Here's the problem in a nutshell. The joy of a video game is not in its story alone, nor in its graphics or audio. It doesn't matter how cool your character looks, or how great the set pieces appear, or how great the explosions are. All that matters at the end of the day is, is it fun to play? It's about the mechanics, the actual moment-to-moment gameplay. This is what makes a great game something you'll want to replay over and over again.

So why would you want to suddenly force the player to stop having fun? Many (I won't say all, or even most) games like to move the story forward by providing cutscenes in measured doses. You might liken them to chapters in a book. After a given duration of activity, a cutscene will ensue, giving the player a break. But what if the player doesn't want a break? What if she's just hitting her groove, when suddenly hey, it's time to find out about what the vice chancellor of Kesnorkyville is up to back home? Or you know what? Let's cut dramatically away to watch the villain of the piece snigger about his diabolical plan for the fifth time, when we already know what it's all about! In other words, let's spend time in this video game NOT playing the game!

This Penny Arcade comic sums it up perfectly for me. Yes, it's nice that there is a rich tapestry of history and a complex set of personal relationships to wade through to soak up the ambiance, but it should be entirely voluntary to see this information. Because if all the cutscene does is move the story forward, then there are better, more engaging ways to accomplish this. If, however, there is some very necessary and important information contained therein, and skipping it would hurt your chances of progressing through the game, then the information should be presented in other ways. How? I'm glad you asked!