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[ARF Initiative]

Just thinking about what are the most common preferences in video games. I prefer gameplay and story. I mean, graphics make everything really cool, but I do prefer a good story with a funny gameplay.

For example, Last of us has an amazing story behind, and graphics are cool too. But, on the other hand, Hotline Miami has an exciting gameplay. I do know these examples are based in very different video games, but maybe it's all about types of game, isn't it?

Wanna know your options and video games.

For me, this is my priority list:

Gameplay > Story > Graphics.

[nova++]

Hmmmm. Honestly, I don't find myself making as sharp of a distinction between the three. The lines between them can blur, depending on the game.

I find myself basing it around how... "connected" you feel to the game, which can take many different forms - it can be an emotional connection via storytelling and narrative, which can incorporate both gameplay and story together. It could be purely a gameplay thing, twitch reflexes that tickle your brain in just the right way. Graphical immersion helping you feel like you're really there, and so on.

Like I said though, it depends on the game and the goals of it. I don't like to lay down strict rules.

[ARF Initiative]

Hmmmm. Honestly, I don't find myself making as sharp of a distinction between the three. The lines between them can blur, depending on the game.

I find myself basing it around how... "connected" you feel to the game, which can take many different forms - it can be an emotional connection via storytelling and narrative, which can incorporate both gameplay and story together. It could be purely a gameplay thing, twitch reflexes that tickle your brain in just the right way. Graphical immersion helping you feel like you're really there, and so on.

Like I said though, it depends on the game and the goals of it. I don't like to lay down strict rules.

Well, actually I am not talking about something really stricted. It's just about player's preferences. In my case, I believe it all depends on the game genre. There are some games which demand an important story behind, and some games which gameplay does not need realistic graphics, for example. Right now, I am playing We happy few and I have to say that the combination of the three options is simply brilliant.

[Ordnas]

If you intend graphics as "art style", then all 3 should be balanced as much as possible, and much depends on the genre (adventure, action, puzzle game etc.). Most of the time, the medium we are talking about is video game, so gameplay is the favourite to focus if you need to give priorities. Personally I like story-driven games.

[Daniel Pacheco]

Gameplay! Obiously the mechanics is that makes a game great. The perfect example is Hotline Miami:





Shit graphics, Shit Story, awesome music and awesome gameplay.

[LyricalReverie]

A game without a good story might as well not exist for me.

[Schrompf]

I only want good graphics. Just to piss off indie devs who can't afford to churn out a crazy amount of assets.

[litHermit]

Kind of all three. Graphics fidelity is not as important as a good, cohesive art style/direction no matter the genre. If the art direction is moody and "tells" a story all by itself - all the better for me.

Gameplay vs Story, depends on the game.
If it's a story game - game play (even if minimal) has to support it well and not get in the way.
If it's a mechanics game - doesn't really need a story, but it can be made better with a simple but interesting narrative to tie it all together (Think Portal). I don't like trivial stories that are thrown into games just for the sake of filling a "story checkbox".

[v790]

Just thinking about what are the most common preferences in video games. I prefer gameplay and story. I mean, graphics make everything really cool, but I do prefer a good story with a funny gameplay.

For example, Last of us has an amazing story behind, and graphics are cool too. But, on the other hand, Hotline Miami has an exciting gameplay. I do know these examples are based in very different video games, but maybe it's all about types of game, isn't it?

Wanna know your options and video games.

For me, this is my priority list:

Gameplay > Story > Graphics.

I would probably answer as you did, more or less.
In my opinion, to enjoy a game all three components should reach a minimum quality level. Each of those, if too bad, could ruin the experience.

So, in the end, my answer is:
Gameplay = Story > Graphics.

[ProgramGamer]

Catchy tunes

[AlienplayGames]

I prefer gameplay over everything else, I mean games are interactive medium after all. I like when the game lets me interact with its environment in a unique or at least very polished way.
After gameplay, graphics are the most important to me, and I mean greaphics that complement the gamplay and make it easy to understand.
The story really isn't my cup of tea. I don't like to sit through and watch cut scenes in games. Although I believe that every game should give at leas a bit of context to the player, in one form or another.
So my preferences are:
Gameplay > Graphics > Story

[ARF Initiative]

Kind of all three. Graphics fidelity is not as important as a good, cohesive art style/direction no matter the genre. If the art direction is moody and "tells" a story all by itself - all the better for me.

