Gameplay vs. Experience

For all your seizure inducing goodness!

Moderator: Moderators

Message
Author
User avatar
SirSlaughter
Templar Inner Circle
Posts: 3762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 8:16 pm
Location: 不滅の神天皇の名の下に殺しグリーン大群の真ん中に!
Contact:

Re: Gameplay vs. Experience

#16 Post by SirSlaughter »

There's got to be some of both but the experience is the biggest part.

I will use Cortex Command as an example.

The gameplay mechanics are simple and the game just downright sucks as it was released as a full game but it barely a working title. The man who made it should be ashamed of himself.

But I have over 174 hours of gameplay clocked in on this game. Why? It's such a blast for me to play. Even with its frequent crashes, the [censored] campaign, the limited missions, and the fact it only utilizes one processor core for a game that is heavily physics oriented.

Gameplay is meh, but it's so fun when you blow up a drop ship and watch it scatter across the map only to have a piece of its thruster explode someone across the map on impact.
It's so fun when you kill an enemy that had 10 grenades on him and it causes a chain reaction that decimates at least 3-5 men in a glorious explosion.

You have to have solid gameplay, and the mechanics need to be decent, but if your gameplay experience is [censored]...if the game cannot make you smile, cry, or be angry at a character on purpose...then your game isn't that good.

User avatar
Ketzal
Templar GrandMaster
Posts: 807
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2012 2:59 am
Location: *Insert witty location joke here*

Re: Gameplay vs. Experience

#17 Post by Ketzal »

Nuff wrote:-two cents snip-
Those are good points, though I will say two things:

1. I did mean the word "experience", and I know that can come across as confusing seeing as how that often entails the gameplay. But it's like you said, there's also games that focus entirely on gameplay and have little to no story, like DotA. What I mean is that there's a difference between walking away from a game going "holy crap, that was fun!" and walking away saying "holy crap, that was amazing!"

I'm not saying games that focus mostly on gameplay are inferior or something like that, but they're not setting out to blow your mind or create a world. They're there simply to give you gameplay, and that's what they accomplish. Experience games want to give you even more of that, and because they are video games at the root that can be very hit or miss.

2. It's true that that's how Skyrim's combat starts (can't speak for Oblivion >.>), but honestly the fun in it is learning the semantics of each form of combat, as well as combining them when playing hybrid classes. I find it especially fun to play as a magical archer, since I can distract enemies with summoned creatures, pelt away at them with my bow and arrow, and set glyph traps for when they get too close. Also, I'd recommend trying typical sword and shield style next time. It's more fun and satisfying in that game than you think!

User avatar
Envy661
Envy x Banned Forever
Posts: 1608
Joined: Wed May 12, 2010 10:50 pm
Location: Back in the Yamaku Dorms, cuddlin' it up with Emi where I belong.
Contact:

Re: Gameplay vs. Experience

#18 Post by Envy661 »

I haven't posted in this thread yet I see....

To me, both aspects are equally important. In fact, I don't believe you can have one without the other (Usually, as there are exceptions).

Ocarina of Time may not have had the vastly open world feel of the first game, but it also had very unique gameplay aspects that changed how The Legend of Zelda played completely. Things like the Hook Shot, spells, different colored tunics, and the entire transformation between young and old link made the gameplay for OoT it's own, and able to compete with a vastly open world game like the first Legend of Zelda.

Meanwhile, the first Legend of Zelda was probably the lest story-driven of all the titles, and honestly was a game I didn't care for at all. Oracle of Ages on the other hand was a significant leap up, having not repeating the same "Save Zelda" plot and having new characters, as well as allowing a great level of exploration, albeit doing so in a linear sense. The first Legend of Zelda game just wasn't really that good in my opinion, and it was because, while it had the gameplay and exploration, it didn't really have an amazing story.

Games that I've found to be a perfect mix of gameplay and story would be things like Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 3, Fallout 3 and the DLC for Fallout New Vegas, TES IV: Oblivion, though Oblivion gets into the aspect of what's wrong with modern gaming (And especially Skyrim) when you compare it to Morrowwind which had significantly more additions and customization in comparison.
Dark Souls 1 was also a great example of Gameplay and Story, and I actually liked the way it was done (You had to discover the story for yourself. It wasn't spoon-fed to you. Dark Souls had a lot of that lol)
I'd also like to point out Final Fantasy VII, Dragon Age: Origins, Red Dead Redemption, Saints Row and Saints Row 2 (Not 3 or 4, because they ruined Saints Row), Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Conviction, and even Total War Shogun 2. Hell, even Halo.

Now, this is the rule, but there are exceptions to this rule.
Games like To The Moon, Dear Esther, The Stanley Parable, Katawa Shoujo, or Gone Home all have amazing stories, but not nessesarily amazing gameplay. In fact, Dear Esther doesn't even really have any gameplay at all. But I still view them as great games for having such amazing and inspirational stories. In fact, I recommend them.
Meanwhile, games like Banished, Burnout Paradise, Farcry 2, Euro Truck Simulator 2, HAWKEN, Just Cause 2, and Minecraft all have great gameplay, but no real major or amazing story aspect. But I still play and enjoy these games.

In the end though, to me, Story is what matters most. I do love those story-driven games so much more than gameplay-intensive games. It's why I love Bioshock 1 despite it's lackluster gameplay. It has the fantastic story, and the phrase "A Man Chooses. A Slave Obeys."
ɔıƃol ʎʌuǝ ǝsnɐɔǝq
Image
deviantART | Steam Account | Forum Sigs | Otaku Streamers
Message me for access to the Twokinds Unoffical Official Skype Chat!

Post Reply