91 réponses à ce sujet

[AlanC9]

I don't really mean things like UI or if the game crashes. I'm just talking about people who play for the concept of leveling up your character, getting more abilities, combat tactics, getting more loot, exploration, etc. A comment that "game mechanics are not important" does NOT mean that you don't care that the UI stinks, conversations are bugged, the game crashes or companion combat AI blows. It just means you care LESS about finding that unique shield or getting that ability that you can combo with your mage to do bonus damage, etc...

Well, on this definition my interest in mechanics per se is just about zero. They're a tool I use to play my character, but I don't care about them in themselves.

Having said that, if I'm going to be spending a lot of time in combat then the combat has to hold my interest in some manner.

[keesio74]

10 years ago I would have said game mechanics, but there has been a lot of evolution and I think game makes have come to the conclusion that if you want to hold your audience you need to have both. It appears to be a balance that most makers are still experimenting with, but social content and story line have become pretty important to me.

 

Yes definitely gaming is no longer the niche market that I grew up in. Back then cRPGs were originally a substitute for the pen and paper RPG (when you didn't have others to play with) so the game fit the void. But now gaming is mainstream. And most of the mainstream audience does not want to get bogged down with the details of game mechanics.

 

Before DA:O, my main years of cRPG was 1987-1993. I have this giant gap from 1993-2009 where I didn't play cRPGs. I did hack around with diablo but that is an action game, not an RPG. So I have this old mindset. But it is certainly evolving. The emotional connection I had to the plot/story of DA:O was a first for me in a game.

[Seraphim24]

I would say story if I was picking, but really, it's just the overall thematic experience of the game. The most important thing is that this is communicating something important and interesting to the player, one way or another, that's how I feel... anyway.

[songsmith2003]

Some of those games did have great plots. I loved the plots for Ultima 4,5 and 7. But to be honest I didn't get as emotionally involved with them as with games now because it is one thing to read it and another to see/hear it. You should have seen the look on my face when I watched Loghain called the retreat at Ostagar. The impact of watching it was so much greater than if I read some codex entry that he did it. I played much of DA:O trying to take out Loghain... I was after him... it was personal. While in Ultima 5, I just wanted to win the game. I didn't have that same venom for Blackthorne and the Shadowlords. They were just boss enemies to me.

 

No, I never really played the BG games. I tried a few years ago because everyone was telling me it was the greatest cRPG ever, but the game looked  too dated for me and I couldn't get into it

 

I never got into shooters because I resented them taking over from my beloved RPGs. I regret that now. Planescape Torment is the only game that ever brought me to tears, but man did it have a ton of reading to get there. The Loghain betryal at Ostagar was one of the most cinematic cut scenes I've ever watched. You really feel it. I'd love to see some of these older games remastered and voiced.

 

Also play a lot of strategy games, so no story there. I mean RPGs when I say story matters more than mechanics. Obviously, mechanics mean more in different styles of games. Then again, Skyrim doesn't have much of a story, but I still love all the Elder Scrolls games to death. I'm one of those people who enjoys reading up on lore.

[keesio74]

 I'd love to see some of these older games remastered and voiced.

 

Have you heard of the Ultima V Lazarus project? They updated the game with the Dungeon Siege engine. It is a worthy remake of Ultima 5. I played just a bit of it and it is on my TODO but haven't got around to it yet:

http://www.u5lazarus.com/

[Dabrikishaw]

Game mechanics are more important to me.

[songsmith2003]

Have you heard of the Ultima V Lazarus project? They updated the game with the Dungeon Siege engine. It is a worthy remake of Ultima 5. I played just a bit of it and it is on my TODO but haven't got around to it yet:

http://www.u5lazarus.com/

 

Yep. I've played several attempts at remaking the games over the years. Lazarus was pretty good. Did you ever read the "original" plot for Ultima IX? Ultima was the first series that let me play the main character as my own gender. Just another reason why it holds a special place in my heart.

 

Strike that. Should probably stay on topic. I know I've played games that had bugs and mechanics that rendered them unplayable. The best RPGs have great stories and mechanics.

[Shahadem]

I think 50/50 .. equal importance ...

 

Also I hate gameplay/story segregation ... I want a ruleset and lore that applies to everything from cutscenes to books to gameplay ...

 

I freakin LOVE dragon age just as a disclaimer before someone gets mad at me ... that doesn't mean I can't criticize some core philosophies of Bioware where they think differentiating lore/story/gameplay is ok. I think it should all abide by the same rules.

 

So much this. The gameplay needs to follow the lore.

