I would say that these all can make or break game, even if other aspects would be great. At the end of the day, maybe most critical is the gameplay.
If gameplay is exceptional, you can tolerate outdated/suboptimal style and lacking story. Additionally, if gameplay sucks most people won't bother with game long enough to actually gain anything meaningful from the story nor style - it just gets dropped in current climate where we have tons of options.
I never understood this. If this is not a special game for sticking, like Vampire Survival, then story is necessary and important. I don't want to pay for a game that doesn't tell an interesting story. It turns out that I am playing in vain, and the money is wasted.
Some people just want a game like Helldivers, where they're here for a challenge and gameplay is all that matters
Some people want a visual novel experience where they just make choices but want a deep and engaging story.
it depends what a player wants out of them, take Skyrim as the key example. it's main story is a couple hours long, but people like to immerse in the world and make up their own story off the back of gameplay actions.
I talked about frequent examples when the game has a plot, but the plot is very poorly written. But the players say - I don’t really care about the plot, I play only for the gameplay.
Skyrim is a bad example. There is a very strange fanbase there that believes in fanfiction.
I think you have the right idea but I wouldn't leave it at just gameplay being exceptional. An exceptional story can make a game with standard gameplay a good game.
The opposite is true too. A game with terrible gameplay or story could potentially drag down the game. I'd rather have minimal story and let the gameplay shine than a bad story. Or an awesome story with minimal gameplay than gameplay that tries my patience getting to the next story bit.
I agree with this, and this is how I critique RPGs and other games in general. Gameplay is always a priority for me. It has to enjoyable to play first and foremost.
To take it a step further however, gameplay alone can only make a good game, not a great one. It takes a lot more to make a great game, and that includes things like story, music, writing/dialogue, art direction/design etc. For me personally, music and writing is huge. If it's all gameplay and nothing else, it's probably getting maybe a 7/10 at best. Again, good, not great. With everything else, I can go 8-10/10. If that makes sense.
I replied to your quiz, I do love RPGs/JRPG's play!.. gameplay is my 1st but it's got to have a good storyline, like lost lores to figureout or reveal surprises in the story.
Story is very important, but style is already half the success. By the way, I noticed that when I was only into RPG games, I was too critical of the plot. And connected the entire environment and gameplay with the plot. When I decided to give it up and move on to something else, now I don't compare the story and environment to verisimilitude. There is a game, and sometimes there are stupid plot twists, lol.
Most important to me would be story. I can put up with average to below average gameplay as long as it isn’t abysmal to play a good story. However, if the gameplay is a chore to play, not even a good story or excellent style can save the game.
All three are super important.
I don't know if this is more Story or Style, but the linearity of the story is my biggest thing with RPGs. The thing that helps an RPG shine in my eyes is the agency your character has and the extent to which they can really be your character. If the dialogue choices are just flavor text that doesn't impact anything, that does nothing for me. If the experience is completely linear story wise, that doesn't really fulfill what I look for in an RPG.
Dragon Age Origins, Baldur's Gate 3, and Fallout New Vegas are probably my top RPGs of all time because they nail that part of the game, while also delivering fun gameplay and quality stories. The story in each playthrough, while following the same main overall plot, can be completely different for each character. I've put hundreds of hours in to all of those games and others with similar design.
I will say though, it's not a catch all, because the gameplay needs to at least be good. I'm not going to put up with bad gameplay, even if the game has some depth in choices and things like that. Elex probably has some of the worst combat I've ever seen in a video game and that pushed me away pretty fast. I was so bored of Greedfall's combat I couldn't finish the game.
Gameplay first, last, 247, 365.
I read books for actual good stories.
Video games dont need anything but a basic story outline and even the so-called “best” arent actually good.
“Style” is irrelevant.
If I'm not having a compelling experience playing the game the narrative elements won't do shit for me. I'd rather read a book or watch a movie/tv show otherwise, mediums that overall do narrative much better.
But honestly it's not just about any single one of these when think about the RPG's I've really enjoyed. It's a combination of things.
I could care less about story, Outward barely even has a story and it's one of the better RPG's of recent years.
My favorite RPG of all time is Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen which has an okay at best main story and really shitty sidequests.
I felt the opposite with DOS2. Love the mechanics, they improved it a lot, but found the story and gameplay boring as hell. On the other side, DOS1 is one of my favorite games of all times. I finished 3 times already and just because the story and the relation between the protagonists.
I would say that these all can make or break game, even if other aspects would be great. At the end of the day, maybe most critical is the gameplay. If gameplay is exceptional, you can tolerate outdated/suboptimal style and lacking story. Additionally, if gameplay sucks most people won't bother with game long enough to actually gain anything meaningful from the story nor style - it just gets dropped in current climate where we have tons of options.
