By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Gaming - The Factors that make a game great

Veknoid_Outcast said:
The_Liquid_Laser said:

You left out the most important factor of all: content.  Imagine a game with the best graphics, music, story, and gameplay.  It's over after 1 hour.  Now the game is really disappointing.  On the other hand if you have a super long game without much variety then that gets old too.  Content is actually what people are looking for when they buy a game, both quantity and quality of content.  

(You also left out challenge, but content is even more important.)

I might swap out the word "content" for "value". I think value does a good job at unpacking the usefulness of the content of the game.

"Content" and "value" are closely related, but they aren't the same thing.  Content is what determines value when we are talking about entertainment.  An interesting 10-page novel for $20 is a bad value.  A boring 1000-page novel for $20 is also a bad value.  An interesting 1000-page novel for $20 is a great value.  But the value is not the content.  The content is what you actually experience when you read the book.  The content is the reason why you buy.

For a book, the content is closely related to the story.  But games are much more than just a story.  The best word for games is just content.

kirby007 said:
The_Liquid_Laser said:

You left out the most important factor of all: content.  Imagine a game with the best graphics, music, story, and gameplay.  It's over after 1 hour.  Now the game is really disappointing.  On the other hand if you have a super long game without much variety then that gets old too.  Content is actually what people are looking for when they buy a game, both quantity and quality of content.  

(You also left out challenge, but content is even more important.)

Content and challenge is under gameplay

Content is different from gameplay.  Mario Kart, 2D Mario, 3D Mario, Mario RPG, and Mario + Rabbids all have very different gameplay.  The content of these games is very similar.  In any of these games I can experience Mario, Bowser, Goombas, Peach's Castle and all of the other parts of the Mushroom Kingdom.  The way I experience it is the gameplay.  But the actual world and the stuff in it are the content.

Graphics are experienced with the eyes.  Music is experienced with the ears.  Gameplay is experienced with the hands.  Content is experienced with the mind.



Around the Network
The_Liquid_Laser said:
Veknoid_Outcast said:

I might swap out the word "content" for "value". I think value does a good job at unpacking the usefulness of the content of the game.

"Content" and "value" are closely related, but they aren't the same thing.  Content is what determines value when we are talking about entertainment.  An interesting 10-page novel for $20 is a bad value.  A boring 1000-page novel for $20 is also a bad value.  An interesting 1000-page novel for $20 is a great value.  But the value is not the content.  The content is what you actually experience when you read the book.  The content is the reason why you buy.

For a book, the content is closely related to the story.  But games are much more than just a story.  The best word for games is just content.

kirby007 said:

Content and challenge is under gameplay

Content is different from gameplay.  Mario Kart, 2D Mario, 3D Mario, Mario RPG, and Mario + Rabbids all have very different gameplay.  The content of these games is very similar.  In any of these games I can experience Mario, Bowser, Goombas, Peach's Castle and all of the other parts of the Mushroom Kingdom.  The way I experience it is the gameplay.  But the actual world and the stuff in it are the content.

Graphics are experienced with the eyes.  Music is experienced with the ears.  Gameplay is experienced with the hands.  Content is experienced with the mind.

But is it really? For example is in a racing game the world content or the cars/karts or actually both?
Waluigi has different stats in a kart vs toad on a bike making it gameplay but also content



 "I think people should define the word crap" - Kirby007

Join the Prediction League http://www.vgchartz.com/predictions

Instead of seeking to convince others, we can be open to changing our own minds, and seek out information that contradicts our own steadfast point of view. Maybe it’ll turn out that those who disagree with you actually have a solid grasp of the facts. There’s a slight possibility that, after all, you’re the one who’s wrong.

kirby007 said:
The_Liquid_Laser said:

"Content" and "value" are closely related, but they aren't the same thing.  Content is what determines value when we are talking about entertainment.  An interesting 10-page novel for $20 is a bad value.  A boring 1000-page novel for $20 is also a bad value.  An interesting 1000-page novel for $20 is a great value.  But the value is not the content.  The content is what you actually experience when you read the book.  The content is the reason why you buy.

For a book, the content is closely related to the story.  But games are much more than just a story.  The best word for games is just content.

Content is different from gameplay.  Mario Kart, 2D Mario, 3D Mario, Mario RPG, and Mario + Rabbids all have very different gameplay.  The content of these games is very similar.  In any of these games I can experience Mario, Bowser, Goombas, Peach's Castle and all of the other parts of the Mushroom Kingdom.  The way I experience it is the gameplay.  But the actual world and the stuff in it are the content.

Graphics are experienced with the eyes.  Music is experienced with the ears.  Gameplay is experienced with the hands.  Content is experienced with the mind.

