RPG Maker and Story-Telling in Games

I'm sure by now a lot of you have at least heard about To The Moon. For those whom haven't, it is a game with SNES-era RPG style graphics by Freebird Games, and it puts many big studio games of today to shame. It puts them to shame not in terms of graphics of course, or gameplay (the little slide puzzles between memories was a little out of place, I thought), but in terms of it being a rich narrative in what is a very story-driven game. So good so, it outbeat bigger titles for Best Story from Gamespot in 2011. Others in the running were Portal 2, Xenoblade Chronicles, and others. Also worth mention, it was nominated for best music too!

Ah, so full of the feels..

What I'm getting at is that there seems to be an emergence of a movement towards better story-telling, albeit an underground one. Of late, some really great story-experiences have been coming out. One such experience was Journey, which is such a well-crafted experience. It is able to tell a whole story without a word of dialogue or text throughout the entire game, which built up to quite an ending. Also worth mention, the recent episodic game series that was The Walking Dead. It had such a rich and fantastic character development and delivery, it's able to make you give a rat's arse about them. It's games like these that give me hope for the continuing idea of video games being considered an art medium. Especially after story-telling travesties that was Gears of War and others. You played it, right? I pointed this bit out the other day to someone, but the section of the game where you find Dom's wife in the second game (spoilers!!)? That was horrendous. I laughed out loud, quite literally. The whole "lore" itself behind the games is just sloppily done, almost as if it were an after thought after all the graphics work, the character models and aliens, the game play (which is solid), the doses of ultra-testerone machismo, and so forth.
I won't ever say it was a bad game though. Just as everyone else did, I thoroughly enjoyed chain-sawing through my enemies, but the story is just ridiculous and full of cliches and piss-poor dialogue. If I were a professional reviewer I'd give the game play itself an arbitrary, numerical score of 4.75/5 and the story a "did you just complete a fiction writing course at your local community college"/5. (Granted, I realize that last rating is technically alpha-numerical, but shut up. :P)
I know not everyone will agree with me, but to me, a story is just as important as the game play feel. Not only do I want to enjoy what I'm doing whilst progressing through a game, but it's also important to me to have a well-crafted story that sucks me in and is able to get me to care about and emotionally invest in the characters. I absolutely adore a game that can do this as it sets a part a game from others that are merely entertaining diversions.
This is why I thoroughly enjoy the recent rash of games made through RPG Maker, like the afore-mentioned To The Moon. Despite the old-style JRPG type graphics, many of these games are very well done in terms of story. These games are often very thematic, ranging from the surreal to the sublime. To The Moon was a fantastic story about ambitions, personal tragedy, and the desire I think we all have to right things we've done in the past. Put simply, it was beautiful.
This relatively new medium for gaming are even capable of horror elements, with the right setting of mood. Don't believe me? Try One Night, by Dark Gaia. Mad Father is another good one. They do well to set that horror tone, even without the cutting edge graphics.

From the 3rd installment of One Night.

What many of them also do is to try and instill some sort of message and provoke thought. Misao, a popular one, has a very clear theme of the depths and horror of bullying that a victim and those around them can experience. I won't give away more than that, but it makes it worth at least a play through. Another that tries to tackle something bigger is Clock of Atonement. Quite honestly, it's kinda messed up but stirs up an internal discussion of morality and the ramifications of one's actions (or inaction).
Now I'm not gushing over any and all RPG Maker made game, as there are some that are less than good. However, seeing this indie and community driven push by passionate gamers and developers gives me hope that one day, many AAA titles will be, or strive to be, as rich and vivid and real as these grass-roots efforts.

Below are links to some of the games I mentioned as many are free, but worth checking out. :]

Clock of Atonement - http://rpgmaker.net/games/349/
One Night - http://rpgmaker.net/games/926/
To the Moon - http://freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon/     (Also on Steam.)
Misao - http://vgboy.dabomstew.com/other/misao.htm
Mad Father - http://vgboy.dabomstew.com/other/madfather.htm

Not mentioned, but one's that look interesting that I would like to try.

Space Funeral - http://rpgmaker.net/games/2430/
Corpse Party - http://www.memoriesoffear.com/games_corpsepartypc98/index.html