Poll: Should Games be Deep or Fun? And Why is it so Hard to Have Both?

[ArcanePedro]

Simply put, do you prefer your games to entertain you, to immerse you in a setting/time/place that allows you to experience pure, unbridled fun
OR
Do you prefer your games to have a subtext, with a deeper underlying message, a game that makes you think, that makes you better for playing?
While I'd say almost everyone would like a game that mixes the two, without compromising the entertainment for the message but likewise, doesn't let the message go unforgotten amidst explosive action, it is very rare to see such an example in the current generation, why is this?
I personally believe games which allow their players to enjoy a fictional world/setting but which gives them the tools to improve their own understanding of their own without forcing them to do so but making them want to is the best kind of game.
So, what's your opinion?

Edit: Sorry, for some reason the poll hasn't worked :/ Lets just discuss instead

 

[zehydra]

hm. Sounds like Minecraft

 

[Bon_Clay]

I play games for fun. Immersion and story are just another aspect to add to potential fun. If the gameplay is still good, then add as much depth as you can.

But I'd rather have a well designed "GO SAVE THE PRINCESS" mindless adventure than play a really good story with infuriatingly poor gameplay and design that make me want to give up on it.

Playing games is always about gameplay, if they screw that up they may as well have just written a book and stuck with what they can actually do properly.

 

[Vampire cat]

I think a game NEEDS a good solid game play, because even the most amazing story can be ruined by boring/frustrating/repetitive game play. One more recent examples is (and I'm sure I'll get litter ally a ton of crap for saying this...) Dragon Age II. The story and characters may well be very interesting and well done (and as far as I've come in the game, I would agree), but the combat is tedious at best. Already I find myself going from cut scene to cut scene, and the confrontations I find myself in along the way are simply intermissions. They are not fun, and at times can be very frustrating (I play on a PC btw, maybe it's not the same on a console...). This has caused me to need a lot of split up sessions in order to work myself trough the game, despite me finding the story interesting enough. And personally knowing the Dragon Age II fan base's dedication, I'm sure I'll regret having said this. *holds breath*

Having a mediocre to bad story, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily ruin the game if the game play is very good. Circumstances will always find a way to surprise us, but generally a game will suffer more from bad game play than it will from a bad story.

In this day of age, the average game is just that on both fronts, average. You have the occasional game that will shine trough by pulling one or both points off brilliantly, but this is very rare. For an example on how game play can make an amazing game, even with the complete lack of a story, see Minecraft.

In the end, as I'm sure you'll understand from the rest of my post, I'd go with game play over story and depth. When I sit down with an interactive media I expect the interactive part to have the most focus, what direct actions I'm able to take. in which context is often still very important, but secondary.

I play games for fun. Immersion and story are just another aspect to add to potential fun. If the gameplay is still good, then add as much depth as you can.

But I'd rather have a well designed "GO SAVE THE PRINCESS" mindless adventure than play a really good story with infuriatingly poor gameplay and design that make me want to give up on it.

Playing games is always about gameplay, if they screw that up they may as well have just written a book and stuck with what they can actually do properly.

Feeling silly having written that much when it could be summarized so easily XD.

 

[InfiniteJacuzzi]

I'd argue it's harder to keep a consistent plot in a fun video game than it is to have an underlying theme or message.

 

[APrutton]

Interesting question.

Which suppliments which nowadays? When games first came about there was nothing but gameplay. No true story, and that was fine with all of us. Did we need to know why sonic was a blue hedgehog with magic crystals and robots attacking him? No, we didnt. We just enjoyed the game for what it was.

However things are changing. With the increasing demand for better graphics, more realism, more immersion, We're starting to see games which play like films (Cough MGS4 Cough). Do we really want that?

I personally love mindless games. Force unleashed, Devil May Cry (1st one), Dynasty warriors, God of War. Then again ask me my favourite game series ever and it's Mass Effect, a game series where the story is everything.

In my mind, if you're going to focus on storyline in your development then the storyline has to be AMAZING in order to overcome bad gameplay.
Flip it round though and the gameplay only has to be good to paper over a fishy storyline in my opinion.

 

[Vern5]

I dont feel like the two idea have to be mutually exclusive. If one had to be sacrificed for the other I would prefer a game I'm playing to be fun. If I really want depth that badly, I can read a book.

 

[Wayneguard]

The first one. the one about fun and immersive. I like fun and immersive.

 

[moretimethansense]

Depends on my mood.

Devs are lazy, lazy and incompetant.

 

[Vern5]

I just realized that there's a sexual joke in the title of this thread.

 

[PancakesSUCKTHEYDO]

I enjoy both.