What's the most important part of gameplay to you?

[Kyren]

Out of all the options POLISH seems to be the only requirement while the others seem like a matter of opinion or preference of gamers. Pacing, some players like being thrown into a world without a tutorial while some gamers prefer a step by step understanding of the mechanics. 

Mechanics, it can be simple or complex.. from simple leveling up to a multitude of complicated moves or calculations. It is a player preference. The simplest things can be complicated too when given enough thought and creativity. An example of this is Minecraft.

Interactivity, this element is closely tied to RPG, from conversing with NPCs to mindblowing cut scenes to engaging QTEs. QTEs can be very good in bringing in a certain level of interaction that is not present in cut scenes, for example in MW2 when trying to pull out a dagger from your chest, it tries to show you that you are involved that you are the one pulling the dagger not a computer. For me this is not gameplay but more of story telling.

Challenge, again this is a matter of choice thus why most games have difficulty options. Everyone plays differently and being able to provide the type of entertainment a gamer wants is the job of a developer.

Being polished is an essential trait for games as this is where you grab a gamer and tell them that this is a well thought out game that will bring you the entertainment you are looking for. You want to translate emotions in a story, or translate controller buttons into specific movement that feels very right for players. For example for a horror game, it wouldn't be right if you get a lot of ammo as it should be essentially a survival game and that creating fear through scarcity should be conversed with the player through the lack of ammo. Controls come in being polished as well, When players feel a huge learning curve with the controls then there is something wrong with it. A lot of things come from polishing a game and it separates AAA titles from shovel ware.