But is it really? For example is in a racing game the world content or the cars/karts or actually both?
Waluigi has different stats in a kart vs toad on a bike making it gameplay but also content

The content is the world and the characters and the karts.  So Mario Kart does have a little bit of unique content from the other Mario games (the karts), but it's mostly the same.

Content is not the stats.  The stats are really part of the gameplay.  Game mechanics and controls are all gameplay.  At a certain point during any game, you've learned the controls and mechanics well enough that you don't even have to think about them anymore.  All of that is second nature and you experience what the game is really about.  That is the content.

Dynasty Warriors and Hyrule Warriors have almost identical gameplay.  Maybe the characters that you can choose in one game have similar stats to the other?  I don't know.  I focus on the content.  One game takes place in Hyrule and the other in a fictional version of ancient China.  The content of the two games is pretty different even though the gameplay is extemely similar.



that explains why i feel that each DLC or seasonpass i pay for is ripping me off, they dont have content



 "I think people should define the word crap" - Kirby007

Join the Prediction League http://www.vgchartz.com/predictions

Instead of seeking to convince others, we can be open to changing our own minds, and seek out information that contradicts our own steadfast point of view. Maybe it’ll turn out that those who disagree with you actually have a solid grasp of the facts. There’s a slight possibility that, after all, you’re the one who’s wrong.

kirby007 said:

that explains why i feel that each DLC or seasonpass i pay for is ripping me off, they dont have content

Why do you buy DLC if it doesn't have content?  All of the DLC I've ever gotten has tons of content.

Gameplay = how you experience the game.
Content = what you experience.

When I buy DLC it rarely changes how I play the game, but I usually get new things to experience.  I get new content but not new gameplay.



Around the Network
The_Liquid_Laser said:
kirby007 said:

that explains why i feel that each DLC or seasonpass i pay for is ripping me off, they dont have content

Why do you buy DLC if it doesn't have content?  All of the DLC I've ever gotten has tons of content.

Gameplay = how you experience the game.
Content = what you experience.

When I buy DLC it rarely changes how I play the game, but I usually get new things to experience.  I get new content but not new gameplay.

because it adds gameplay in the form of faster cars, being able to fly planes, new operators, looks etc
but yes what you can do within the world and what and which world that is i still view as largely integrated



 "I think people should define the word crap" - Kirby007

Join the Prediction League http://www.vgchartz.com/predictions

Instead of seeking to convince others, we can be open to changing our own minds, and seek out information that contradicts our own steadfast point of view. Maybe it’ll turn out that those who disagree with you actually have a solid grasp of the facts. There’s a slight possibility that, after all, you’re the one who’s wrong.

Gameplay above all else. You can have prettiest graphics in world but if gameplay is shit then the game is shit.



kirby007 said:
The_Liquid_Laser said:

Why do you buy DLC if it doesn't have content?  All of the DLC I've ever gotten has tons of content.

Gameplay = how you experience the game.
Content = what you experience.

When I buy DLC it rarely changes how I play the game, but I usually get new things to experience.  I get new content but not new gameplay.

because it adds gameplay in the form of faster cars, being able to fly planes, new operators, looks etc
but yes what you can do within the world and what and which world that is i still view as largely integrated

You are confusing gameplay and content.  If I buy DLC for Mario Kart and get more cars then I am getting new content.  The game plays the exact same way.  That is why it is called gameplay.  It's how it plays.

This is very similar to the differences between nouns and verbs.  Nouns and verbs go together but they are two different parts of a sentence.  Content is the "what".  It's the stuff of a game.  It's like a noun.  Gameplay is how you experience a game.  It's like a verb.



For me having a bloody complete game on physical media tops all lol.

Hard to find these days.



 

 

Gameplay trumps all in almost every case. The graphics can suck and the story can be almost non-existent or not the best, but fantastic gameplay usually more than makes up for it.
If I'm playing a Mario platformer, I'm expecting very little in the way of the story. Heck, I expect little in storytelling in any platformer.
So to me gameplay alone can usually make a game great. Sound and Music are pretty important as well. I would say graphics and story usually isn't as important.



Lifetime Sales Predictions 

Switch: 161 million (was 73 million, then 96 million, then 113 million, then 125 million, then 144 million, then 151 million, then 156 million)

PS5: 122 million (was 105 million, then 115 million) Xbox Series X/S: 38 million (was 60 million, then 67 million, then 57 million. then 48 million. then 40 million)

Switch 2: 120 million (was 116 million)

PS4: 120 mil (was 100 then 130 million, then 122 million) Xbox One: 51 mil (was 50 then 55 mil)

3DS: 75.5 mil (was 73, then 77 million)

"Let go your earthly tether, enter the void, empty and become wind." - Guru Laghima