What Makes a Game Good?

[Buckles Supreme]

I have noticed on every kind of game known to man people can't help but always use the phrase
"This game is horrible." But that's not very helpful in determining a games worth based on the content. So what makes a game good? I know it seems to be a subjective question but people can quickly determine whether a game is or good or not by playing it. So how do we as gamers determine whether a game is worth playing or not. I say this because some games even though they seem to be subjectively bad anyone can have a lot of fun playing them. Does that make them subjectively good based upon how much fun you can have with the game? Shouldn't a games worth be determined by how much fun a person can have with it instead of determining it based upon the normal criteria? I say this because there are so many people that determine a game let alone on the graphics will others also do it based upon other single criteria. And its just my question, if you can have great fun with the game no matter how subjectively bad it appears to be doesn't that make it a good game or not? I know a lot of people in the industry base a games worth off a lot of subjective terms but at the end of the day isn't it a game that you have fun with no matter how bad the graphics, music, story, are still a good game because you have fun with it?

 

[z121231211]

From all my experience, it's whatever keeps me interested in playing. (Keyword there is "me")

 

[Frasman]

A good game isn't the same as a fun game.

For me a good game is a combination of things that make a memorable experience. Sound, visuals, story, gameplay and tight controls have to work in harmony. Good example-Metal Gear Solid 3. It combined all of these elements to combine a great/memorable game. But once I finished the game, I never picked it up again. But to this day I still hold it in very high regard.

A fun game dosen't need all these items, but will need a certain x-factor that is unique to the gamer to render the game fun. For example -for me anyway- Geometry Wars. It had a catchy soundtrack, and tight controls.....but that was it. It had x-factor up the arse, and that almost by itself, caused me to spend a substantially more time playing and enjoying that $5 game than any $60 high budget Halo's or Call of Duty's that flood the marketplace.

 

[Kopikatsu]

A good game is one that you enjoy playing. A bad game is one that you don't.


It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that. Which is why I wish rating systems were replaced with a thumbs up or thumbs down.

 

[Guffe]

For me:
Good/Fun/Interesting story
Good/Fun/Interesting/Well executed combat (if it is a game that has combat in it)
aaaaand that's pretty much it?
Also controlls overall are not allowed to suck

 

[TehCookie]

It must be entertaining. The thing is people find entertainment in different ways.

For me there are three things that make me like a game:
1. Gameplay
2. Story
3. Aethetics and things that make me giddy inside (like how Okami has you playing as a wolf in a painting)

Also one of the parts can fill in for a weakness of another. Like if a game has great gameplay and a shitty story and vise versa, though the third one is more of a bonus.

 

[Buckles Supreme]

While this is true from personal perspective what about peoples opinions that u don't agree with? For instance, I like playing Call of Duty games, they are fun, easy to get into, and let me have a relatively fun filled competitive online experience. Now because of its popularity people hate it for the sake of hating it. Most of the time if you say you like Call of Duty your opinion is automatically invalid in any other context just because you have fun with it. I could say anything after this point about how I play indie games and support the Super Indie Bundle everytime it comes out or how I also like playing more intelligently stimulating games such as RTS and RPGs but some people won't listen to anymore words I say because I used the words, "I like playing Call of Duty," in a sentence. And frankly, thats really dumb. I should be able to play a game thats fun and not be frowned upon or my intelligence be questioned because I like a specific game or franchise. I play Call of Duty, Gears of War, and Halo but I also like, Amnesia, Magic: The Gathering, Guild Wars 2, and Torchlight. Now if I can have fun with all of these games does it really matter how good they are subjectively?

 

[SajuukKhar]

Environment is key in games.

A good environment can be fun without a deep plot, however a deep plot means nothing without an environment worthy of holding it.

To be more specific, Hogwarts doesn't need Harry Potter to be a fun place to explore, Hogwarts is an interesting place by itself that a game with no real plot besides exploration could be fun.

On the other hand Harry Potter NEEDS Hogwarts, had the harry potter series been exactly the same, but with a far more dull location as its backdrop, the series wouldn't have done anywhere near as well as it did now because the setting would blow

If a game developer is thinking of choosing between story and environment, environment should ALWAYS take precedence.

 

[L0dest0ne]

After thinking about this for awhile, I was able to prognosticate these numbers:
Pure Gameplay: 60%
Originality: 15%
Playability (does the AI ruin the game?, do the controls make it unplayable): 15%
Aesthetics: 10%

 

[krazykidd]

All games are good . Who in their right mind would make a bad game? Better yet , who in fheir right mind with the talent to make games would purposely make a bad game?: