Gameplay is the most important thing in a game is a very popular misconception. Deep, complex and intuitive gameplay is considered by far, the most important aspect of games. how could it not? whats most important about a game is how it plays, correct? i'd argue otherwise. the most important part of a game is how it makes you feel, the means of how it achieves that is irrelevant.
what differentiates games from other forms digital entertaiment is interactivity. The interactivity that is set between the player and game its self is usually mishandeld, the main job of this interactivity is to deliver a set of emotions to the player, not provide a "deep gameplay experience". whether the emotion is having fun, feeling like a bad ass, sad, afraid, happy, powerfull or what ever set of emotion, its the emotion that ultimatly matters.
a prime example is To The Moon, a game with literally, minimal gameplay. yet it is magical. its core focus, is not gameplay, its not graphics, its not production value, but music and a marvelous story to go along with it. for those who haven't played To The Moon there is little to no gameplay in it, just walking around, progressing the story, and solving a very small puzzle a few times, its roughly 4 hours long, its graphics are exactly like in the picture above, its basically a love story, and its one of the most amazing games i ever played.
i felt all sorts of emotions during the game. feeling happy, sad, loving, confused, intrigued and loving. it was a fantastic ride, a fantastic journey, it was an amazing love story. and "great gameplay" had nothing to do with it.
A sole focus on how the character or characters we play with interact with the world is also an abuse to the possibilties opened to us by games. a game can also have "basic gameplay" yet offer something completely different and unique, a strong focus on story, its endings, what happens in the worlds and characters. while how you commit the act might be simple, the act its self might be enormous in measure. who lives? who dies? do your actions have consequences?. the real question is, why does gameplay trully matter if what is offered doesnt need deep gameplay to achieve its goal?
Does every game need to have an interactive story now? certainly not. just like every game doesnt need to have strong gameplay to be a good game. Again what matters is what the game sets out to be, the emotion it sets to deliver, and if it can achieve that or not. but then, there is another argument, what new things does this game offer? we as gamers, are spending our hard earned money on these games, they arent cheap, and we every right and reasonable expectation to demand something new.
Lets address the elephant in the room now, The Order 1886, one of main the reason this point of view exists. The question arises here, what new did The Order do? what innovations has the order brought us? its a regular TPS, with standard FPS controls, QTE's, cut scenes and pretty graphics. But then again, why does it matter? its standard TPS control shceme isnt there to wow you with new controls or dazzle you with innovative gameplay, the gameplay is stricly there to support the message of the game. A cenimatic experience, with strong characters, deep story and an interesting world. ultimatly, it sets out to take you on and adventure, and the game its self should be judged on that, not the fact that it uses a similar shooting style to gears of war or uncharted.
Is what i am saying that we shouldnt have great gameplay in games? that it doesnt matter? certainly not. what i am saying is that gameplay, is only as important as other aspects in game design, and what matters eventually, is the emotion that is felt by the player. great gameplay can take a player a long way to feeling many emotions, but concluding that its the most important aspect makes no sense. reality is, there are a lot of games that dont need deep gameplay to be a great game. a game that offers the "full package" is always welcome, but not every game thrives to be that full package, and that doesnt make it any worse of a game.
we always demand something new and innovative, yet we hold on to the misconception that gameplay is the most thing that is important, and refuse to accept anything other than that. a baffling concept that is only there to idiolize our hypocrisy. "Make something new!" we demand on every turn, but be damned sure to not step away from deep and complex gameplay, even if it get in the way of that new innovative game that you the dev want to make. keep the priorities the same, but give us something new.
Also, i havent played the order, so this thread isnt to share spoilers in it or dicsuss that particular game, its here to discuss gameplay and its importance. share spoilers, and ill report your fugly hairy spankable ass.
