If you define the speed you have to interact as gameplay, then it fits. If like myself you don't, then it's something seperate, I think increase/ variety of difficulty or speeds you have to interact shouldn't just get lumped into gameplay.

Screw that, gameplay remains the most important aspect of a game!

I think a lot of people in this thread are confusing the necessity of gameplay with the importance of its quality/depth. There's no denying that having a solid interactive base for your title is vital (regardless to how bareboned), but it doesn't have to be the focus. That there are dozens of games that people can say "i played this game for the [not gameplay]" should be all the proof needed. Gaming is not as narrow a medium as some seem to wish it was.

There is a wide variety of gameplay. some games the emotional feedback is from the struggle and eventual succes of doing something that was hard. Where the gameplay is the challenge, what about games where most the gameplay is making choices? The most important part of those games would be the story that leads to the choices you have to make, the looks sounds and voiceacting my be very important too, to help draw you into the narative. Gameplay might be simple interactions, that without the rest woudn't be fun.

After all video game are just pushing buttons and directional imputs, the why is ususally much more important than the what.

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.

So the walking dead and the wolf among us are shit games?

Nope, gameplay is and will always be the most important aspect for a game.

Every now and then however a minimalist gameplay experience may come along (Flower or Limbo), but these are niche one off kind of experiences. Rarely are there more than 2 games a year which offers this. The other 15 - 20 games I play in a year MUST have good gameplay.

Back to Flower/Limbo kinds of games, these only really work when every single other aspect of the game, be it controls, music, characters, hell even the menu screen must emote perfection and a level of craftsmanship that only that developer can achieve. 

Gameplay is still the most important. Gameplay doesn't necessarily have to mean deep, intuitive, designs but the concept of having an addicting form of gameplay is still the most important, hands down. Hell, people still play Pong, Breakout, Tetris, etc. today. It isn't because of graphics, music, etc. (in general) but it is what the game has you to do that keeps the gamer interested. I guess gameplay matters more to me because I come from a family where they didn't finish games, they BEAT them and gameplay mattered most in beating a game.

Gameplay is the most important for me, and graphics are the least important.

In these examples that you bring up, following the story is part of the gameplay. Getting emotionally attached (or detached for that matter) to certain characters is part of the gameplay.

Gameplay is not limited to inputs any more than playing with cards is limited to hand movements.