Gameplay, Graphics, Sound/Music and Story, which one is most important?

1 - Gameplay
2 - Story
3 - Graphics

Obviously its the gameplay.... I don't even know why this keeps coming up.... Its Axiomatically indisputable. Now as for what people like more..... Well thats a whole different animal.

none of the others can save a game if it has a bad gameplay. none of the others can neither ruin the game if it has a great gameplay.

so, gameplay.

i would put audio-visual presentation as second. can't really choose between audio and visuals, since they walk so closely hand-in-hand. Skyrim and Symphony of the Night are good examples of great games that have totally shit stories. if it's fun to play, the story doesn't matter to me. a good story is still definetly a great addition, and it can make the game more immersive.

Separate sound from music. Having great environmental sound is part of the immersion process. Having music around tend to ruin the immersion for me. If I'm in a WW2 dogfight, I want to hear the engine sounds, machine gun and cannon sounds, the clatter of enemy bullets hitting my aircraft, damaged engine sounds, explosions......

I'm a simulation type of guy. I don't go for absolute adherence to realism. But, I try to keep music where I feel they're appropriate . They're certainly not appropriate in the middle of a dogfight or somewhere in the jungle with hostiles trying to kill my character.

Some players play a game like they're watching a movie. Not me. When I play a game, that's me in the game. I tend to look at things in the game and how it would look like if it was real world.

Great graphics? They're welcome if they're present. But, they're not absolutely essential. If it was, I would've upgraded from my GTX 560 Ti already. I get about middle-level detail settings with it for most newer games. But, so? So long as the graphics are serviceable, it's good enough to me.

If I'm playing an adventure game(eg Curse of Monkey Island), the story would be central. But, if I'm playing mission-based games? Not so much. So long as the story is adequate enough to get the mission going, it's enough. Any deeper and the story will get in the way of game play.

Sound...just to be different.

But really I don't think any one is more important than the other...balance is what it's about.

I think Art direction and sound are very underrated...those are the two things than can make me not like a game no matter how good the gameplay.

Nothing is more important than gameplay, it's the reason you actually game, to be able to control a character than isn't you and might be able to do cool stuff that you in real life can't.

Then comes the story, without an interesting plot it's pointless to control a cool character.

After than comes graphics, not a must for realistic ones but artistic too.

Music also adds a lot but I think it's the final touch.

Game-play, obviously.

I personally couldn't care less about most of those other things. 99% of game "stories" are ridiculous, poorly written, and barely above the level of fan-fiction. I almost always turn off in-game music. Graphics aren't that important to me - if they're good, cool, but if they're not, it's no big deal. Sound effects don't do much for me either. I play GAMES for their GAME-play. It really is that simple.

Personaly I don't look at games that way, to me a game has to have that special something to attract me, call it charm, and that charm can be the combination of several factors. There's no specific factor to me that will make love a game.

I will tell you this tho no game can be good just by relying in just one factor.

Gameplay is most important for the majority of game genres and story is most important for certain game genres like adventure games or visual novels. The graphics and sound are defiantly important to enhance the game experience provided.

That doesn't mean it necessarily has to be advanced either just has to sound and look nice for the type of game it is you can do that with 2D graphics and a midi soundtrack. Obviously not every game would work with those limitations and that's where advanced 3D graphics engine and sound engine come into play.

