Do you play games for their story, graphics or ethical values?

[dpgillam]

I suppose it really depends on the type of game.

Final Fantasy XIII was bueatiful; visually flawless. But people expected an open-world RPG, and instead got a very linear (and not very good) action adventure with a boring story. So it tanked, because graphics werent the focus of the genera of game.

 

If Im playing GTA, and stealing Ferraris and other high-end pasta rockets, Im expect them to actually look like thel actual cars, not 6 pixel blocks. (then again, I remember Pole Position in the arcade, when 6 pixel blocks was amazing :blush: )

 

Your gun-bunny game does no good if all the guns look the same, but if its the exact same mission endlessly, no one bothers to play too long. And there have been a few games that look like crap, have no story, but play tight and challenging. Look at Tetris, cheapest easiest game to ever code, and still a ball with no story, graphics, or anything else.

 

In the end, it comes down to the genera to set what are the most important parameters for the game; RPGs need story, shooters need play-ability, and so on.

[AJunkMailBin]

Personally I do not focus overly on how pretty the characters are (although I do note that I have a lot of character appearance mods installed), how the game looks is more important than how any individual or group of characters look.

 

Nor does the diversity inclusive and celebratory moral motif that SJW seem to want imprinted on everything very suitable to some settings nor to different stories. Would you like race, age, sexual-identity, sexual-preference, religious etc etc equality while walking through the wastelands in fallout? What's that? Power suits don't come in kid's size? Discrimination! In skyrim the elderly, middle aged, young adults, male, female, beggars, jarls, khajit, imperial, nord, daedra worshipper, divine worshipper, all are equal before the ax; but not kids? Discrimination. Would the Skyrim be enhanced were the player choice of Argonian over Nord not reflected in the attitudes (often racist) of the NPCs? What if, in Fallout 4 were the fact that someone was a ghoul or a synth did not matter, would that improve the gaming experience? Not even close.

 

There are all sorts of narratives and themes you can explore if you do not enforce one particular mode of behaviour. While I understand that a diversity inclusive and celebratory moral motif could actually make for a wonderful setting, it would not suit all gaming experiences. For me it is a immersion killer.

 

I am an RPG fanatic and will be answering from that perspective.

 

Things I think are benefits to have:
> Story? (For a well-wrought sandbox, a plot may be Ommitted. If there IS a story it must be exceptional; otherwise let the player or their character define it.)
> Setting (This largely depends on the story element. If the story is well written, the setting is less important. If the story is not, then this is the thing that makes the game)
> Choice (Can I seem to interact with the setting in a way that makes a difference)
> Mechanics (How does the game function in those areas where they have defined that they will focus some of their periods of interactivity; personally I hate button mashing/matching/rythm games)
> Mod-ability (Can I tweak it and to what extent)

 

Things I think are detriments to have:
> Online requirement (Not even for install let alone play; Skyrim was the last single player I bought with an online requirement for install - I will not buy another)
> Required protagonist characteristics (This is a big immersion breaker for me, particularly where the character does not match my own characteristics)
> False Choice (If all my choices result in essentially the same result, then effectively were they even choices? this ticks me off beyond compare - even being deprived of a choice would have been more palatable)

> Cosmetics (Even appearance has effects. One of the ones that bug me the most is gender. Why is it that gender does not effect anything? We don't have a problem with racial bonuses in most games, but gender? Is there some reason my slightly build female cannot wield a battle ax as adroitly as that 6'6" muscular guy over there? Actually yes - both as a female (most men are stronger than most women, given compare levels of effort) and as someone slightly built (both due to muscle and mass), there are plenty of reasons)

Edited December 30, 2015 by AJunkMailBin

[Beriallord]

Graphics is the least interesting to me out of the 3, but I do expect AAA developers to make a good effort to deliver modern graphics though. Ethical values could have an impact on whether I buy a game or not, but that is rarely a deciding factor. If the game is being attacked by SJWs, then chances are its ethical values are right up my alley. I hope companies like CDPR will continue telling them to go pound sand.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Beriallord

[Thaneize]

Most of the time i am and was a console player, but over the years the PC became more chilled, with native Xbox Controller support under Windows 7 and the Steam fullscreen mode.

 

Still i consider graphics or better, visual atmosphere an important factor but not important enough to prefer a PC game release over a console release, for example fallout has better textures on my PC but my VCard is old so the Console release has better shaders and stuff so the overall visual atmosphere is better on the console

 

my priority questions are:

Is it fun to play? > is the online mode worth playing? > if yes, do my buddies play the game regularly? > if not, is it a time intensive solo game? > is the visual and audio atmosphere right? > is the voice over (if existant) good? > is the game design and leveldesign consistent? > is there a reason to play it? (like: its a classic) > do i know sequels/prequels? > does the game give me something (knowledge, better engrish ... )

 

There are games i completely ignore if one or more of the factors are bad. I've not played any game from the 90s recently for example because they look so terrible and feel so old and non-atmospheric i just can't stand playing them. Even Halo CE feels old so its just not fun playing it anyore (also i played it so often i could play it in my imagination xD)

[SiNNeR]

story is the most important quality for me, with gameplay a close second. a good enough story can save a game with poor gameplay though, while if the story is too poor then a game won't hold my interest for long no matter how good the gameplay may be

graphics are purely a bonus. it's nice if they're great, but not something that bothers me so much

[dpgillam]

from one point of view I could say ethics never influences my choice, but from a different angle, it could be said its the single driving factor.

 

I bought the Deadpool game. I know perfectly well who deadpool is, and what I was getting. Some days you just have to go kill a few hundred people with twin sledge-hammers, and if I do it on a game, I dont have to try washing the blood out of my favorite shirt later.

 

I like Skyrim for the fact that I can load up one of my saves, and just go on a random killing or pickpocket spree.

Or Ratchet and Clank, where I try to break everything I can.

 

These are games; I play them to let off frustration, aggression, and do all the things Id never do in real life.

[milogrim]

I second guess my judgement sometimes, because I have played alot of games that in principle I should have loved, but actually became bored of quickly. I think it comes down to immersiveness and control for me. I like to be in charge of things and driving them in the direction I want, and I want to be able to hone the game as much as possible to my tastes.

 

I think that's why I found myself here. Bethesda and the modding community offer a personalized experience unparalleled by anything else. I remember buying Fallout3 game of the year addition back in 09', and searching for guides and loot lists, and coming across Nexus. Changed everything, I went nuts and downloaded 300 mods, basically broke my game and filled my hard drive. And I loved it.

 

I've had other flings with MMO's and FPS's and been thoroughly hooked. Story is what trumps everything for me, graphics help some with immersion, ethics can carry a game even farther, like Last of us or Walking Dead.

 

 

[greatdarius]

that depends on my mood. but most times the element that I'm looking for is the story . good exciting gameplay or perfect graphics are not the priority

[Thessera]

1. Story: Lore

2. Design and how it looks overall.

[RGMage2]

1 - Entertainment

2 - Entertainment

3 - Entertainment

 

everything else is unimportant.