What's the most important aspect of a game?

Level design.

I voted for all the options. 😅

That's not a very good criteria simple because, not every game has "combat" persay.

Gameplay covers all bases. I was confused by your poll when you added that weird "combat only" adjustment to the "gameplay" options.

You essentially created a flawed poll.

>Not every game has combat

Not untrue.

>Flawed poll

How so? Is it that the "Combat Only" option isn't a viable option to all games. It is still an aspect in most games, without it most games will be boring, unless the studio is really good at making indie games and such, like Stray.

Gameplay. You really need to knock it out of the park in other aspects if your gameplay is mediocre or bad.

Story.

Had to be gameplay. That is what makes it a game and what sets this medium apart. Yes games can tell stories but if I don’t enjoy the interactive gameplay part I’ll just YouTube the cutscenes like David cage shyte.

The controls. If a game has crappy controls, it drags down everything else.

Graphics don't matter to an extent, but I don't want crap for visuals. Gameplay in all of its aspects is vastly more important, followed by story, then visuals, etc.

Everything!! From audio to A.I.

It's story, obviously. If it doesn't make me FEEL something; like if it doesn't give me that cheap, dollar store romance novel vibe or that over emotive Hallmark movie vibe like stories in games do, then the game is NOTHING to me.

JK. It's gameplay.

This guy gets it. Watch and learn. (Sorry for the ugly thumbnail, but the video is very educational.)

Not some formula to it, but for me, my list of priorities is usually as follows.

- Gameplay. Mechanics, systems, level design, etc. in whatever combination a game calls for. For example, a platformer needs to lean on mechanics and especially level design, systems rarely a factor. A fighting game is mostly mechanics, systems secondary, level design rarely a factor. Whatever main elements are contributing to my interaction with a game, want them to be good. Execute their goal well, be it combat, exploration, experimentation, platforming, etc. - Gameplay isn't just what happens when you hit buttons.

- Performance. Run well, be consistent.

From here, order can depend on the game in question, but generally for me it's:

- Sound design. Want it to be well done in its own right, but can also be a major contributor to gameplay.

- Music.

- Art style.

- Technical graphics.

- Story.

As for game length, I'm not in the game-per-square-inch camp. More about pacing to me, rather have a game not drag. Not something I'd put a hard number on. Just if you've run out of interesting things to do with your gameplay, wrap it up. If only lol.

Pay to win options. If I can't spend more money than someone else to flex my clear superiority over them as a gamer, then the game is objectively trash.

Modern AAA gaming in a nutshell.

1. Fun game play loop (or why are you playing?)
2. Controls feel good
3. World/level design
4. Efficient menu design
5. Cohesive Art/Music/Sound direction
6. Engaging NPC interaction (if applicable)
7. Story/Narrative (if applicable)
8. Performance options
9. Some
10. Other
11. Things
12. Graphical fidelity and features
13. Resolution

Gameplay.... Agency to be the center focus of the experience...

No other aspect of the game comes within a mile of gameplay importance to our hobby.

Gameplay, of course. Hence why they are games.

Sales, reviews, awards, resolution, brand, platform the game is on, and everything else that has nothing to do with the actual game.😎

If it's exclusive to my platform of choice. If it's not, it's automatically trash.

@pclover1980: That to.😂

Right now there is only one question gamers should be asking of themselves for their next purchase, that being "Does it got Peng?"

That's an inside joke for initiated gamers with good taste.

People that say story. I don't get why you play games at all.

Cutscenes.

Such a dumb question.

Overall excellence in the field of appeal to me.

the sprinkle of magic. got no time for games without the sprinkle. or secret sauce

Immersion, gameplay, level design, audio, pacing

I think these need to be polished to a teeth in order to be a 8-9-10 game for me.

Only one thing for me: Fun!

If I'm having fun, I don't care about anything else.

I agree with what he said, no need to have cutscenes take 50-40 % of the game, a game with bad gameplay is just Trash even if it's Compeletly perfect in all aspects.

Bruh. I will just say that; how can cutscenes be the most important aspect of a game? A game you play.

Uh huh the audience retention is more vital than the game.

It's what i always say, games are supposed to be played not watched, the cinematic cutscenes can sometimes be annoying, TV shows are there for no reason, most people care about the story, it even goes as far as some people giving a 10/10 game a 4,3 or something just because the story wasn't as good as their Netflix show, if they choose to care about the story, and having a 10 minute cutscene every 5 minutes that's thier business I'll stick with actual gameplay.

It's all about celebrity motion-capture for me and how well the graphics are (I go for realism so any pixel less than real is a no-go for me).

