If you regularly read any video game news site, you’ve no doubt heard about Jennifer Hepler at some point this week. But for those of you who haven’t, Hepler is a writer for Bioware who has worked on Dragon Age and Star Wars: The Old Republic, and recently got a chunk of the internet good and pissed at her, mostly regarding her feelings toward combat (and really, gameplay in general) in games.

She isn’t really a fan, you see, and would actually prefer if more games gave you the option to skip that stuff so she could get to the dialogue and story parts that she enjoys. This, as you could expect, got some people on bit of a witch-hunt. Hepler has been called “the cancer that is killing Bioware” (which is a pretty stupid statement on a couple of levels), and her and Studio GM Aaron Flynn have been fielding personal attacks over twitter to the point where Hepler closed her account after a mere 14 tweets.

The point of this isn’t really for me to weigh in on the Jennifer Hepler situation itself, though. I think it should go without saying that just because Jennifer Hepler happens to have a very different opinion and approach to games than you would expect, that doesn’t justify the immature, and frankly disgusting reaction from some people. And it disappoints me that this whole situation will simply be reduced to another internet shitstorm, when I do believe there’s actually a discussion to be had here regarding how a game can approach telling a story.

So let’s talk about that instead, without getting bogged down in personal attacks. Does that sound good to you, you sad sacks of stupid bitch? Good.

Now, a popular defense for Hepler’s position is that, as a writer, she doesn’t really have to like games to craft a narrative. That just because you play a certain part in making games, doesn’t mean you have to enjoy playing them yourself. This is certainly true enough, and I would never argue that Hepler isn’t qualified for her job just because of that. What I would argue, however, is that this isn’t the best stance to have if you want to tell stories through video games as effectively as possible.

The one thing that sets video games apart from other storytelling mediums is their interactive nature and, at least in my opinion, the best stories in games are the ones that use that interactive nature to its benefit in some way. I’m talking about instances where the story genuinely feels like an experience I couldn’t have gotten any other way. Now I can’t speak to Hepler’s personal credits (I’ve never been a fan of Dragon Age and I probably won’t ever play The Old Republic), but I can say that Bioware is by no means the master of this based off the games of theirs I have played.

For example, the Mass Effect series is probably some of the best science-fiction out there in my opinion (though admittedly, I don’t care for most of the genre). I love the series, and a lot of that has to go to the story and characters they’ve made. At the same time, though, there is a bit of a disconnect that occurs when I play those games. It often feels like the story and the actual game are on two opposite ends of the room. At one point I’ll be playing a pretty engaging third-person shooter, and then at another point I’ll be going through dialogue branches watching this great story play out like an interactive novel. Both of these things are still good, but they feel separate.

In dialogue, the reapers are these terrible bringers of Armageddon that may require you to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to stop them. In gameplay, they’re just another enemy with a glowing weakpoint.

Do you see? One aspect of the game (gameplay) loses some of its drama and tension because another aspect (story) remains mostly on its own side of the room almost doing its own thing. Now this doesn’t kill the good stuff about the Mass Effect games, but it does sort of demonstrate what I think Bioware is at their best right now, which boils down to delivering a great story, but not necessarily great storytelling.

Dialogue trees are Bioware’s form of storytelling right now, and they do the job adequately but they often put distance between that and the other part of the game. You can still deliver a great experience this way, but the real gems of storytelling in games are the games that didn’t have you put the gameplay down, plop you on their lap, and read to you. It was the games that used the gameplay to invest you beyond the game’s text.

I’m thinking of games like Ico, that somehow successfully have you develop an attachment to a character through escorting her, which is usually a hellish task in a game but leaves such an impact on you in this instance because its done well. Balancing fun puzzle solving and a sense of urgency, Ico is a game that tells its story in a very simple, but powerful way.

Portal and Portal 2 are absolutely hilarious games, but their writing goes beyond that. The dialogue almost serves as the perfect narration for the absurd, tricky setting you find yourself trying to escape from. How something always seems to have something to say with every success on your part, does wonders to make you feel like you’re not alone, even if you wish you were sometimes.

And let’s not forget Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which told its more powerful story outside of the cutscenes. As Adam Jensen is going about his missions, you’re seeing all the different sides of this conflicted world in many different ways. Emails, dialogue, to the very settings your exploring, you’re taking in a story that goes beyond Adam Jensen’s personal journey.

I could keep citing examples of my favorite storytellers in games, but I think you get the idea.

You see, you can have Jennifer Hepler’s approach, and still make something great. However, I feel that if you are a video game writer, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice by not considering the interactive aspect of games and how to use it to your story’s advantage. Having a great story in a game can be enough, but you should always be trying to think of the little ways it can be more.

And that’s really my only gripe with Jennifer Hepler. But I suppose I’ll have to boil this down to 140 characters and add an insult to it.