ludonarrative dissonance 

What happens when the narrative (story) of a game conflicts with the mechanics (stuff the player does.)

"The cutscene says my character is sensitive and kind... but I just blew off 6 innocent people's heads for the lulz and the game was totally cool with that. There's some serious ludonarrative dissonance going on here."

ludonarrative dissonance by liekwat June 19, 2016

ludonarrative dissonance 

When there is a disconnect between story and gameplay in video games. An unnecessarily fancy sounding term mostly used by pseudo-intellectuals to whine about violence in Bioshock: Infinite. To them, the idea of so much violence in a game about a violent man in a violent/racist city is somehow a huge shocker.

Disconnect between gameplay and story happens all the time. There are countless examples of games where characters soak up bullets during gameplay but die from a single bullet in cut scenes. Yet somehow violence in Bioshock: Infinite is simultaneously the most frequently used and worst example of gameplay/story disconnect.

Did you read that article on the reputable game journalism website about violence and ludonarrative dissonance in Bioshock: Infinite? You know, the same journalist website that gave the fundamentally broken PS3 version of Skyrim a 10/10?

ludonarrative dissonance by RusFring September 17, 2013

ludonarrative dissonance 

An unnecessarily fancy term for conflicting elements of ludology (gameplay, game design, et cetera) and narrative (story, characters, and the rules set up by the world).

Ludonarrative dissonance made the game a lot less enjoyable for me. You'd think that shooting a guy in the head would kill him instantly, but no, The Division seems completely oblivious to the fact that it's a Tom Clancy game.

ludonarrative dissonance by Witness Enderfield June 25, 2016