| Ka-pi96 said: But... how it makes you feel is largely because of the gameplay, no? So then gameplay is still the most important... |
No. Well sometimes, depends on the game. But a lot of the times it's the interactive and cinematic aspects, not the gameplay. Dating simulators, visual novels and point and click adventures are examples of this. They're still referred to as "games" but those games don't focus much on "playing" so much as engaging the player into their games. The Walking Dead is one of the most touching and brillaintly scripted game of this decade and a lot of people admit to having created deep connections with many of the characters in that game. Topic creator is right, video games are an evovling media and trying to limit creators by saying "You don't play a lot, this is just a movie" puts stupid boundaries. Let developers try different things, like authors and film makers do with their own medium. Instead of having everything solely focused on balanced/fun mechanics and everything is just a point A to point B platformer/shooter, etc.
The greatest video game I've ever played was Journey on PS3. The experience wasn't particularly fun as compared to say, Smash Bros or Mario Karts with friends on a lazy Saturday night, but it was one of the most stunning experiences in my life (yeah, went that far). It was the first time I dropped the controller and thought "Wow...video games are more than just for fun".
I WILL admit that if a game is just god awful and frustrating, no matter how amazing the story is, THAT is a problem. I'd much rather just watch a Let's Play or cinematic compilation of the game in that case.
