What I think makes a game great

[Good morning blues]

So in order to make a good video game, I need to design good gameplay? Thanks for the brainstorm, guys, I'll be sure to remember you when I'm rich

 

[Pegghead]

To me a good game needs fun and variety.

 

[likalaruku]

I think visuals effect #3. If you are playing a game in various shades of grey, brown, & olive green, you don;t really feel that immersed.

ED is a haven of lies. This is their own post to describe The Escapist: "The Escapist Forums - a place controled by Atheists and Jews, a fun place to troll random people with your extereme religious believs, Nazi ideas and Communist ideaologies." They seem to have confused this site with the YouTube comments section.

 

[Wuffykins]

Anyway, to make a post on topic, something that makes a game great is that it doesn't punish you for playing it. It's something that i've seen popping up more and more lately. Why would you do that? Seems like a terrible idea, and yet it happens.

What's your definition of 'Punish'? As my first idea of the use when speaking of games would be punishing difficulty and, citing Monster Hunter as a prime example, it definitely keeps me interested and coming back for more. Crap, I'm still only towards the beginning of Freedom Unite though my save tells me I've put in 80 hours so far.

I do take it you mean something different, right?

Edit: To the OP, I agree with you though personally I would rank story down a few pegs to be completely honest. Right now the two games that have been getting the most play time have little to no actual story involvement, but the gameplay of the two make them well worth the play time. Already mentioned MH: Freedom Unite, but the second is Patapon. Hell, if the story was just a little deeper than being a God who guides the little dudes in their search for 'IT' I would definitely put it forth as a candidate for a game that fits all your criteria. That is just a fun little bugger of a game.

 

[Zaik]

Anyway, to make a post on topic, something that makes a game great is that it doesn't punish you for playing it. It's something that i've seen popping up more and more lately. Why would you do that? Seems like a terrible idea, and yet it happens.

What's your definition of 'Punish'? As my first idea of the use when speaking of games would be punishing difficulty and, citing Monster Hunter as a prime example, it definitely keeps me interested and coming back for more. Crap, I'm still only towards the beginning of Freedom Unite though my save tells me I've put in 80 hours so far.

I do take it you mean something different, right?

Edit: To the OP, I agree with you though personally I would rank story down a few pegs to be completely honest. Right now the two games that have been getting the most play time have little to no actual story involvement, but the gameplay of the two make them well worth the play time. Already mentioned MH: Freedom Unite, but the second is Patapon. Hell, if the story was just a little deeper than being a God who guides the little dudes in their search for 'IT' I would definitely put it forth as a candidate for a game that fits all your criteria. That is just a fun little bugger of a game.

No, it's not difficulty, it's tedious boring crap, generally. One good example would be Star Ocean 4. Once you've already beaten the main gane and whatnot, it unlocks access to two additional dungeons with harder enemies/bosses etc. There's no real equipment shops after the main story, so you've got to actually craft the gear yourself to use in there. That would be good and all, if it didn't end up meaning you would be running around an area you cleared out halfway through the main story for hours upon hours hunting for magical clay used with a skill called duplication so that you can actually make the junk.

I mean, it seems like to me, that it wouldn't have been hard to put this item on a vendor you could only access after the main story was over. There's even two places that it could easily be done, however they chose to instead make you run around for hours and hours to make gear capable of beating the two end bosses to the dungeons. It was something they never did in any of the other Star Ocean games, so it probably frustrates me a bit more than it should, seeing a developer take such a big step backwards, but still, pretty annoying.

 

[Ken_J]

I think it really depends on the genre. Solid gameplay is always necessary, but games like puzzles, stuff meant to be addicting rather than immersive, don't need good storyline, or good characters.

Addiction is the immersion for puzzles!

 

[Ken_J]

All I care about is the gameplay. Anything else doesn't matter as long as it's fun. Even terrible games can be fun for their comedic value. This is demonstrated in my beautifully drawn graph:
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd328/LooksLikeFailure/qualitygraph.png?t=1277786699

My friend and I love making fun of the terrible voice acting certain games. Biggest laugh comes from samurai warriors 2 where a giant 8 ft man dressed like a lion, sounds like a collage frat boy.

 

[Ken_J]

I don't agree on not including audio. Great audio can turn a game from good to great. Necessary for the likes of racing games and rpgs.

case in point - Thief: Deadly Shadows

it ditched the open level design and rope arrow freedom from the previous two games in favor of a much more linear approach (this was not the best decision); but, the fantastic audio redeemed this game and gave it its best level - Shalebridge Cradle. Audio is necessary for atmosphere creation, even more so than graphics. Any of the thief games are a testament to that.

I don't agree on not including audio. Great audio can turn a game from good to great. Necessary for the likes of racing games and rpgs.

That's true but you don't NEED it. It's nice but non-essential

I disagree again. The explosions, gun fire, engine noises, yada yada, needs to be well executed, therefore necessary for a game like Modern Warfare or Motorstorm to be good. Without it, it would not be good.

Story is essential for certain genres, but I'll take audio over story any day when it comes to a shooter like Modern Warfare.

Still my opinion is that it helps but audio alone cannot carry a game.

 

[DarthFennec]

I think it really depends on the genre. Solid gameplay is always necessary, but games like puzzles, stuff meant to be addicting rather than immersive, don't need good storyline, or good characters.

Addiction is the immersion for puzzles!

Yeah! Case in point, Katamari Damacy's story sucks, but I still love that game to death ^_^

 

[gl1koz3]

The more it feels natural, the better it is. The details are to each their own. But the main point of a game is annihilation without physical damage. Quality of feeling of supremacy is what defines quality of game. They surround that by all kinds of stuff these days, whatever helps build the feeling.

 

[Bacterial-Ash]

1. Visuals and Audio: Their nice but not needed.

I'd say these two are VERY important actually, but I dont mean a billion polygons/9.0 surround sound.
I mean having a visual style and atmosphere that you will remember, like Morrowind's archetecture and swamps, while dark, brooding but beautifull music plays in the background, or Kingdom Heart's quirkyness, or Team Fortress's madness. Even if you dont like the games themselves, they still breathe a certain vibe you will pick up on the first time you see them.

FF6's intro sequence still looks epic, not because of the "graphics", but because of the camera angles, slow credits and epic music, even if it is on PS1.