Games like Farcry 3 and Bioshock Infinite Defiantly benefit from having more powerful graphics engines making for a more immersive experience. Sound also enhances those games although I don't think there the best examples for that. Battlefield 3&4 and Red Ochestra 2 have some great sound effects that really enhances the experience on top of good graphics and gameplay.

its all about the graphics. if its not making the latest GPUs burn out then its simply not worth playing. j/k.

clearly gameplay is king. if that doesnt work or is not fun then whats the point. of course its all subjective on the gameplay front. one mans awesome gameplay is anothers meh. its much harder to quantify than graphics.

after that i would say setting rather than story. is the setting an interesting place to play in? interesting to explore? interesting to see? many argue that rapture is the main star of bioshock for example or skyrim itself is the most interesting element in, er, skyrim. i would include level design in the setting of course. sure you could have a great background setting but if the levels are just straight corridors then thats not good.

then the sound. crap voice actors can kill a game stone dead. i always say that i would rather a game didnt have voice actors than it having bad voice actors. then there are the other sounds which are essential to adding atmosphere to a setting. music is also very important.

then i would put graphics. graphics are still important and can still add a lot to a game of course. they add a lot to the setting (would rapture have been as cool to explore if it was made for a geforce 2? probably not) and new graphical tech makes certain gameplay possible (would total war work if we didnt have the graphical tech to draw 1000s of soldiers on the screen in a 3D environment?). but if the gameplay, setting and sound are in place and the graphics are good enough to serve their purpose (even if they are old) then it can still be a great game.

story goes way way down in the list. thats just there to give a bit of context. sometimes its not even needed and when developers let it dictate other elements of the game then the game tends to suffer.

In order, gameplay comes first as an absolute priority, then graphics, then story and lastly sound.

In regard to graphics, I can play old PC games such as DOOM, QUAKE and old Half-Life games with no problems - those are some of the best games at the time of release. I would be a weirdo if I refuse to play them because of bad graphics.

I hate this question, just make a good game and include them all. I don't care how great the story is, great graphics will make it better because it is more immersive. Just the same if you have a great story but the game plays like shit due to controls or whatever, another fail. One trick pony games are typically going to attract a niche audience, just a fact.

Basically this. A good game tries to keep a high level of each thing, and I generally look for a good all round experience.

The question also cannot be answered because each game has more strengths in one department than another, and for good reasons.

Take for example "To the Moon". If you judge that game based on graphics or gameplay it doesn't do much, but in terms of sound and story it shines.

For mp? Gameplay obviously

SP I guess atmosphere, not really story

What a terrible thread.

@kraken2109: thanks for reminding me that i have no skills in anything. at work they complain that i cant do my job properly, now its going to hell here at gamespot forums too :)

Think about it.

We watch films cinematics

We read books for story

We listen to music for music

We play games for gameplay

@kraken2109: yep sure i get it. that makes sense.

all help make a game good, but for sure gameplay is #1

Gameplay... Story comes in second. Graphics and sound are the cherry on the cake for me.

Not always. I've played games for other reasons than gameplay. Take The Walking Dead for example, gameplay is as basic as it gets, what makes it shine is the story and characters.

@BSC14: I voted gameplay first, but second for me definitely has to be sound design and the soundtrack. I have a decent audio setup, where I can hear all the separated channels, and it just sounds magical. When I have surround sounds of rustling leaves or scraping along the ground while prone, or hear and feel rumbling of bass of explosions in the distance, I get a little tingle. Sound is quite an underrated yet integral part of every immersive gaming setup. I do appreciate good graphics, but if I'm hearing tinny or muddied effects (even SNES, N64, and PS1 games sound awesome) in games, where the sound was not a primary concern during a game's development, I just don't feel it. I can still enjoy games that have bad sound, but I find it much easier to enjoy games that have bad graphics and wonderful sound.

@FelipeInside: I feel that's just yet another advantage primarily for PC gaming. Because PC has the most indie developers, as well as the most AAA, AA, and A games to choose from, you can pick your preference of stimulation, whether the appeals come through graphics, sound, story, or gameplay. You just have a fantastic selection to fill your needs.

I don't think thats true for all games. Video games are an interactive media, but that doesn't mean all of them are trying to be Counter Strike or Devil May Cry.

Gameplay

Story

Graphic

This is what I think is best

For me it's a mix of gameplay and atmosphere. The latter is what really stays with me after I've finished a game but the former can turn a good game into a great one.