I can understand why you'd make that distinction, but I'm pretty sure you'd be misguided to attribute simplicity to a game being on an arcade. For one, you mention Pacman, where people tend to establish their own win states. I've seen people compete on Pacman for either score, time they managed...
Ok, before it sounds like I'm ranting I'd like to know one thing: what is it you have in mind when you say "arcade game"? I think we have a difference in understanding of the term. I'll explain my reaction so you see where I'm coming from:
I undertsood what you were saying up to this point, but...
Considering how much people seem to enjoy the story then yeah it probably should focus on it to some degree. I have a catch to that though: on principle, if your game is about traversing environments (or exploration, if you will), fighting enemies and solving puzzles, then every moment where the...