What makes a game GOOD?

[Marathax]

This is a question that really has been bugging me for a while. I've played MANY MANY games, but theres always something missing from these games. Some games have the potential to be good but they always miss that something or that they could've done better. So i put the question out to all of you reading this; What makes a game good in your opinion? Is it gameplay, story, the endless amounts of blood? Online gaming? Content?

 

[Manatee Slayer]

For me the story makes or breaks a game. I know what you are talking about though with games that seem to be worth less than the sum of their parts, I would just assume it's a certain repetitivness or lack of fun gameplay that makes them not quite THAT good.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Gameplay. Something that you enjoy doing and can repeat a lot while enjoying the small differences each time.

 

[Dark Knifer]

There are many things that make a game good. Like story, gameplay, orginality, creativity, replay value, that sort of thing. Eventually, it has to boil down whether or not it's enjoyable or not.

 

[Marathax]

I'll have to agree with you, i love the story in a game like the Final Fantasy X one. That was good story telling (gameplay has something to be desired for but i'll excuse it because of its story.) Also i agree with the repetitiveness of gameplay. I quickly get sick of games like Call of Duty because its the same thing just with different guns. Something that changes every now and again or so would be a nice change instead of the same boringness every round every time.

 

[Tharwen]

My favourite test is to play it and see if I enjoy it or not. I don't know why, but that seems to work.

 

[Swinedog08]

Most games I find would be judge on goodness according to their stories, gameplay and ceativity.
But at the same time I don't play many single player games anymore, I mostly play online.

In that situation I find the community makes or breaks a good/bad game. Sure you could have a wondrously fun game, but if the only people you can ever play with are a bunch of griefing scrubs it kind of ruins it. At the same time there's been quite a few really lame games I have played and thoroughly enjoyed just because you get to walk from point A to point B and poke some old man and the sheer failure of it combined with being with entertain people just makes it incredibly fun.

 

[Marathax]

And thats my question right there. What makes a game Enjoyable? i've been through at least over 100 games and not found one that is a good game. There is always something missing from them or something that they could've done but didn't.

 

[razormint21]

It depends on what game is on topic...
The only common element i could say is graphics or technical workaround.

Story, gameplay, innovation, message, originality are variables that vary per game, per genre...

 

[Veleste]

I will battle through less than awesome controls for a great story. If a story grabs me and really makes me want to see it through to its conclusion I will put up with all sorts of crap. Oblivion is an example of a game which was quite buggy and had less than innovative controls but I've sunk 200+ hours into it.

 

[ottenni]

Core game play is to me the most important part. If you enjoy just the very basic mechanics of the game then it is a huge success. For example i found that i enjoyed just shooting in Killzone 2. It didn't even have to be a good shot, it was just fun. Likewise i found the free running in the Assassins Creed games and the stealth in Crysis to be worth it just in themselves.

 

[Manji187]

Aw man, must we go through this one again? Isn't it a rhetorical question by now..

EDIT: Ow, I see....welcome to the Escapist!

 

[Swinedog08]

My favorite game of all time would probably have been Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee on ye olde PS1. I found that game to be wonderful as it required a lot of timing and skill in many of the areas and it had wonderful puzzles like the scrabanian and paramonia (something like that) temples. It had (for the time) quite impressive background scenery like looking at the full moon from the stockyards. It had its own lore kind of thing, like the history of abe's people, the wild animals, rupture farms, that kind of thing. Lot's of secrets too.

So judging from my experience with that game I'd say what I look for in a "good game" is: Challenging gameplay, Puzzles, Story+Lore, Secrets to find. Oh I also like the way you could be a horrible monster and kill everyone if you didn't want the good ending.

I'm not sure if its just me liking nostalgia or something, but lately I have been noticing the better a games graphics are the worse its gameplay and puzzles become.

 

[Marathax]

Sorry didn't know there was one here, i tried wading through the amount of stuff here but its like trying to find one person on the earth and all your given is the planet that they live on.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

I reckon it depends on what type of game I'm playing. For RPGs, a well conceived plot and varied locations are pretty much key - good DLC also helps this type of game hold it's replay value. For FPS type games, a well conceived plot it about as useful as an inflatable dartboard (the original Doom proved this fairly conclusively) and so FPS games benefit more from gore-oriented graphics and strong online elements. Stealth based games generally feature strong storylines, but also need very good gameplay mechanics to really do stealth properly.

Every style of game has different requirements for 'greatness', and so I reckon a truly 'great' game that pleases everyone and ticks all the boxes will never really come along. There are games out there that try do the whole cross-genre thing, but they tend not to work out that well, after all: "'Compromise' is just another way of saying both sides will be disappointed." I can't remember who said that but they were bang on the money.

-EDIT- Welcome to the Escapist!

 

[Vrex360]

I could say story, or gameplay but in truth for me if a game gives me a charmed feeling, be it from immersion into its world or simply the atmosphere or even the friendly feeling I get when I play it with friends... that makes a game great.

For instance both Mass Effect and Bioshock completely sank me into the in game world and as a result I loved every second of both those games. Halo games are also great fun to play with friends so I have fond memories of doing so.

So there's a balance of fun, intrigue and creativity and to me that's what makes a game great.

 

[Marathax]

Its a sad thing to realise that the games that you buy aren't as good as everyone else thinks them to be ( yes i'm looking at you gamespot who buffed up SO many games and they turned out to be crap) Some original ideas would be good but i'm starting to lose faith in gaming, as so many people just clog the gaming industry up with repeats and some really crappy games. Some ideas of original fresh games and someone to make them would be an excelent idea. thing is i don't know anyone who would come up with an original idea, make an excelent game out of it, make it online and everyone would be happy with it.

As for the cross genre thing, theres a game that almost pulls it off, Savage 2. Its an FPS (close to it with some spells) RPG, (once again close but the levels you gain don't count towards the next game but i guess thats only fair.) and an RTS ( one person on each team only becomes the commander and it turns into a warcraft 2 like game except you can't really control people) A little more work and some polish and it could pull of all three of the games. It does need a lot more content in all areas.

 

[Mr. Mike]

Immersion. This is what does it for me story wise. You get a game that gets you into the story, the world, the lore, the characters, and you forget about the "game" per se and just experience the world.

That's on one end of the spectrum. On the other end, you have pure fun. Pulling off a tricky headshot and the feeling of reward you get for it, playing against friends and having a really close loss, but you still feel fine because the competition was so close and heated. If the gameplay is there and you love it, no amount of story or bad graphics will turn you off it.

So those are pretty much the two things that makes games good. Get a game that does both, and you have pure gaming gold.

 

[Crossborder]

The right balance between Gameplay, Story, Immersion and Length. At least for me. It's also important to try not to expect too much from it, that only leads to dissapointment.

 

[trueluigi7]

Three things that are very important to me are Story, Atmosphere, and Small Details. It is the Big Details that get your attention but it is the small details that lock you in.