Importance Non-Gameplay Features

[KSUowls]

As the title suggests. What are people's thoughts on non-gameplay mechanics of video games? The soundtrack, the characters, plot, etc...I'm sure that in most cases it will come second to gameplay.

I recently stumbled upon a youtube video of some classic SNES RPG music themes, and it gave me some major nostalgia and motivation to go play some of the classics.

Anyways, this got me thinking about how something as simple as hearing the menu music for Breath of Fire (SNES) made me want to play that game beginning to end again. In the "game of the decade" thread, I listed Mass Effect 2 as my favorite game, and while I did enjoy the gameplay; it ranked #1 for me because of the fantastic story. I can't talk about a Final Fantasy game without also commenting on its soundtrack (played some Final Fantasy VIII remastered last night, and I just left the screen on some dialog for an extra minute as a certain important song played).

Am I the only one?

[Funkycorm]

Great story and great music make a great game. My all time favorite is final fantasy 9. I can put it on and just listen to the music for hours. I actually got nostalgic and just started a new playthrough on the ps4 remastered version over the weekend.

[JoshC1977]

Graphics: I'm not a "OMG...there is a jaggy if you zoom-in to 1000X....this game sucks!" kind of person. Graphics are not a big deal for me provided that the selected style is done well. I love games that have distinct styles (like The Outer Worlds, Control, or Borderlands) but also games that opt for a more 'realistic' style. The only time I'll get annoyed with graphics is if a game suffers from a lot of OBVIOUS visual artifacts.

Music: A truly great score can elevate a game to new heights (much like a movie - imagine Star Wars without the Imperial March). I think of the opening theme for Heavy Rain...it's sad, it's somber...it sets the mood so well and gives me chills every time I listen to it. Mass Effect 2 and the suicide mission music...just epic. There is a reason why there are musicians out there who can make a living playing/streaming video game music.

Story: I feel like this is a glib answer...but I feel stories are critical to the experience...because I tend to play storyline-heavy games. Even games (like the new Wolfenstein series - which I've enjoyed) that are action-heavy, I need a story that makes me want to keep going. I don't play games for "the challenge", I play them for the experience....and there is no experience without a meaningful story. I'll overlook pretty crummy gameplay mechanics if the story is there for me.

Acting/Voice Acting: Much like movies, the better the acting, the better the story, the better the game. I always play with FemShep on Mass Effect - put simply, I loved the voice acting way more than the male (she just gave off this "don't mess with me" vibe that fit so well).

UI: This won't make/break a game for me (except on sports games), but I loathe screen clutter. And for the love of god, every game should have scalable UI (at least in menu screens). Some are SO tiny that they are nearly unreadable if you're not using a monitor.

[LambertandHam]

Graphics have taken a backseat for me if the game is enjoyable or engrossing. My biggest non-gameplay feature is world building. I like lore, I want lore, I want the open world/game area to feel like it's more than a couple rooms made in RPG maker.


Currently replaying Persona 5 and it feels that way with the stuff to do. Witcher 3, Mass Effect 2, some of my favorite areas to just walk around in different areas.

[zanner]

Unique armor/clothes showing up on character as well as realistic damage or stains to armor or clothes .

The NFL2K that had dirt show on the uniform at different spots and different degrees depending on the muddiness of the field is really cool.

Realistic damage like in fighting games where you can get different cuts or bruises depending on where you're hit.

So in short anything that realistically or uniquely changes the appearance of a character I find really awesome and one that helps immerse me in the game. I wish they did more of it.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[mpklub]

Quote: Originally Posted by LambertandHam

My biggest non-gameplay feature is world building. I like lore, I want lore, I want the open world/game area to feel like it's more than a couple rooms made in RPG maker.

Yep, this is me right here. It isn't quite the same thing as story in my opinion. Your overarching story can be kind of boring and dull and paint by numbers, but if you make me care about the world I am playing in then I've succeeded.

The perfect example for me with this recently was Dying Light. It was largely a paint by numbers open world game. Crane was a generic hero, albeit likable. Rais was a mustache twirling villain. But I loved the world that game created. Many of the side missions were also paint by numbers, but they fit within the context of the setting of the game and made it feel alive. That drew me into the game world more.

Mass Effect is my number one most played game of all time for this reason. The original game drops you into a world that just feels lived in. I recently replayed Final Fantasy IX and like the poster above mentioned that world feels alive.

[Smallville102001]

For me it goes like this

1. Gameplay
2. Music
3. Graphics
4. Story

A game has got to have fun gameplay but music is also very important. One of the big reason i love Nintendo a lot is because of there music. Zelda, splatoon, mario, DK etc all have great music and it really does add to the game. Heck Astral chain that came out last year also has great music. There are some games i have played that have great music that are not Nintendo games but i would say most great music in video games does come from Nintendo. Good graphics are nice but art style also matters and if Graphics were ever thing i would never play any thing like per ps2/gamecube any more because graphics wise they look really bad now but i do still go back from time to time and play those games and i would go back and play older stuff even more if time was not a issue meaning you got to like pick and chose what you are going to spend your time playing. Story i do like but its not a must and there are some games that basically don't have a story or not much of one any way. Also last thing going back to graphics i don't get blown away by graphics that much any more. I think because just about all games look good now and the jump from gen to gen is now smaller then it used to be.

[LambertandHam]

Quote: Originally Posted by mpklub

Yep, this is me right here. It isn't quite the same thing as story in my opinion. Your overarching story can be kind of boring and dull and paint by numbers, but if you make me care about the world I am playing in then I've succeeded. The perfect example for me with this recently was Dying Light. It was largely a paint by numbers open world game. Crane was a generic hero, albeit likable. Rais was a mustache twirling villain. But I loved the world that game created. Many of the side missions were also paint by numbers, but they fit within the context of the setting of the game and made it feel alive. That drew me into the game world more. Mass Effect is my number one most played game of all time for this reason. The original game drops you into a world that just feels lived in. I recently replayed Final Fantasy IX and like the poster above mentioned that world feels alive.

I agree 100% on a world that feels "lived in". The downside is you get worlds like FFXV where I got about halfway in than lost my urge to play in a barren world with 2-3 smaller than original Skyrim cities.



It's an amazing feeling when I can find a game that lets me capture that same feeling as walking into Hyrule Field for the first time in OOT, visiting the Citadel for the first time in the original Mass Effect or emerging into the world for the first time in Oblivion with that music playing.