darkSpyro

BEFORE YOU CRUCIFY ME FOR POSTING THIS IN S&N I NEED A LOT OF REPLIES, MORE THAN IN VIDEO GAMING

I'm taking a college writing course and I have to poll some people for my research topic. "Which is most important to gamers? Graphics, story, or gameplay?"

Here's the Straw Poll, your answer would be greatly appreciated!!

I'd rather a fourth option for all of them.

A dumb looking game just reeks of unprofessionalism and laziness.
A simple story isn't always bad,but a big mess or small mess are all frustrating to have.
Walking simulators feel like a waste of 10-60 bucks, just like Dwarf Fortress has a reason to be open source.

A combination of the three makes a good game,just like a combination of skill,idea and effort make good art.
I think a good example for that are Telltale games and *sigh* Undertale. Neither have the best gameplay,on the latter the art is sometimes inconsistent and lacking, and the story holds them up high on people's minds. However,just because they have two weaker aspects,the games would be worse off as books or movies, because the interactiveness and the secrets to be found make it a better experience played.

Quote: Bifrost

I'd rather a fourth option for all of them.

A dumb looking game just reeks of unprofessionalism and laziness.
A simple story isn't always bad,but a big mess or small mess are all frustrating to have.
Walking simulators feel like a waste of 10-60 bucks, just like Dwarf Fortress has a reason to be open source.

A combination of the three makes a good game,just like a combination of skill,idea and effort make good art.
I think a good example for that are Telltale games and *sigh* Undertale. Neither have the best gameplay,on the latter the art is sometimes inconsistent and lacking, and the story holds them up high on people's minds. However,just because they have two weaker aspects,the games would be worse off as books or movies, because the interactiveness and the secrets to be found make it a better experience played.

As much as I agree, I really can't do that for the purpose of the essay. I understand a balance between them is needed, but I need to know which is more important.

None can be, for me. For a long time I thought story,then Gone Home and Depression Quest happened and it's kinda obvious there's a point you have to do SOMETHING other than read/listen/see :U Then I think gameplay should be more important, then Dwarf Fortress shows there's TOO MUCH of a good thing; there are also those games 100% about a mechanic that just feel dull after some time. Graphics will never need to be 1080p 60fps Unreal 4 dumb crap unlike what the AAA industry thinks, though of course it doesn't need to be your run-of-the-mill unfinished game jam project sold on Steam.

Gameplay is most important part. A game with a good story and bad gameplay isn't a good game. Thats why there called GAMES

Visual Novels are classified as games, I think...? :U

I'd say Gameplay and Storyline.

But of course theres never anything wrong with graphics, but really whats more important in a game?

I think that nowadays,more than all of those,it's optimization, coding,etc. Sure,back then you could be excused to playing something made in a month with bugs up the wall, but nowadays people aren't going to look at your game anymore if you make it a hassle to play or too hard to fix. No wonder most people find out Pokémon Gen I wasn't as good as they remember once they discover all the obvious glitches and the horrible lack of balance, for example.

I believe gameplay. A story can keep you hooked and all but it has to keep you wanting more. The story gets less spectacular time after time. Games with better gameplay tend to have higher replay value because you just don't want to stop playing. Graphics, while front and center these days, just tend to make things seem more complex as they improve. That's not a bad thing but a simpler game makes it easier for novices and veterans alike to pick up the game and go. Games that range in complexity with the player are winners.

Combination of answers would be great if possible. Gameplay with a lackluster story gets you a boring repetitive game like any of the EA sports games or Call of Duty. Pure story with no gameplay and you get a visual novel that would honestly work better as just a video than attempting to call itself a game.

Graphics are nice and all, but as some games have taught us, whether 8-bit or HD a powerful story that's fun to play will remain in the hearts of gamers for many years to come.

Gameplay and Graphics.

Stories also incredibly important too, but a game can do without a big complicated one.

