Most impotant thing in a game?

[Mikeblu]

What in your oppinion is the most important thing in a videogame, is it graphics or plot, gameplay ect.

IMO you need graphics for marketing and you have to have characters you can like (or hate if your supposed to) a game without realistic characters is bland and boring.

[Marquoz]

A good story line, and well done combat. I can live without the graphics and have done so since I started playing computer games on an 8088. I don't want to see a flashy game with great graphics come at the expense of the story and mechanics of the actual game itself.

[cajmoyper]

I can think of a few games that have no storyline but are still great because of gameplay. So I'm going with gameplay. I don't have one of these, nor do I plan on getting one of them but that is why the Wii is so successful. Normal people and children like that kind of thing. I don't.

[glenn-bob]

online playablility and graphics are it for me. i could care less about single player plots, etc.

[david2189]

gameplay and gameplay only

[Mxr5150]

It's hard to say what is most important because it could depend on the genre.

For many action, shooter, or rpg games, story, characters, and gameplay would be at the top, possibly music being high up there as well.

For sports games, gameplay and graphics would be highly important I think.

[Blu n Gold]

I do agree that game play is REALLY important, but replayability makes a game classic (this comes from multiplayers and a good story.)

[dk3dknight]

Originally Posted by Mikeblu

What in your oppinion is the most important thing in a videogame, is it graphics or plot, gameplay ect.

IMO you need graphics for marketing and you have to have characters you can like (or hate if your supposed to) a game without realistic characters is bland and boring.

So many games have already proven that actually liking your characters is not a neccessary requirment.. they still pull the chain for the cash cow.

If I do not feel any connection between me and the characters, if I feel I cannot like my main characters, then the game is a failure, why would I
endure If I cannot stand the main characters?

Once you start to care for your characters it becomes a very beautiful thing.

[kingofgrills]

Gameplay is definitely key. If the game has any storyline elements, then they need to be well written with compelling characters and plot lines, such as you find in the Half-Life series, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, or Bioshock.

Great graphics are just that - great graphics. Great graphics alone doesn't make a game great.

[Brian Cash]

gameplay by far the storyline makes it more interesting like halo 1 2 and 3 but gameplay is the most important thing

[un4gvn94538]

without gameplay, you cant play it. you can at least ignore the acting, see past the graphics, and stare at the wall during cut scnenes.

[owa]

Graphics are the key for me. If it doesn't have very good graphics, I normally don't spend enough time with the game to find out if I like the gameplay or not. There are probably a couple of exceptions, if I think about it for a while, but in general, that's the way it goes.

Edit: Not saying that gameplay, story, etc. aren't important as well, just that the graphics need to be pretty good for me to even try to find out if the gameplay, story, etc. is any good. I'll also sometimes give a game the benefit of the doubt if it has great graphics but is criticized gameplay/story-wise.

[brett_day]

definately gameplay and replay value! Graphics imho stand for nothing really yes they can sometimes help tell a story better but it is my belief that the best games are the most simple. Take Tetris for example! Shoddy graphics and sound but some of the best gameplay around and still the best puzzle game around, many imitators no beaters. I do not buy a game based on graphics alone like many do

[Rapstah]

Originality in at least one part.

[Luis_A51]

Well its hard to say one thing matters the most, all aspects have to have some sort of balance.

But to me, its probably story. Followed by gameplay and then graphics/sound. This is because my favorite genre is RPGs, and no amount of gameplay/graphics makes up for a crappy story in one of those.

Great graphics HELP, but arent everything to me as far as RPGS go. In racing and sports games then yeah graphics are a huge part.

[Blinkman987]

If you have bad controls, the entire game falls apart.

Other than that, there are great theories on game design. Some talk about the pacing and distribution of "key" elements. Psychonauts is an example of this. It's known as a great game, but few get to the point where the game really starts to open up possibilities to the player. I think it's about an hour or so before you get a psy-power.

I also think story is overrated. Look at a game like Mass Effect. The game is laggy and has terrible controls, as well as combat- which should be a deathblow for any action game. However, sci-fi nerds champion the game for "great story." By "great story," they mean a rehash of any Star Wars story.

[Pelican170]

Originally Posted by david2189

gameplay and gameplay only

agreed!

[cking2729]

For me, there needs to be a perfect balance of graphical prowess, gameplay/re-playability, and control scheme. I can't say story-line, because many of the games I play don't even have a story-line. Burnout Paradise is the perfect example of this. I've probably played it more than anything because it has outstanding graphics, addictive gameplay, seamless multiplayer, and lots of things to keeps me coming back for the sake of achieving completion.

[EvanX]

That it's fun.

[Ascended_Saiyan]

Originally Posted by david2189

gameplay and gameplay only

I disagree. I think people have forgotten what has driven the industry to this point. It is graphics AND gameplay.

Otherwise, there would be no need to buy another console. We could have all kept our 8-bit Nintendo and just had new games be developed for it forever. I don't think any of us want that!

Hell, graphics and physics are the MAIN reason the CPUs and GPUs are so advanced and continue to advance. Most applications don't demand that type of power.

Think about it.