What's The Most Important Part of a Video Game?

[Rtas Vadum]

I'd say the one thing that any game needs, is a good story. If the story isn't very good, the graphics won't help it much. If the story is loose enough to allow it, i also prefer the "custom" character creation part of some games, which seem to be present in a lot of the games i have.

[DarthYuugi]

I would have to say Story

 

It makes the game so much better when You get to know characters and how attached You can get to them.

 

In Games like Gears Of War 2 The characters are okay as the storyline is ok but The focus it mainly on the way to get Head Shot's.

 

Playing Online is fun with Gears 2 as The Fighting is what attracts You

 

So it goes like this for me

 

1.Story

2.Cool game features ( In Fallout 3 You have V.A.T.S )

3.Areas ( Rain Forests and stations ussaly attract me thats why i love the Star Forge )

[Serpentine Cougar]

Art direction, is also equally important. I prefer more stylized and escapist oriented visuals, rather than the photorealistic. TRON 2.0 perfectly blended the art style of the film with the medium of video games to create a beautiful world, with brightly colored and glowing polygons filling the atmosphere. The same can be said about Team Fortress 2, and how that brilliantly took advertisement art from the early twentieth century, and transposed them to an "evil genius" atmosphere. Okami, and how it took Japanese wood block paintings and put that video games was also stunning. I'm also liking the upcoming MadWorld for the Wii, and how it uses high contrasts of white and black, in a Sin City-esque nature. I think there needs to be more games that are visually based off of art movements. A game featuring the works of Wyndham Lewis and Edward Wadsworth would be most appreciated, and a must-buy, IMO.

Indeed. Uniquely stylized graphics are the only way graphics can stand the test of time at all.

[stingerhs]

well, i think it all depends on whether you're referring to single player or multiplayer. for single player, it boils down to two factors:

 

1. Story - a great, well paced story can really drive a game even if the gameplay is horrible or even a bit derivative. The Force Unleashed is a surprisingly good example. the gameplay was mostly fun if a bit repetitive, and the boss battles were horribly unbalanced. on those merits, you had a fairly forgettable experience, but that's where the story comes in. add in the excellent story, and you have a game that isn't nearly as mediocre as it actually was. just experiencing that story was really what made that a special game despite its flaws.

 

2. Setting - this is another huge part of any game. for example: Fallout 3 wasn't a particularly great shooter despite it being about the only worthwhile combat mechanic. it was also a bit weak in the story department. what made that such a good game, though, was how everything about the game tied directly into the post-apocalyptic setting. everything from the design of Megaton's ramshackle appearance even to the sheer devastation of the Wastelands and to the sharp contrast of Oasis all lended itself to a great experience. the setting had an obvious impact on every character you meet in the game, and it influenced everything you do in the game either directly or indirectly. the game may not have completely lived up to the previous two installments, but it nailed the setting. that's where Fallout 3 succeeds beautifully.

 

in multiplayer games, it gets a bit more complicated because your experience is always going to be impacted by other players. that's true even with the more story driven MMO's. as such, its difficult to grade any multiplayer focused game until you narrow it down to two things that aren't influenced by the other players. having the most experience in FPS and other shooters, my qualifications very much lean in that direction.

 

1. Level design - this is easily the most important factor in any multiplayer FPS. good level design incorporates balance based on the location. in other words, there shouldn't be any one location in the game that can serve as the ultimate camping spot where someone can just sit there and take out anyone with impunity. its fine to include a couple of good sniping spots, but you need to make it so that someone else can access that location as well. other factors come into play like the size of the map. a bigger map incorporates more players, and it allows you to throw vehicles into the mix. you can then design the maps for more team focused action by adding in bases, strong points, or even mission critical capture points that greatly influence where and how players can move across the map. poor level design = poor multiplayer gameplay.

 

2. Game modes - changing the rules of the game is a great way to impact a game and make it more fun. a lot of people are familiar with deathmatch, but if you vary the rules a bit, ie organize it into teams, it changes just about everything. then, maybe add in more concrete objectives like Capture the Flag, and then throw a wrench into everything by adding in a ticket system where your team loses tickets everytime one of your teammates dies and gains some of them back by capturing the flag. just a couple variations of any rule can have a profound impact that can add variety or just make things fun.

[DeadYorick]

I would say that being able to play the game to a full extent is a must. I have played far to many games that feel far too incomplete or their controls are too finicky. I would gamble about storylines since while stories are all well and good, I find fashioning the story through your own experiences is a far grander experience

 

For example. I was playing Morrowind earlier and I soon walked into a bar. But, when I walked into the bar I felt far more interested in what my character was feeling. I imagined he was having conversations with NPCs and he was walking around the bar in a suave tone. I do this with quite a few games and I find creating your own version of the story is a better experience overall then what the game throws at you

 

I have heard Mirror's edge being mentioned. Overall I did not enjoy this game to much. While I was playing it for several minutes I really didn't get too good a first impression. Maybe its because I didn't have that much of an enjoyment factor coming out of it. I used to play difficult platformer/puzzles like Tomb Raider for a heavy enjoyment factor previously. But I personally didn't get that same effect with Mirror's edge

 

I have to agree with length. I overly enjoyed Deus Ex due to it's massive length, re playability and storyline that you had to keep playing just to see one of it's endings

 

Lastly I feel one of the most important things to a game is presentation. Like how is the entire package presented and has it been properly executed. I have seen many, many games fail due to their designers having a lack of proper execution. If you look at a game... say Half Life. That game had a storyline but it was hidden and put behind the scenes where you didn't really focus on it. Yet because of that and because the gameplay was revolutionary at the time. Half Life was very properly executed and still remains to this day a famous First Person Shooter. Likewise with Deus Ex, except with that game, the gameplay had a few unique element's but it's plotline, poetic symbols, settings and characters put it over the top and presented it very well.

 

Multiplayer is a good thing that can give a game a very extended lifetime. But quite a few games suffer due to shoddy multiplayer (*cough*TheDarkness*cough*) Previously mentioned was game modes which I enjoy. Something I enjoyed about a game such as Halo Combat Evolved (or the second or the third) was that you could both create and edit existing game modes to your advantage. That provided a high amount of player choice for something as respected as multiplayer

[FiEND_138]

Gameplay followed by story. It can have an amazing story but if it plays like **** chances are I'll get frustrated w/poor design & opt out. Probably add soundtrack to my list as well, something that catches the mood of setting & story is a definite plus.

[Ibelin]

Game's story is the most important to me.Then the gameplay.Sometimes i play games just to know the story.Except for FIFA.