Let me highlight the most important part of my post you failed to read:

As in, I was purposefully glossing over much of Halo's story to show you how you yourself were glossing over Half-Life's story. But why am I bothering

? quoting G.Ballblue

And Yak, cool it a bit No need to get too fueled over anything that's going on here.

I will murder you in your sleep.

First off, excuse me, it's Alex, not Alyx. (Sorry Valve)

Secondly, I did read that article; a very, very good article. I did get a lot more out of it than this, but just to lay down my view on the table:

Here's what I have to say about that: Because we are Gordon Freeman, every interaction we have with other characters is with us after all. If that is the case, what makes Alex's potential love interest any different? It's just like Dr. Eli's respect towards us, and Barney's cheerful attitude to see us. To claim that Alex's role is a different experience is poppyc**k. EVERY interaction with the player is like the "developer [interacting] with its fan base." The story is beyond that. I know he was just using that as an example, but personally, I believe that Valve has stumbled onto a more pure way of telling a story in a game. Yes, you are Gordon Freeman, but you have to have a name. Why not let me be So&So McGee(your name)? Well, So&So McGee isn't a physicist, Gordon Freeman is. So&So McGee isn't gonna save the world, Gordon Freeman is. So in retrospect, we realize Gordon, while being the player at the same time, still has an identity of his own that the player shares with him. So, the player now has not only a common identity with other characters, but also an identity with the main character himself.

. Don't worry, I don't have anything against you,.)

It is true that a lot of the "language" of drama and film must be juggled around with before looking at it through the lense of the electron microscope of gaming, but most of the vocabulary and techniques still apply to any game story. I'll attempt to point some out:

• Every game story, as every other story, should begin with a theme. This is what will give you the end to your story, and all points in between.

• ? quoting Lajos Egri in The Art of Dramatic Writing

  "And it must be a premise worded so that anyone can understand it as the author intended it to be understood. An unclear premise is as bad as no premise at all."
  
  What Egri means here by premise is taken to mean the idea or situation that a story is based from. It would be best though to look at it to mean a theme.

• Players need to have conflict, meaning the story needs to have conflict. This is what gives the player the urge to move on.
  
  ? quoting Egri

  "Conflict is the heartbeat of all writing. No conflict ever existed without first foreshadowing itself. Conflict is that titanic atomic energy whereby one explosion creates a chain of explosions."

• Every good story needs characters; this should be pretty evident by now.

• All stories are susceptible to universal themes. Game stories, just like all other mediums, have the same potential to burst out of the bubble. But be weary, not all themes are universal truths. "Poverty doesn't always lead to crime." But themes like "doing bad stuff is bad" and "evil must be fought" are pretty universal.
  
  ? quoting Lee Sheldon

  "Want to make your game stand out from the crowd? Find a theme that is less lofty, but more personal. It will focus your writing and your game."

In short, games are very susceptible to traditional writing, but they have potential for a lot more stylization, which means new methods to be tested, which I think Valve is doing a wonderful job for doubling as a research facility.

One last thing: This started out a good thread, but, with all these "off topic" discussions, it's beginning to create more posts than the "on-topic" discussions. If you have something "off-topic" to say, please, take it to a different thread. Thanks.

? quoting Lawjackal
The best games have stories that don't matter-- Like Quake. It's not a book; it's a game.

" SRC="images/smiles/jawdrop.gif"> wwwwhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttt.....!!!!????. Mate, mmaattee?

Lol, yeah i'm actrully up to Hong Kong. But I just arrived and I'm stuck . I;m where the helicopter is. I downloaded a walkthrough for the game but dont want to use it because I may aswell cheat my way through. And your not alone with likeing the Hong Kong level, TZ on this site ( Who is NOT me : message aimed at some folks) loves that level to. But I dont want to raise my expectations to high so i am assumeing that the Hong Kong levels are the worst in the game.

But anyway I am planning to add an extension to this thread where you folk vote on a game or game series with the best storyline, you are not voting on your fav game, no matter how bad the game is its about the story. It would be a poll. I'm going to include the Halo Series, the Half-life Series mabye Deus Ex Series and I dont know mabye Gears of War or Quake or something. I hear Oblivion has a good story but i'm not into those games. Does anyone have any suggestions, wether it be " Dont do it, it a wate of time" or " make sure you add ....... to the poll".