HaloMods "Classic" Read-only Archive

A friend of mine insists that plot makes the game, and that a really good game should play like a movie. Another friend counters that Super Smash Brothers is a fun game, yet manages to have no storyline whatsoever.

Crysis is hailed for its graphics. Marathon is fun yet uses 2.5D sprites.

In your opinion, what makes a good / entertaining game?

If you want graphics, or "plot," then go watch a movie. I'm playing a game for the gameplay.

It's nearly impossible to quantify/specify what makes someone like something more than something else.

Everything has to work together and be enjoyable. That's about it. In short, it just is.

I like a game with the following qualities:

-Good gameplay.
-Challenging AI (campaign).
-Cool environments (don't necessarily have to be amazing graphics).
-Balanced gameplay (campaign, multiplayer).
-Variables that effect gameplay (such as different ways to beat the game, different characters, etc).
-Has replay value

Graphics mean nothing to me.

Bewbs.

Duh.

I can't go into single player else I'll be writing a full blown essay detailing what I like and dislike.

But for Multiplayer, what makes it good for me is simplicity. By that, I mean pick up and play values. The time I have most fun is when I'm playgin with my friends splitscreen or system link. And considering the majority of them are not really gamers, let alone ever owned a console, its a necessity to have games which can be easily understood.

However, I like it when they allow people to have their skillz develop if they are able to and still allow everyone else to have fun. The easiest examples here are Halo , wii sports and N+. I would say that my friends have I would have played at least 50 hours on each of them....And we still have gotten sick of either yet.

While a few of the guys and myself like graphics, they aren't really critical of it at all...

For Me:
Interactive environments(example:Ragdoll,barrels exploding)
Good AI
Graphics(not always OMGWOWCRYSIS Graphics)
and some type of a sandbox feel

Topic title wrote:What makes a game good?

Why do humans fall in love? It's a bit of a silly question really, as there can be many factors, including the type of game and personal preferences.

1. Storyline: without it you get games similar to most hollywood movies
2. gameplay: does it play like a game or a hand-holding experience
3. puzzles/challenge: I am not talking about puzzle games where that is all you do, I am talking about some sort of real challenge to the game, makes it interesting and fun instead of being told what to do all the time

Philly wrote:

Topic title wrote:What makes a game good?

Why do humans fall in love? It's a bit of a silly question really, as there can be many factors, including the type of game and personal preferences.

And he's wondering our personal preference. It's all for discussion.

Something that keeps me coming back for more.
And replay value.

Thats all I want a game for.

JK-47 wrote:I like a game with the following qualities:

-Good gameplay.
-Challenging AI (campaign).
-Cool environments (don't necessarily have to be amazing graphics).
-Balanced gameplay (campaign, multiplayer).
-Variables that effect gameplay (such as different ways to beat the game, different characters, etc).
-Has replay value

Graphics mean nothing to me.

I 100% agree with all of this. Plus, I think the best thing a game can have is good multiplayer.

Games need lots of solids and snakes too.

And tons of arrogant, unnecessary product placement?

Yeah, I cringe at the fourth one. roughly: "You need to change the disc Snake, OH WAIT. ITS THE REVOLUTIONARY PLAYSTATION 3 WITH A BLU RAY DISC! No need to change the disk..."
"Hey, don't bother with the codec anymore, because now you've got a brilliant Sony Ericsson phone! Who needs nano machines when you have a 3 megapixel camera and a vivid clour screen?"
Then there's the iPod, the playstation 3 controller, the motorbike, the energy drink....

Holy crap thats a lot.

It sounds on par with Fight Night 3.
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To say what makes a game not good? Product placement
Never seen it put to good use.

Don't forget the PSP!

MGS 4 still looks great. Even if it did pull a Transformers.

When it's fun. As everyone's been saying, there's really not one thing that can make a game instantly great. Except extremely graphic dismemberment. Hell yeah.

like tural said, everything has to fit together. I also look for gameplay and balance, and lately, some realism too. graphics are kind of important, because i want a game that looks good, although i don't have the hardware to run today's top-of-the-line games at their best.

other than that, i'll sometimes get interested in a game if i hear it's engine has this new neat little feature. for example, i heard that spore would dynamically create the animations for the creatures you create based on their physiology, and the crysis engine has a huge level of destructibility, what with the trees, houses, and sandbags.

You need everything for a great game, but for a good game, you probably don't need graphics or story as much. Katamari Damacy is a good example of that, I think. Or Contra 3, basically "ALIENS INVADE" is the story.