I think stories take on several roles in games. One is to give the player a goal - a set and solid storyline gives the player a sense of direction in what they're doing, rather than aimlessly wandering about, trying to figure out where to go. A good story should drive a player to play the game, wanting to find out the next plot point in the story. It should also aid in bringing the player into the world of the game, weaving a tale and characters so tangible the player is immersed in gameplay.
Stories need two important things: a well written plot and well written characters. You cannot have one without the other. A well written characters cannot drive a poorly written story, nor can an excellent story have the same impact if the characters do not have depth to their history, personality and their purpose in the game. As such, it is possible for a game to have a very good and meaningful story if both these elements exist in the game.
Suffice to say I will be highlighting an example which the video would knock off as being in the Star Wars category, but their RPG Knights of the Old Republic has one of the best stories I have ever seen in a game. Not only does the plot have a good level of suspense, emotion and depth to it but the characters all contribute in their own way to push the story and make it as engaging as it is. If not for the characters and the storyline I would not have played that game more than once despite it's fantastic game play, which brings me to another point.
Stories cannot be overshadowed by the gameplay. Games which focuses on the graphics and the mechanics tend to butcher the story or possess one which is sub-par, and one example of this was the fifth Ace Attourney game, Miles Edgeworth. The gameplay was fantastic. I had a new way of logically determining what went down in each crime and got to see the prosecution side of the game I knew and love. There were more interactive parts of the game plus a few throwbacks to the origianl series. But the stories were terrible, and it made the character I loved from the Phoenix Wright trilogy crueler and less witty than before. Not to mention the bad puns. Puns in a game can kill the characters and the plot if used badly *cringe*
As such, I don't think narrative contraints impede on freedom of play. in KotOR you could talk to several characters and do other missions, end missions your own way, build your own equipment and play mini games. While, yes, most of these can ultimately lead to the end there's still room for play for the player. In Max Payne you could interact with the environment: vending machines, TVs, shoot pattersn in the walls. In both games there was no time limit on levels, so games with good stories still allowed for freedom of the player to do what he or she wanted while still reaching the next plot point.
I'm not sure if sandbox storytelling can be completely feasible. Like Adams said, the Sims has some form of sandbox storytelling but only through having multiple facets which the player can tell the story through, and coming up with their own narrative. Having a single player in a world with multiple forms of interaction, would, in a sense, be exactly like an MMORPG, and ultimately have a world where the plot isn't necessarily experienced through exploration because there is no plot at all. For a game to be good, it has to either have multiple facets which engage the player through mechanically performing the same actions, or have a single plot that drives the player to the conclusion of the game. I don't think games with stories can have both these elements.
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