Sorry if I just feel like replying to everyone here. Haven't had DS for the entire morning and afternoon, I'm just all talking now :U

But a simple story isn't a lack of story,or nonessential. Mario saving Peach from Bowser is simple,yeah,but it wouldn't be as charming if it was actually called 'move character to the castle/exit at the end' even if it's what it's actually about. Which brings back to my point that some stuff straight out of game jams which are all about this puzzle mechanic are empty and dull if you don't give us even a small "why should we care". A story can be as simple as that why and be good.

All of them.


Ocarina of Time may be a great game but I'm not playing with those graphics. I can't stand those. I'm not used to them.
A game with amazing graphics but no story is nothing since the game doesn't center around anything. If you want to play on a sandbox, just get GMod.
If you can't use the controls reliably, or the game is just cinematic, they I'd rather just watch some let's player do it.

As a person who studies game design, I think there should be a "depends on the developer's vision" option.

Because that's really what it comes down to. Developers will only bother with what they feel is most important. And that's different depending on the vision.

If I'm looking to make something that's pick up and play for anyone but has a layer of complexity to it, then I need super tight gameplay, but my story need only give a slight context to the game, and the graphics should be simple but functional (as in it helps indicate things to the player). Like a 2D Mario platformer. Those pretty much focus on tight gameplay, but the story is just "save a princess you probably don't care about", and the graphics, while functional, don't really wow you, even if they are kinda pleasing.

But then Sonic is another kind of platforming game, and while it has gameplay just as impressive, you compare the first Sonic game to Super Mario World (they came out around the same time), and you'll notice that the world is way more detailed. It feels less like you're going through an obstacle course and more like you are exploring a world, especially with how organic the slopes look and what not. The organic slopes also are what made Sonic's gameplay - it was pretty much the first physics based platformer (or at least the first successful one, though I can't think of any that preceded it), which is an idea that wouldn't have sold without natural looking environments. Then you jump forward to S3&K, and that actually started to have a more fleshed out story, with details and clues being discretely placed about it. It helped you care about the characters and get immersed in the world. The very reason Sonic was able to compete with Mario so well in the 90s was because, as a character, Sonic was thought to be way cooler than Mario. With Mario being more of a hollow shell. With that in mind, you can't really say gameplay is most important over anything, because if it was, then games wouldn't even still be a thing - in order to compete with established faces (in the case above, Mario was established well before Sonic), you need to do something different. Which is why cool characters, visuals, and story have become so important. They are what makes games in the same genre different from the other.

So yeah, it's pretty much down to what the developer wants to do. Do you just want a fun pick up and play game, or something that's deeply immersive, or maybe even both at the same time? Does the "why" matter more than the "how", or are both just as important? It's all down to what kind of game you are trying to make.

I voted gameplay for the sake of your college essay, but at the end of the day, I do really think these elements are meant to be tailoured to a developer's vision. None of them are really more important than the other universally, it just depends on what you are making.

Honestly I don't know which to stick with between gameplay and story.

story of gtfo

This is a really tough one, since they can all save or destroy a game on their own.

A game can have bad/minimalist graphics but still have great gameplay (Minecraft).
A game can have a lousy story but excellent gameplay and design (Just Cause 2).
A game can have both minimalist graphics and little to no gameplay and survive through its story (Danganronpa; To The Moon).
A game can have standard gameplay and mediocre story, but excellent graphics to carry the experience and wow you at every turn (Crysis 2).
A game can have no story at all but still survive off of great graphics and excellent gameplay (Rocket League, any modern sports game worthwhile).

Though I guess if I had to choose one I'd say gameplay. There are several games I play that have ****ty stories or not the prettiest graphics but I still enjoy them because the gameplay is solid and engaging. Meanwhile even if the story is supposedly excellent I'm not going to bother if the gameplay doesn't suit me or is downright broken or dated.

EDIT: Also I know a bunch of people will probably say that graphics don't matter at all and they shouldn't have to be so pretty but at the same time I feel like it does make a difference and sometimes better graphics lead to better, more smooth experiences. Fallout 4 and Star Fox Zero while both looking pretty great in gameplay could (and in the case of Star Fox, should) look better than they do.

gameplay

because it's a game

Gameplay.

I honestly think story. If you don't have a good story, you don't have a good game.

