Long or short Custom Stories?

[Aurain]

Do you prefer playing short or long Custom Stories?

When I was searching for a Custom Story I read the comments and opinions on the Custom Story by other gamers, to find out what they think about it of cause, but also because I would only play a short Custom Story. For me, I prefer short and good Custom Stories, rather than long and good Custom Stories. I think the longer ones gets more complicated and there can be much backtracking, and I like it more simple. c:

What is your preference?

[Kreekakon]

I'd say it depends on the story the CS has to tell. If it's a story that will begin, intensify, and wrap itself up in 10 minutes, I'm all for it as long as it treats itself well. If another story takes 10 hours, I can enjoy it just as much.

In my opinion there's no need to squeeze down a story's length, or needlessly drag it out. Doing it just right for the story in question is the most important.

[Zaffre]

I agree with Kreekakon. Storytelling is the important factor. However, I think that thirty minutes to one hour is the optimal length for a custom story because most stories can be optimally lengthened to fit within that timespan. Take, for instance, the custom story I scrapped, Rising Water. You had to escape a mansion which was being flooded by water. I had planned it over about an hour because the story would fit within that timespan.

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I think I prefer short stories - partly because I don't have as much time for playing games anymore as I used to have, but mostly because a game that wants to have a great emotional impact really benefits from having the player play through it in one sitting. (This obviously doesn't count for games like Skyrim etc., I'm talking artsy-emotional-game-art-stuff here )

If I have to pause the game, go to sleep and continue the next day I'll have calmed down and filled my head with tons of other stuff and all of the emotions have to build themselves up from scratch again. On the other hand - if the story is scary enough I'll stop playing after a while anyway to catch some breath, so this point probably doesn't really count for horror games ^^

Another point is that it is increasingly hard to keep the player invested the longer the story is. Even the original Amnesia lost quite a bit of its "punch" towards the end, simply because you started to get used to the atmosphere, the monsters, etc. The levels are just as good as the earlier ones - if the last levels were the first you played, you'd be scared witless. But everything that comes before lessens the impact those levels can have on you.

That being said, if the story is really of such epic proportions that it absolutely needs those 10 hours of playtime, by all means, have them. But you better make sure the experience doesn't start to drag and get stale after a while!

Edit:

Take, for instance, the custom story I scrapped, Rising Water. You had to escape a mansion which was being flooded by water.

Damn. That sounds like a story I'd really like to play. No convoluted, pretentious plot, just pure, primal horror. (Especially since drowning is one of my biggest fears...)Shame you scrapped it...

[Adny]

Quality over quantity. That is all.

[Robby]

From my perspective, length doesn't matter if I find a Custom Story's story interesting, but I keep my eye on the quality bits. (How the story evolves, how clear everything is, etc.).

[Kman]

As long as it doesn't start to get repetitive and the story stays interesting a lengthy custom story is fine.

[failedALIAS]

How about another option; Good.