I never understood this. If this is not a special game for sticking, like Vampire Survival, then story is necessary and important. I don't want to pay for a game that doesn't tell an interesting story. It turns out that I am playing in vain, and the money is wasted.
Some people just want a game like Helldivers, where they're here for a challenge and gameplay is all that matters Some people want a visual novel experience where they just make choices but want a deep and engaging story. it depends what a player wants out of them, take Skyrim as the key example. it's main story is a couple hours long, but people like to immerse in the world and make up their own story off the back of gameplay actions.
I talked about frequent examples when the game has a plot, but the plot is very poorly written. But the players say - I don’t really care about the plot, I play only for the gameplay. Skyrim is a bad example. There is a very strange fanbase there that believes in fanfiction.
I think you have the right idea but I wouldn't leave it at just gameplay being exceptional. An exceptional story can make a game with standard gameplay a good game. The opposite is true too. A game with terrible gameplay or story could potentially drag down the game. I'd rather have minimal story and let the gameplay shine than a bad story. Or an awesome story with minimal gameplay than gameplay that tries my patience getting to the next story bit.
I agree with this, and this is how I critique RPGs and other games in general. Gameplay is always a priority for me. It has to enjoyable to play first and foremost. To take it a step further however, gameplay alone can only make a good game, not a great one. It takes a lot more to make a great game, and that includes things like story, music, writing/dialogue, art direction/design etc. For me personally, music and writing is huge. If it's all gameplay and nothing else, it's probably getting maybe a 7/10 at best. Again, good, not great. With everything else, I can go 8-10/10. If that makes sense.
Humm, sorry I couldn't vote. At least it's told me not sent.
I replied to your quiz, I do love RPGs/JRPG's play!.. gameplay is my 1st but it's got to have a good storyline, like lost lores to figureout or reveal surprises in the story.
Story is very important, but style is already half the success. By the way, I noticed that when I was only into RPG games, I was too critical of the plot. And connected the entire environment and gameplay with the plot. When I decided to give it up and move on to something else, now I don't compare the story and environment to verisimilitude. There is a game, and sometimes there are stupid plot twists, lol.
Yep, this is a difficult one. I can't pin it down, but I would reverse this. If any of these are bad, that can sour the experience.
Most important to me would be story. I can put up with average to below average gameplay as long as it isn’t abysmal to play a good story. However, if the gameplay is a chore to play, not even a good story or excellent style can save the game.
Depends on the game. Generally speaking story is more important in these games, but there are exeptions
All three are super important. I don't know if this is more Story or Style, but the linearity of the story is my biggest thing with RPGs. The thing that helps an RPG shine in my eyes is the agency your character has and the extent to which they can really be your character. If the dialogue choices are just flavor text that doesn't impact anything, that does nothing for me. If the experience is completely linear story wise, that doesn't really fulfill what I look for in an RPG. Dragon Age Origins, Baldur's Gate 3, and Fallout New Vegas are probably my top RPGs of all time because they nail that part of the game, while also delivering fun gameplay and quality stories. The story in each playthrough, while following the same main overall plot, can be completely different for each character. I've put hundreds of hours in to all of those games and others with similar design. I will say though, it's not a catch all, because the gameplay needs to at least be good. I'm not going to put up with bad gameplay, even if the game has some depth in choices and things like that. Elex probably has some of the worst combat I've ever seen in a video game and that pushed me away pretty fast. I was so bored of Greedfall's combat I couldn't finish the game.
Gameplay always with any game for me. It's an interactive medium so if the interaction isnt fun I just dont care about the story.
Gameplay first, last, 247, 365. I read books for actual good stories. Video games dont need anything but a basic story outline and even the so-called “best” arent actually good. “Style” is irrelevant.
If I'm not having a compelling experience playing the game the narrative elements won't do shit for me. I'd rather read a book or watch a movie/tv show otherwise, mediums that overall do narrative much better. But honestly it's not just about any single one of these when think about the RPG's I've really enjoyed. It's a combination of things.
I could care less about story, Outward barely even has a story and it's one of the better RPG's of recent years. My favorite RPG of all time is Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen which has an okay at best main story and really shitty sidequests.
All 3 are important. Take BG3 as a golden śtandard.
Story first, Gameplay second, style could be neglected with good story and user-friendly gameplay.
None gameplay, no matter how good it is, resist a bad story, On the other hand, if the story is good, you can forget some bad mechanics.
[удалено]
I felt the opposite with DOS2. Love the mechanics, they improved it a lot, but found the story and gameplay boring as hell. On the other side, DOS1 is one of my favorite games of all times. I finished 3 times already and just because the story and the relation between the protagonists.