Quote: TTD

Quote: PwnageFTW

I honestly think story. If you don't have a good story, you don't have a good game.

Original mario games? Pac Man? Dig Dug?

They still have a story. You can make them a single line, but they're still giving you a reason to play and care one bit about these pixels. That and presentation.

Quote: Cynderfan507

Quote: TTD

Quote: PwnageFTW

I honestly think story. If you don't have a good story, you don't have a good game.

Original mario games? Pac Man? Dig Dug?

Actually, Mario's always had the same, super simple story: save the Princess (or, whatever that one girl's name was in Donkey Kong).
I dunno about Dig Dug though, as I haven't played it or seen it before.
I think you're right about Pac Man though.

Dig Dug is awesome. It was a unlockable in some Pac-Man party game

What's the point of having a good story if there isn't good gameplay? If I was in it for the story alone, I'd go watch a movie.

Quote: Bifrost

Quote: TTD

Quote: PwnageFTW

I honestly think story. If you don't have a good story, you don't have a good game.

Original mario games? Pac Man? Dig Dug?

They still have a story. You can make them a single line, but they're still giving you a reason to play and care one bit about these pixels. That and presentation.

That's less a story, and more an objective.

(Most) mainline Mario games don't have a story, just an objective. Peach isn't a character in them, she's a goal post.

Gameplay, then story, then Graphics.
To be honest, I actually like characters the most in a game, since if I hate the game but love a few of the characters then I will literally play the game just for the characters and to see how it ends for them.

But I vote Gameplay.

Gameplay by far.
Story really doesn't matter much to me. I usually skip cutscenes anyway... Sometimes it can be interesting, but not usually enough to make a difference at all.
Graphics I could care less about.

i think undertale proves that you don't need graphics in modern gaming to make good game xD

^Well that depends. Undertale isn't technically impressive, but it's not supposed to be. It goes for a minimalist art style.

There's a reason why games like Shovel Knight are really popular - they push the 8-bit style as far as it can go, and it looks aesthetically pleasing. Because of that, 8-bit is considered a stylistic choice nowadays, as opposed to a technical choice like back in the 80s. Good graphics doesn't necessarily mean having the most realistic lighting effects and highest polygon models. Good graphics constitutes that a game conveys the kind of worlds, characters, and tone that it means to. Games that use a pixelated art style like Undertale, are intentionally doing so, in part to tickle the nostalgia in gamers, and it conveys a sense of "this is what you played as a kid except newer and fresh". So in that respect, Undertale still has good graphics. It has a goal in mind with it's visuals and it succeeds.

Bad graphics would be considered anything that looks sloppy in the context of it's style and hardware. In a 3D, realistic game on the PS4, that might mean fuzzy textures all over the place. In an intentionally pixelated, "old school" game, an example of bad graphics would be sprite art errors or something like objects not having shadow sprites (which could in turn make the game slightly more awkward to play).

Also, I'm curious where people would place the importance of music under?

Gameplay, but you should never just focus on one if you're designing a game.

Quote: Kitty

Also, I'm curious where people would place the importance of music under?

Personally, I'd put it in second, after gameplay. By far more nice to have than the other mentioned 2, but still not required.

Quote: Kitty

Also, I'm curious where people would place the importance of music under?

Once again, depends on the developer's vision/the kind of game it is.

It's arguably the most important thing in rhythm games, for example.

And for story driven games, music has extra importance as it conveys the mood and emotions of the current events in the game.

Gameplay

I mean a game does not need to have best graphics of all time and while a good story is great to have I can deal with even a mediocre story or something worse I guess but I really pick up games for gameplay it really sparx my brain with enjoyment and creativity without appealing gameplay I probably would not buy it. I know these probably aren't the best reasons but these are my reasons

Quote: Kitty

Also, I'm curious where people would place the importance of music under?

I've yet to play a game with a really unfitting/lousy soundtrack that wasn't a bad game already so I'm not really sure.

Honestly a lot of video game music (specifically in AAA development) sounds the same so I don't pay too much mind unless there's a particular track worth listening to.