Poll: The perfect game is...

[Epyc Wynn]

Lately, I feel like all the games being released these days are for the most part, uninteresting. All the games seem to just bleed together into one big grey mess of boredom I just don't like. Modern Warfare 3 is repetitive, Skyrim's glitchy, LittleBigPlanet 2 is too complicated, Sonic the hedgehog has a crap plot, (again), and I don't want to deal with this crap. I mean, who does? So my long winded lead-up to this question I ask my fellow Escapists is this: what defines a perfect video game. I'm sure you're curious about this answer just like I am. And don't say there's no perfect game because I don't care. I just want your opinion of the perfect game's defining key elements.

 

[Gatlin52]

well you need alot to have a perfect game but examples of good games are metal gear solid 4 it has great graphics great plot it was super fun you wanted to get every item and you wanted to go and call otacon so games like that where every time you play it feels just as great as the first are perfect

 

[Saladfork]

I'd say it's possible to have everything else, good controls, fun weapons, yadda yadda, but if what I'm doing has no connection at all to the story or the world at large, I'm going to get bored of it rather quickly.

Unless it's multiplayer, of course.

Or Civ. Or sins of a solar empire.

 

[WoW Killer]

I put originality, because there are a number of genres I'm getting bored of, MMO, FPS, RTS to name a few, that could do with some new concepts/mechanics to spice them up a bit.

But there are other games I'm generally fine with mechanically, and I'd be happy with more of the same with new story, visuals etc. Take AC3 for example. AC2 was so good IMO (even if AC1 was like a tech demo) that I didn't even mind them milking the idea like they did. If AC3 doesn't have some extra mechanics in there (although I'm sure there will be subtle new things, new weapons etc.) then it's not going to stop it being a great game; if the story isn't very good, or they mess up the controls, then that might break it.

 

[Goofguy]

Well the 'perfect game' has a combination of many factors. My ideal game has substantial plot and character development.

I think the poll should have had a 'Fun' option. I look at games like Saints Row or Just Cause that basically just give players the 'do whatever the hell you want and have fun' sandbox experience. They're not renowned for their intricate plots or stunning graphics, they're just damned fun to play.

 

[DoPo]

Well, I voted Plot/character development, but really I think it's the actual atmosphere of the game. Call it "immersiveness", if you will. It should feel appropriate, for me. When I played Might and Magic for the first time, the thing I liked is that I felt I was in there playing Heroes in the first person. I bought Amnesia because the trailer oozed with the feeling of dread and mystery. In Bloodlines, you will find little things that constantly remind you you are in a darker reflection of our world.

You get the picture.

 

[Vanitas likes Bubbles]

This was really hard to chose between addictiveness and characters/plot but I cant play a game without it being fun sooo... addictiveness wins IMO

 

[geK0]

The list doesn't have many options, so I picked addictiveness. Here's my thoughts.

The perfect game must have:

Interesting mechanics

one of either:
Multiplayer, replayability or a lot of content;If I'm done with the game in a week it's far from perfect.

challenge; that doesn't mean the game must be 'hard' but that it should make me have to do a bit of problem solving, I hate just breezing through a game while never needing to re-think me approach to beating a boss, use a power up, or flee from an enemy.


An appealing aesthetic; the game should look good, this doesn't mean that the graphics need to be great but just the style (A lot of pixel art looks much better than most high-def models).


Narrative and story telling is nice, I like a game with a good story, but it has never really been important to me. I'm always a little dumbfounded when somebody tells me "I don't like that game because the story was crap" ...... It's like saying you didn't like movie because the background music is bad; you're not watching the movie to listen to background music, you're probably watching it for the story, visual effects or acting.

 

[RipRoaringWaterfowl]

I'm torn between plot/character dvelopment and actual gameplay. Since only plot was on the poll of the two I am torn on, I voted that.

A lot of the games I love usually have a great story and great characters, often leading to them having good artistic and thought provoking qualities. Many of the classics of every medium and genre are built on great stories and characters, and whatever artistic implications that lead to and/or come out of that.

Of course, gameplay is a major part of a game, always, and I am definitivley not above playing a game with great gameplay just because that game is meant to be pure entertainment. Also, all my favourite strategy games do not get their strengths from story at all, and are just great thinking fun. Plus, a good story game is squandered when without good, or at least decent, gameplay.

So for me, I'm torn on the old paradoxial story vs. gameplay struggle.