Gameplay vs Story, depends on the game.
If it's a story game - game play (even if minimal) has to support it well and not get in the way.
If it's a mechanics game - doesn't really need a story, but it can be made better with a simple but interesting narrative to tie it all together (Think Portal). I don't like trivial stories that are thrown into games just for the sake of filling a "story checkbox".

Totally agree with your graphics opinion. I believe that a good direction art is better than simply cool graphics.

[kequc]

Gameplay is by far most important to me, graphics though are often bad enough to make me not care about gameplay. The graphics need to at the minimum have a clean and minimal style. Beyond that I can absorb and enjoy a game.

Story is nice but is really really not important at all.

[Ordnas]

Many mentioned graphics as the least important of three, if graphics is intended as art design, there are games that the main experience is thanks to graphics: Journey, Rime, The Unfinished Swan and Rez to say a few.

[beetleking22]

Gameplay is very important. Graphics and story are only big +.. Its interesting that good animation and graphic can create illusion which make your game looks very polished and masterpiece. This is how EA and other big AAA companies can trick many people to buy  their games even if they became shit in the end.

[Ordnas]

GOTY 2018 are games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and God of War, which the main strength is not "gameplay' to say the truth. Animation and graphics are assets that are not free to create, there are a lot of working hours and experience in arts behind them. No one would play a game without graphics, as no one would play a game without gameplay. All three should have the same importance.

[beetleking22]

GOTY 2018 are games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and God of War, which the main strength is not "gameplay' to say the truth. Animation and graphics are assets that are not free to create, there are a lot of working hours and experience in arts behind them. No one would play a game without graphics, as no one would play a game without gameplay. All three should have the same importance.

I disagree. If you have good reputation with game quality you will reach much better sales. Fallout 76, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Battlefield V did not sell better as those games you mentioned because they lacked quality and content. I dont think Nintendo games would do well in long run if they sucked ass.

[Ordnas]

Just to keep in mind that Game quality is not just gameplay, depends on a lot of different factors. Apart from Fallout 76, the other 2, Andromeda and Battlefield, are games that were received very well by the critics, and the great expectation brings a lot of great critics from the users, just a couple of bugs can decrease the metacritic below the 50. AAA costs more, but because there are a lot of works and content behind it (content is also assets, music, story etc.). Probably Nintendo have an advantage with the cost productivity of the hardware, currently it is "surviving" (forgive me with the extreme word) just with their exclusive, they have strong IP like Mario and Zelda. Good reputation with game quality is something that you develop year after year, and most company cannot afford the costs. Better sales can be achieved best with marketing, easier in the short run.

[beetleking22]

Just to keep in mind that Game quality is not just gameplay, depends on a lot of different factors. Apart from Fallout 76, the other 2, Andromeda and Battlefield, are games that were received very well by the critics, and the great expectation brings a lot of great critics from the users, just a couple of bugs can decrease the metacritic below the 50. AAA costs more, but because there are a lot of works and content behind it (content is also assets, music, story etc.). Probably Nintendo have an advantage with the cost productivity of the hardware, currently it is "surviving" (forgive me with the extreme word) just with their exclusive, they have strong IP like Mario and Zelda. Good reputation with game quality is something that you develop year after year, and most company cannot afford the costs. Better sales can be achieved best with marketing, easier in the short run.

I mentioned that content was reason too but Battlefield V did not get hated just for bugs. They actually made worse game than the previous one. Yes but if you make cheap AAA games for so long... you reputation is not going to be good and it can really lower the sales like the games that I mentioned. Battlefield V is not breaking records and the sales are disappointment for the company.

[Ordnas]

I agree with the bad reputation linked to bad sales. About Battlefield V, I did not play it yet and I did not read reviews in details, but I do not think it is so much worse from what I saw (I do not speak for competitive game). Anyway AAA is not cheap (a lot of money spent as movies), and because of that copy-paste mechanics is safer than introducing new mechanics.