What makes a story good/interesting?

[Michu]

When playing a game, watching a movie or reading a book... What is that factor that hooks you to that story?

Is it the visuals? The characters, their struggle? Is it the worldbuilding?

[DarkCrystalMethod]

It only matters if the audience is invested in continuing the story.
If they've seen it before or its irrelevant then they will just walk away.

[Prinzip]

Originally posted by Michu:

When playing a game, watching a movie or reading a book... What is that factor that hooks you to that story?

Is it the visuals? The characters, their struggle? Is it the worldbuilding?

Conflict and high stakes. That's the main factor that keeps me following the story, but great and well-depicted characters make the experience even better. I don't particularly pay much attention to worldbuilding.

Correct grammar or spelling is not necessary.

I'm talking stories in general.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Not being the same old slop that has being done thousand times over.

[Michu]

Originally posted by Prinzip:

Originally posted by Michu:

When playing a game, watching a movie or reading a book... What is that factor that hooks you to that story?

Is it the visuals? The characters, their struggle? Is it the worldbuilding?

Conflict and high stakes. That's the main factor that keeps me following the story, but great characters make the experience even better. I don't particularly pay much attention to worldbuilding.

I'm talking stories in general.

Awesome. Thank you!

Do you have an instance in particular?

[Michu]

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

Not being the same old slop that has being done thousand times over.

What would you consider an "old slop"?

[Xero_Daxter]

I wish games added the nemesis system. The nemesis system randomises enemies for everyone and a lot of things have cause and effect. Also, enemies will remember you and what you did to them/what they did to you.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Originally posted by Michu:

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

Not being the same old slop that has being done thousand times over.

What would you consider an "old slop"?

You need something new in a story that has not been thought of or done before. Otherwise it`s just endless Skyrim or Fallout. All the franchises get dragged out to the max.

[Mina]

apprehension various forms

[Prinzip]

Originally posted by Michu:

Awesome. Thank you!

Do you have an instance in particular?

Instance of a story? I wish I could tell you but it's been a while since I've read anything that actually interested me enough to stick around. I'm still searching and trying to branch out with the genres, but I could give some examples such as Bladerunner (the classic film one) or Bloody Jack by L A Meyer or Cathedral by Carver (Literature) No high stakes in that second one, but there is conflict.

[Devious]

I'm gonna go in the exact opposite direction from Prinzip.

How high the stakes are is completely inconsequential to the quality of a story, so long as the audience is emotionally invested. Take Disco Elysium : a murder investigation and a union dispute make for a better conflict than the vast majority of world domination plots. Think about it this way: when movie characters play poker, does the amount of money on the table really matter?

And I can't imagine reading anything with more than occasional grammar/spelling mistakes, or with high school-level prose. If the author can't be bothered to master the language, I guarantee you they've put no more effort into the actual story.

Anyway, I couldn't pinpoint a single element that stands above all else in importance, but there needs to be at least one outstanding aspect. If your plot is boring and unoriginal, that's perfectly fine as long as you can get people invested in your characters. If your writing style is too dry, you can salvage it with substance: go the hard sci-fi route and focus on worldbuilding.

[TGC> The Games Collector]

Originally posted by Xero_Daxter:

I wish games added the nemesis system. The nemesis system randomises enemies for everyone and a lot of things have cause and effect. Also, enemies will remember you and what you did to them/what they did to you.

Could chalk that up as character development.
Since that system does have some interesting things to develop the nemesis characters a bit, in a seemingly dynamic form.
Although eventually you've seen em all too, it did have a nice variety in those games to keep going for a while.

[Krypto]

A good hook works.

Example: The first mission in Mass Effect 1. You come over a ridge and see this big ass spaceship in the sky. You wonder "what is that?"

There's your hook.

[vkobe]

Originally posted by Michu:

When playing a game, watching a movie or reading a book... What is that factor that hooks you to that story?

Is it the visuals? The characters, their struggle? Is it the worldbuilding?

hard to tell

but in baldgur gate 3 you can be judge death

[salamander]

- characters with clear flaws
- thematic consistency
- strong world building
- morally ambiguous setting