Second for me is how well the story is told through cutscenes and the reviews, of course. I also don't play any game with a frame rate that dips below 120 FPS.

Whether or not it's on GP. lol :P

It has to be fun enough to come back to it. And if not fun, then compelling and interesting.

Otherwise a game is just another chore to finish.

@sargentd: I remember having a debate with a friend of mine while in high school (like seventeen years ago or something), and he said that story is what motivates him to play through game. I told him I did not care for stories in games. He was flabbergasted, and couldn't understand why I would play a game if I didn't care about the story.

These people make no sense to me, but they do exist.

I think a game has to be fun and have decent gameplay. Obviously there are some games I like from years passed that people would argue were not very fun, but that I thought were great. I think a game's gotta have its own identity and atmosphere, and quirks - it shouldn't just be this shallow shell of a game like a lot of shovelware.

I really can't give enough credit to Nintendo because they have always managed to make games that are great outside of the box fun. They play by their own rules and not the established norm, and it shows in their work. Of course the downside to that is they have a system that is pretty underpowered, and their online service lags behind the competition. But if there is one of the big three who I'm always most excited to see the next console of, it is Ninty. Really looking forward to seeing what they put out after the Switch.

I like games that give me an excellent overall experience.

THat said, I prefer games that emphasize good mechanics first and foremost. Ideally the mechanics will allow for strong room for emergent gameplay (Rimworld, Dwarf Fortress, Breath of the Wild, Paradox Interactive, any semicompetent MP game). Games should stick to a core goal and keep it simple by only sticking to what they are trying to achieve. Don't tack on random RPG elements, skill trees, crafting or other nonsense for the sake of having them.

The core can be a complex simulation like Dwarf Fortress or a simple platformer like Mario Odyssey. But for the love of Darwin, don't tack on Random RPG elements in Tears of the Kingdom.

Encounter Design and Level design should also be accounted for. Pokemon has excellent RPG mechanics, but neither the AI or encounter design do ANYTHING to take advantage of the game's depth, so the only place you can actually play these games anywhere close to their actual potential is online against other players.

Games with good stories can work too. Disco Elysium is carried by its writing, characters and worldbuilding. And manages to be one of the all time greats because of it. But this is rare. Games are far more likely to have gameplay that impress me than a story that impress me. Considering how far behind game writing is compared to literature.

How fun it is, period.

Yeah, not my thing, but can at least appreciate people being honest about their criteria.

Almost every gamer throws out some "all about the gameplay" line as if it's what they're supposed to say. Then turns out it's just BS.

More annoying, they take that shit into discussion/debate. Can't just be like "Oh yeah, I really love the graphics and story, gameplay is alright I guess". Nah, gotta pretend the gameplay bangs too or else the thing they like isn't validated.

People game for all kinds of reasons. Story is obviously a big one or we wouldn't have a lot of the games we do. Game discourse would be way cooler if more people were just up front about what they like rather than selling it under the guise of something else.

Nobody seems to care about depth and replayability🤡Very SW.

@hardwenzen:

You could subcategorize all this stuff to death if you wanted. But should go without saying, those two would file under gameplay.

Depth emerges from decision making in a wide possibility space. Systems, mechanics, level design, how they work in tandem, are what provide said space in most games.

Replayability is a lot more subjective, various factors can make some games more replayable than others to an individual. But it's often depth that drives up replayability for many.

If you value depth in video games, you value gameplay. If you find a game highly replayable, chances are it's because you like the gameplay.

Yes, but saying "gameplay", its just too broad. There is simply no way that anyone with half a brain will vote for anything else than gameplay when it includes this many subcategories. In other words, there's no reason to even ask the question that TC has asked because the answer is too obvious. Now, if you go into those subcategories, you will then see what people like in said "gameplay", and you never know, maybe its something as dumb as climbing walls or cinematic walking.

1:) Skybox. Day and night transition. Weather effects. I'm a sucker for a good skybox.

b;) Music. Because good music is good.

Also! control. it has to play nice I guess.

You mix that into a rpg mechanic where I can turn 10% into 11% etc and I'm hooked.

I only believe Conan when he said gameplay. The rest of yah lying.

Gamplay and diversity of gameplay for me. Thats what devs need to get right before everything else IMO. Sometimes gameplay can be fun but gets boring real fast so you need diversity and good pacing, not things like watchtowers or sticking the player into a new arena to fight the same waves of monsters over and over. Then after that focus on risk v reward, most games are so easy these days that the reward doesnt even matter, but at least you felt powerfull! /yawn.

Fun.

No such thing, if the story is shocking I could not care less about game play, same vice versa. There are many variables to a decent game, has to do well in all of them.