The most Important thing in the game.....

[azureXtwilight]

Hi, It's me again, I wanna ask to you all, What is the most important thing in a game?
Well, it's like..
Do you still want to play the game if the storyline's cool but the artwork sucked?
Or do you want to play a game with a cool graphic and music but the storyline sucked?
How about the game duration? Does it really matters?
Pick one element!
And please gimme a reason...

[Jake]

What is the most important thing in a game?

Since you don't specify what kind of game - and we're here, rather than fpsmonkey.com/forums - I'm going to assume that by 'game' you mean 'visual novel'. In which case - the story.

Other types of game would have other, different answers.

So:

Do you still want to play the game if the storyline's cool but the artwork sucked?

Yes.

Or do you want to play a game with a cool graphic and music but the storyline sucked?

No.

How about the game duration? Does it really matters?

Not really.

And please gimme a reason...

Because the story is what I'm there for; everything else supports the story, rather than the other way around.

[azureXtwilight]

Ehe... Yeah I meant visual novels
By the way what kind of story did you call "good"?
....or "sucked"?
Everyone else, opinion please!!!

[bloodywyvern]

Same opinion really. A visual Novel is not the sum of it's parts, basically while people are more willing to accept weak art they will not do the same for a weak story. Now, on the other hand there is most likely always someone to enjoy the story...but the better it is the more people who will enjoy it and keep playing. There's two ways I would dislike a games story, if 1.) It was written by a poor writer who is unable to properly form up an idea in to something interesting, at least for me. Or 2.) The story itself while written properly just doesn't catch my interest.

There will always be certain genre's and types of stories some people won't read out of personal preference. You can either do research on the forums and find out who likes what...or test your luck and make something YOU find interesting. I suggest the second.

[azureXtwilight]

Then... You will play a game with poor artwork too?
To tell you the truth...
I will

[bloodywyvern]

Then... You will play a game with poor artwork too?
To tell you the truth...
I will

I would and have played games with poor artwork, simply because the story intrigued me. I haven't been disappointed yet, so obviously they did something right.

[Ignosco]

(Story etc +, artwork - ) Yes

(Graphics, music +, story - ) Yes, but mainly for games that de-emphasise the storyline and focus on other elements instead - as long as a bad storyline doesn't imply that the quality of writing is bad.

(Length) No preferences

(Reason) Bad writing will be a problem for almost any ADV/VN, but there's nothing wrong with a well written bad/silly etc storyline, as long as another element of the game is being emphasised.

[Cybeat]

It's different from eveyone's opinion, but from my opinion, artwork and storyline is the most important, because I'd like to read and see everything. I can read without the music, and the length doesn't really matter to me much. Sorry, I don't play a lot of VNs. A lot of people play games that only has good graphics (hentai for example). Not all hentais have bad/no story, though.

[musical74]

For me, the most important thing is the story and plot. If a game has so so graphics but the story is superb, I'll give it a go. But if the graphics are top notch and there's no story...forget it, I want to play a game that will interest me.

So.....story great, graphic not: so long as the graphics aren't too dated I won't mind, and I've found a few that are very well done

Graphics great, story not? PASS. I'm sure there are those that are fine <excluding FPS...you don't NEED a story for those> but I haven't found any. I'm a firm believer in *story first*

Music: have mixed views on this. I love having good music but it has to fit the theme...if you've just lost someone close to you and the music's all happy...ruins the scene. Same is true for the reverse...something that should be happy and the music's foreboding...the music has to match the mood.

Game duration....for the most part that doesn't matter to me...HOWEVER if I've been playing a game for 10 hours and still haven't gotten out of the driveway....UGH

For me story is by far the most important thing. Graphics and sound are good, but if the story's pathetic, I'll pass on it.

[azureXtwilight]

There will always be certain genre's and types of stories some people won't read out of personal preference. You can either do research on the forums and find out who likes what...or test your luck and make something YOU find interesting. I suggest the second.

So guys... What's a good story for you...?
For me a good story involve feelings, player's feelings gotta mix the storyline.
I heard from my friend a hentai-freak, vn with lots of hentai in it only uses the story as a second element which only leads us to hentai...
I've never played hentai anyways, I'm way too young for that.

[renkenjutsu]

For me, a good story is one that has a direction and logical plot flows from the beginning to the end. Simply put, no loose ends to leave you scratching your head wondering, "What happened to that guy?" (usually involving characters that heavily influenced the game but is not resolved properly) Although there are games like Dreamfall that leave you in such a state, but the flow of the story was enjoyable and exciting. So I guess that's a good game.

[azureXtwilight]

I see...
Everyone else, opinion please!
'What happened to that guy'?
I think you're right, that kind of story really sucks!
I think another good story is a story which is not really confusing, like using too many hard words in it or names...
But I ant more detailed like genre...
How about fantasy-themed story?
That's my fave

[bloodywyvern]

So guys... What's a good story for you...?
For me a good story involve feelings, player's feelings gotta mix the storyline.
I heard from my friend a hentai-freak, vn with lots of hentai in it only uses the story as a second element which only leads us to hentai...
I've never played hentai anyways, I'm way too young for that.

Well there are plenty of stories I'd find good, great, or fantastic. I'm also sure there are types I haven't read yet that I'd still love. Typically though my favorites tend to be...

A decent thought out story with hentai in it, but I don't like any that has the story take second base. I prefer my hentai to supplement a plot, not the other way around.

My other favorite would be an action/suspense type with a dash of romance thrown in. If it's fantasy then even better, if a modern fantasy then perfect.

[azureXtwilight]

Hentais...
Still four years to go hahah.
I dunno about it but some ppl said that hentai in Japan and USA are legal.
Here?
Got blocked on the server haha.
Anyways I agree, story for 2nd base are not deep enough.
Everyone, comments please!

[chronoluminaire]

Well, I basically agree with everything that's been said, but I'll comment anyway...

Do you still want to play the game if the storyline's cool but the artwork sucked?

Yes, in general. Certain stories might not be to my preference - I don't like horror, but do like fantasy, for example - but in general, the story (plot, characters) is the most important thing.

Or do you want to play a game with a cool graphic and music but the storyline sucked?

As a VN? No. For other types of game? Sure, although I prefer it if the story's good as well.
Other types of game can be all about the gameplay, although they're generally enhanced by having a good storyline too. Some games like Deus Ex combine a good story with other gameplay: that's great.

But for a VN, story is above all.
Now, great character graphics can be a strong pull towards playing a game in the first place, as they show up in screenshots better than plot does. And they can massively enhance the experience. The best VNs have great character graphics and great story. But if you can only have one, story has to come first.

How about the game duration? Does it really matters?

Personally, I prefer games that're longer than 10 minutes (as below that it's just a single scene, or there's not enough time for the reader to get involved with the story before it's over), but less than 6 hours (because above that, I may not have time to play the game at all).

Pick one element!
And please gimme a reason...

As I said above, story. Because as the word "novel" in their name hints, Visual Novels are fundamentally stories.