[noxpanda]

Story/plot by a long, long margin for me. Combat always gets dull in gaming for me. I consider unlocking new powers etc a mildly interesting distraction from getting to the next plot point.

[Solbranthius]

In this genre? Story. I play RPG's primarily for the story above all else. Game mechanics are important too but not to the same extent.

 

Heck, one of my favourite RPG's is Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and the game mechanics are pretty clunky yet the story and sense of immersion is incredible. 

[cronshaw]

 

What part of the game is more important to you? What I mean by game mechanics (for lack of a better term) is things like combat, leveling (and getting more abilities/attributes/power), getting/crafting items, grinding/exploring. I actually like playing CRPG more for the latter. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate a strong plot/story (this includes character conversations, etc). But the game mechanics is more important for me. I'm curious what the sentiment here is. I know there are a lot of people who play mostly for the story/plot/relationships and they even put the game on easy difficulty so they don't have to worry so much about combat and grinding and such and just focus on the story and conversations and such. I spend more time obsessed over my builds/specializations, ability combos and item optimization. I get into the story but I admit that I quickly skim over all the codex entries I find so i can spend more time exploring and trying to level up and finding more gear.

 

I'd say I am 65/35 leaning towards game mechanics. What is your ratio?

 

UPDATE: I realize that I need to clarify my comments about "game mechanics". As I posted later:

 

I don't really mean things like UI or if the game crashes. I'm just talking about people who play for the concept of leveling up your character, getting more abilities, combat tactics, getting more loot, exploration, etc. A comment that "game mechanics are not important" does NOT mean that you don't care that the UI stinks, conversations are bugged, the game crashes or companion combat AI blows. It just means you care LESS about finding that unique shield or getting that ability that you can combo with your mage to do bonus damage, etc...

 

They can cover up for one another

Though I don't think any video game can be great without a really good story

that being said I would probably more likely play a game with excellent gameplay and a poor story

than one with poor gameplay and a really good story

there are too many great stories in other media for me to waste time messing around with crappy game-play for a story that most likely won't rise much above good pop-fiction

[ioannisdenton]

i simply cannot fathom a game with No story anymore. in my 33 years it really get on my nerves if a game has no story.
i DO get that gameplay comes first but story comes near second.
in fact i enjoy games that have a nice story (or good characters) to ell way more than games with just gameplay.
Examples: beyond 2 souls-heavy rain , alpha protocol.

[keesio74]

Yep. I've played several attempts at remaking the games over the years. Lazarus was pretty good. Did you ever read the "original" plot for Ultima IX? Ultima was the first series that let me play the main character as my own gender. Just another reason why it holds a special place in my heart.

 

Strike that. Should probably stay on topic. I know I've played games that had bugs and mechanics that rendered them unplayable. The best RPGs have great stories and mechanics.

 

I stopped paying attention to the Ultima series after Ultima VII. Ultima IX also came out during that time where I stopped gaming.

 

oh yeah the best games have great mechanics and story. I was just asking people what they got more enjoyment out of - the story or the mechanics.

 

I think it dawned on me why I am the way I am regarding machanics. When I first started playing cRPGs, I was really young. Probably 11 or 12. Being that young, I didn't appreciate the intricacies of the stories vs now. Hence I devalued the stories in favor of getting "stuff" and getting "stronger". I guess this attitude is still a bit in me.

[Nefla]

Story and characters, though I prefer the gameplay to be fun as well (obviously). I can trudge through gameplay I don't like for story and character elements that I do like. For me DA:I falls completely flat in the gameplay department and for the most part the storytelling isn't very satisfying to me either. I remember when Skyrim came out I had thought to myself "if you combined Skyrim with DA:O it would be the best game ever " When the BW devs said they were taking inspiration from Skyrim, I admit I was excited. Sadly instead of taking the best elements of the two, they took (imo) the worst elements of Skyrim (aside from the large and pretty maps?) and watered down the elements that I'd loved in DA.

[Ski Mask Wei]

My general rule is:  the worse the gameplay is, the better the story has to be.  I can play a game like Tekken Tag Tournament 2 all day with no or a bad story.  Bioware rpgs (or rpgs in general) with no or a bad story?  Uh-uh.  Maybe Mass Effect 3 because it's closest to Gears of War and maybe DA:I for it's MMO-like addictiveness but other than that...no.   

[thebigbad1013]

Story! I can forgive and live with a lot in terms of gameplay as long as I'm enjoying the story.

[Chardonney]

Definitely the story. Without a good story, the mechanics alone wont save a bad game.