 

[skywolfblue]

No "Gameplay" option? Gameplay goes beyond just the controls to describe the whole paradigm of how action in the game plays out. That would be my vote.

Even though I do have quite a few games that don't have the best gameplay (Skyrim, Dragon Age: Origins, Alan Wake etc). They always had other ways to compensate for their weakness.

 

[Vegosiux]

Uhhh, "All of the above"?

If we're talking about perfection, it has to have everything. But the story/character development is the thing I'd be the most annoyed at losing.

As far as controls go, well, those should be intuitive by default, that shouldn't even be a discussion.

 

[Sansha]

Skyrim is close.

Not one story but several good ones, it's as deep as you like - as in you can play with all the features like crafting or just fuck around with a big ol' axe, there's hundreds and hundreds of hours of interesting stuff to do, the environment is massive, beautiful, dynamic and interactive, it's genuinely compelling and feels original, despite being part of a series.

Sure, Skyrim is glitchy, but there's ffffffucktons of content so some stuff is bound to not work.

 

[The Wykydtron]

*Ahem*

[HEADING=1]Persona 4.[/HEADING]

That is all.

If I describe why it's perfect i'll be here all day and nobody will read it due to "LOL TLR!"

 

[SanguineScale]

Well, since I just finished a nice round of Katawa Shoujo, the parts of that game that really stick with me tend to be the ambiance. The music of every scene, the backgrounds, the sound effects, and even the moving character portraits. Who knew such simple methods to prove such wonderful results? I haven't really been this pleased with a game in quite a while. I actually feel less stressed from my everyday life. Now that's what I like to see in a game

 

[Keava]

Neither and all at same time.

How so?

Well let me explain. If a game really shines in 1 aspect, but because of it all other suffer it's not good game. Good game doesn't need to have anything at 10/10. It needs to have the flow that mixes all the little things well.

The art direction and fidelity of graphics need to match the quality and feel of the audio. The plot and character development must fit the length, dragging things out for sake of dragging them out is pointless, so is having deep character development that cuts suddenly. If the game controls are clunky and cause trouble, suddenly they start to get in the way of enjoying the atmosphere, same time having smooth controls in otherwise bad game isn't a saving grace either.
Originality, again is hard to measure, because people often don't notice all the small improvements. Iteration is usually better than complete overhaul of form, and having original concept while ambient and controls suck won't make a good game.

I'd prefer each single aspect of the game be just above average, together forming enjoyable experience than have one or two outstanding features while everything else just gets in the way.

 

[Durgiun]

It needs to have an interesting story with developed 3-dimensional characters, fun gameplay and 60$ worth of content. Either a linear and long, but well crafted story, or a wide-open world where I can go and do stuff at my leisure.

Everything else is just a neat plus.

 

[Radoh]

This is something that is hard to define though. Ambiance and look are essential to a good horror game, while not necessarily requiring a lot for the control scheme or plot, in the same way that playing a Suda 51 you need originality that trumps all others.
But speaking like the story strumpet that I am, story is the most important ingredient my favorite styles of games.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

None of those, it's playability and entertainment value.
In a nutshell, you can have the greatest game setting in the world but if the game itself isn't very fun to play, it's a bad game.

 

[Smertnik]

Well, a perfect game would shine in every possible aspect, per definitionem. Otherwise you couldn't call it perfect.

As for the most important aspect in a game.. I'd say visuals/audio, gameplay, and writing+story. Each one of them on its own managed to make me purchase a game at some point.

I bought countless games simply because they were strongly stylized, like TF2 or Psychonauts; I also played through games with unappealing gameplay or visuals just because I wanted to experience a story, PS:T being a prime example. And of course there're more than enough games where the core gameplay is so much fun that I just didn't care about the laughable writing or sucky graphics.

 

[kouriichi]

Jade Empire: Repetitive combat, Broken abilities, no real character customization, and relatively poor/glitchy animations.... But the story and Character Development are.... SO GOOD! UGHUGHGUGHGUHGUGHGUH *changes pants*

KotoR: Suffers all the same problems of Jade Empire. With the addition of poor game voice acting, some would say the game is just all around crap. But the plot twists! The companions! The Ending! UGHUGHUHUGHUGHGUHUGHUGHGUGHGUGHUGHUGH!! *Changes pants again*

Story and Character Development make a game. They make a book. They can even make a movie.
While quite a few games are amazing without it. ((Minecraft, BF3, LoL, etc.))

But a good plot and character development? Thats a foundation that cant go wrong if you do it right.