Which video game elements do you tend to value the most?

Started by Legend, Dec 12, 2018, 02:55 AM

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Legend

Story?
Realistic graphics?
Art direction?
Art execution?
Game loop?
Good controls?
Progression system?
Visual feedback?
Sound effects?
Pacing?

the-pi-guy

I value the gameplay above all.  Is it fun from moment to moment?  

I can put up with a lot, a massive lack of progression, bad visuals, etc for that.  



I suspect that my second thing is the soundtrack actually...

Even an okay story with a soundtrack that plays to the story in an enticing way is huge for me.


My favorite games and movies are the ones that have a great story, great visuals, and perhaps most importantly a sound track that really tugs at my heart.  

BananaKing

Gameplay
Story
Lore
Graphics/presentation

You can make a pretty great game.if you do those well.

Xevross

Dec 12, 2018, 12:08 PM Last Edit: Dec 12, 2018, 12:10 PM by Xevross
Depends on the game, but I'd say gameplay (overall progression, loop, controls, pacing) and story are definitely the top two. As long as these two combine to keep me engaged then its all good. A game with an okay story but incredible gameplay (e.g. 3D mario) can be just as good as a game with okay gameplay but an incredible story (e.g. TLOU).

The rest of those elements are just icing on the cake for enjoyment when playing and overall rating on the game. Also as Pi said, soundtrack is super important and should be on your list of elements!

Just for a bonus, my top two games ever are BOTW and TLOU, and I'd rate each of their categories like this:


Spoiler for Hidden:
<br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Story? 6/10 BOTW, 10/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size"><del>Realistic graphics? &nbsp;</del>Graphics quality: 9/10 BOTW, 10/10 TLOU (for their release date)</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Art direction? 10/10 BOTW, 8/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Art execution? 10/10 BOTW, 9/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Game loop? 10/10 BOTW, 7/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Good controls? 10/10 BOTW, 9/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Progression system? 9/10 BOTW, 8/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Visual feedback? 10/10 BOTW, 10/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Sound effects? 10/10 BOTW, 10/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Pacing? 8/10 BOTW, 10/10 TLOU</span><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Soundtrack: 10/10 BOTW, 10/10 TLOU</span><br><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">Average: 9.27/10 BOTW, 0.909 TLOU. My score for each: 10.0/10 BOTW, 9.9/10 TLOU. </span><br><br><span style="font-size: 0.7em;" class="bbc_size">The phenomenal story for TLOU makes up for slightly lacking gameplay (in my opinion), while BOTW&#39;s incredible gameplay and beautiful world make up for its lacking story. That balance varies a lot game by game though. And there might be games which have a higher average rating (like God of War) which I&#39;d rate a bit lower because it doesn&#39;t do anything super exceptional like either of these.</span><br>

kitler53

Story?  - i hate a bad story.  lots of games work great without any story at all (mario kart, smash, ect) and that is just fine.  lots of games work great with a great story (TLoU, GoW).  But a game that has a bad story really diminishes the value of the game to me (monster hunter world).  

Realistic graphics?  i personally hate "realistic" graphics.  i want a beautiful game but not a realistic one.  game like valkyria chronicles or ratchet and clank are far better looking to me then shame like CoD.

Art direction? - i guess my prior answer ought to have gone here?

Art execution? - what?

Game loop? - double what??
 
Good controls? - mandatory.  i don't always mind "different" control (like was the case in dark souls) but it the game needs to control well.  lots of motion controlled games fail this for me.  it makes things frustrating and really un-fun.

Progression system? - i personally think most progression systems are worthless,.. a way for the developer not to have to think too hard about AI by controlling difficulty with escalating life/damage multipliers.  however, i am absolutely addicted to a well implemented talent tree like world of warcraft has (had?  its been a really long time since i played last).

Visual feedback? - not sure.

Sound effects? - i personally think sound has a much bigger impact on enjoyment then most people think.  perfect music and sound queue can go unnoticed when they are perfect but when they don't fit well the game can feel inexplicably "bland".  

Pacing?  - only importance in story based games i suppose.  i do think putting some variability into game difficulty is a good for gameplay too.  
i dunno, as a summary i think it is just important that before the game goes into production that the developer really knows what they want to accomplish.  less is more sometimes.  i well polish core idea then a lot of things that each feel half-assed.


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

Legend

I really love progression. Gameplay without it doesn't tend to feel fun.