What do you want out of a game?

[U-96]

Do you like superfly gfx, mindbending sound and sweaty palms, or perhaps attention to detail, a good storyline, and the impression that your actions matter.
Do you want to relentlessly frag spotty adolescents in QuackWorld 17, or does moving hordes of tiresome French pixels around a corpse littered battleground float your boat?

Did you follow the hype and shell out on a brand new game with its glossy case and limited-edition manual only to be disappointed with the gameplay void and library of necessary patches, or did you buy an unassuming game on a budget label with a .pdf manual and find it was the best in your collection?

This isnt really a gameplay vs graphics argument, I'm just interested to see why people buy particular games, and perhaps discover why the PC games market is shrinking, with projects and developers disappearing on a weekly basis.

So the question is:
What do YOU want out of a game?

[socalgal]

Good question!

I would have to say my favorite game is/was Obsidian, by SegaSoft. It's a few years old now, but the graphics are still awesome with Escher-like terrains, unique concepts in design and puzzles, and an interesting plot (future environmental manipulation via machines gone mad) with definite fun mocking of a tangled red-tape bureaucracy gone haywire.

I would say this game is of the puzzle solving genre. The only I've played twice and will possibly play again at some point.

Currently, I'm playing Descent 3 and love the 360* first-person action, great graphics and challenging enemies, and also have barely started on Drakan, but can't seem to find much time to play!

To answer your question, great graphics first, closely followed by plot, gets my vote.



[This message has been edited by socalgal (edited 10-05-99).]

[U-96]

Unfair of me to post a question without an answer... [img]/forum/wink.gif[/img]

I tend to prefer games that rate highly in suspension of disbelief. Ones where you care what happens to your character.

I think for this reason I like career based games, whether its Panzer General or the recently released X-Beyond the Frontier.

Often I feel that this element can overide many bad points in a game - poor documentation, shoddy graphics, sloppy programming.

It rewards the time you put into it, and I feel so many games fail to do that these days. The majority seem to be only concerned with taking your money on glossy good looks and forgetting that you might actually like to get more involved in the universe that the developers have created.

There does appear to be a direct correlation between that "involvement factor" and the number of fansites/mods/support available. It seems that if hackers (in the benign sense of the word) like a game enough, then they desire to get more out of it. I suppose in that sense, most Sysopt readers are hardware hackers.

I have never been a FPS fan. I hate Quake and will say as much. I can't really say why.
I liked Aliens Trilogy, mostly because of the license, and because at the time it was the best thing on the Playstation.
I play Delta Force on Novaworld frequently, if only to snipe at squad members [img]/forum/wink.gif[/img]
However I love Rainbow Six. I think mostly because of the realism - one bullet=death - and the planning stage, I felt I made a difference to the game. I could go back with the same plan, but this time the terrorist wouldn't see me. The replay value was immense, and that means a lot.

Even better when you pick it up in the bargain bin!

Games that made a real big impact on me were Elite, Civilisation and Railroad Tycoon. Now the graphics are laughable, but when they appeared, their game world were IMMENSE! No game would ever be the same.

I got real annoyed if the Zulus sunk my transport, or Rockefeller bought shares in my company. Not because I hated some built-in game rule or condition, but because I felt those guys really had it in for me!

When you fear and respect your AI opponent, that makes a real good game for me.

[Vidfreek]

Im mostly an RPGer also, and I look for a good story line, the kind that gives you shivers when its really good, or say someone dies that you have had for the whole game, makes you feel the emotional impact of it. Most RPG's for the computer totally suck. They have no plot and the gameplay just doesnt feel right. I love FPS shooters but they need to have a different feel to them, not some quake, quake2, quake3....etc. etc. They were fun to play but they just become the same thing but with hyped up graphics for every incarnation after the first. Unreal was the worst "hey how good can we make it look and how much plot can we take away" Why game developers do this is beyond me, make the game look great but there is no replay value or story behind it.

System Shock 2 and the Nocturne Demo are my favorite right now. The upcoming Max Payne which takes the John Woo movies and makes it into a game with slow motion diving shots looks to be so great.

So to make it short, I like gameplay, a story with a good plot, and replayability, it could have really crappy graphics, hey I still play the super nintendo for all those great RPG's, it doesnt matter to me, give me a great story and gameplay, and crappy graphics and I am happy.

[Pantion]

Well I preffer RPG games with a very good and orginal plot (not like the one on FFVII).

First person shooters are great, but the only thing that really gets the attention are the graphics. If you want to show off your 3D this are the games to look for.

Games were you have to use your head instead of your fingers are great. Residen Evil 2, Riven, etc. are my kinda type of game.

[JennyPsyco]

I am a big RPG fan myself, though I tend to get bored with ones that play 2D. ie They don't throw random obsticals or the AI is predictable and easily overcome. I liked the game Balder's Gate in early levels and in character creation, but found that the game didn't step up the difficulty as your characters became more powerful.

FPS Shooters and strategy games are good when played on multiplayer. Human interaction and competition add a great deal to a game.

My favorite game at the moment has got to be System Shock 2. This game combines the FPS with a little bit of a Roleplaying aspect. The suspense keeps you on your toes and theres a great deal of not knowing whats harmless and whats not.

What I want out of a game is mostly good AI, graphix and smooth multiplay.

[scourge]

I am also currently playing System Shock 2 and enjoying the hell out of it. I find the game to be very eerie, has a good story and to be one the best mixtures of an RPG and first person shooter. My favorite games though to this point must be any games in the Wing Commander series. I've played Wing Commander 1-4, also Privateer 1&2,(I still haven't played Armada though) I recently purchased WC Prophecy out of the bargain bin and look forward to playing it as soon as I finish SS2. Of any game I've played though, WC4 had an unparalleled depth of story. I truly enjoyed watching the story unfold in the cinematic sequences and choosing what to say when, all the while wrapping the game up into a great spaceflight sim with a wide variety of mission types. (escort, hostage rescue, recon, etc)

I was absolutely appalled at the movie version. The storyline from WC4 (even 3) would have made for a great movie. Did they ever screw the pooch on that one.

[JennyPsyco]

Wanted to add that Decent Freespace was another game of interest to me. But unless you have a good Joystick... (Sidewinder with force feedback for me) its fairly hard to control. Its a good dogfight sim if anything. The AI for the Enemy is Great. Only wish you could play the ships without having to go through all the missions. Does anyone know if there is a patch or something to let me do that?

[AndreBranco]

me!? i want something i can't get bored, something interesting, good, something that makes me happy. i love this new game re-volt, the graphics are terrific, the game is never boring, even when i am losing, i like not to have to destroy, or blow it all up, i like something good, like re-volt. quake is ok, until u get bored with it. u shoot, and shoot, and shoot, destroy and destroy, u don't accomplish nothing good. i don't think people feel good about destruction and death, it makes u feel good for a while, but u get bored eventually.

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am i making sense here? [img]/forum/frown.gif[/img]


[This message has been edited by AndreBranco (edited 10-07-99).]