often ignore the main plotline for years in game time, until my character is maxed out completely, in the most deadly armour demon soulstealing can create, with only simply werewolf hunt, assassination, and recovery quests to back me up.
On the other hand, the main quest’s story is nothing to just shrug off. Hired by the emperor to investigate strange happenings in the Kingdom of Daggerfall and recover a letter of ahem personal nature he sent to their queen, by the end (this isn’t really a spoiler), you’re choosing among a Lich, an ancient, cursed mage, the Emperor, and various nobility upon whom to give immense power (in the Lich’s case, Godhood).
However, in the vein of the argument, the storyline complements gameplay, and, if the gameplay is bad, can cover it up. As SE already mentioned, roleplaying was created by a handful of geeks in sitting around a table pretending to be medieval characers; playing roles, hence the name. Rules for combat were not added in except as an afterthought; early on, it was much like the free RPs on this board; people stated if their attack hit, or didn’t. Needless to say, this brought way for cheating. Thus, the combat system was born.
RPGs, in their true form, are crosses between reading a book, writing one, and acting in a play, depending on what kind you’re playing. They also, however, have the gameplay element added in, putting in board or videogame elements to your ‘novel.’
Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m the kind of person who likes writing my own bits of novels, or something like that. I mean, honestly, sometimes, the main characters are stupid bastards when it comes to making decisions. Hasn’t anybody else here evr wanted to be able to change the decision a character made, and control their actions inside or outside of battle? I have, which might be what I like about RPGs. They have a storyline, often a good one (if usually cliche), but also, enough flexibility for you to make your own changes in the story. I can usually make certain characters survive, and kill off others, when I choose to, as if I were controlling the story.
I also agree with SE on a game being a good medium for storytelling. You could never have fit all the detail in, say, Legend of Mana into a movie or a book, at least not a movie someone would’ve been able to sit through, or a book that someone could’ve enjoyed too much reading; it’d get to that point where it’s gone on too long about halfway through the game’s stories, not to mention, the book would be rather disjointed. The game, however, includes the gameplay aspects, like battles and item making, to break up the storyline and give the ‘reader’ a chance to interact with the world around him. In the movie, chances are, the main character wouldn’t run around on a pirate ship, talking to all the pirates to here what they said, or take another character with him to go look for the Seven Wisdoms to ask questions of. In the game, you can do this. You can find al lthe secret, demi-human pets to find out about them. In the game, it’s up to you how fast you go throught the story and what actions you take. That, I think, is the best part of it, and a part that makes it just as much ‘literature,’ as any novel, but also, more fun than most novels, and more easily accessible.