What makes a game a classic to you?

i was kind of wondering what requirements you guys have to make a game a classic to you? Gameplay, story, games you played with others? What makes a game stand out from the rest to you?

for me, definitely NOT story. kotor2 is a classic. kotor1 is just plain not a good game. morrowind gameplay kicks butt right now. halo is an obvious classic. for me, tlou and gta4/5 are perfectly not classics. they do nothing innovative (multi does NOT count) and are rehashed rehashes. chaostheory is a classic.

portal is an obvious choice, too.

of course, a lot depends on circumstances. i personally think a game like puzzlequest is a classic, but, i don't even know if there were others before it?

bioshock is right up there, but, i'm not sure (unless someone can prove it too me) if that's a classic game or just a game that did it so perfectly. (same with creed1.)

tough and great question. it seems like i know a game is classic first and sort-of do it backwards, so to speak.

The overall experience. Mostly it comes from the story.

@toast_burner: are tetris and pong classics? if you got rid of the story of bioshock and halo and creed and mass1 and arkhamcity are they classics?

story DOES NOT make a game a classic. tlou sucks because it's gameplay is rehashed and been there, done that. chaos theory is a classic game because it combined graphics and gameplay and kicked splintercell1's own arse.

the day people start grading video games on story and graphics and cinematic presentation and art is the day i say f u consoles. lol, what?

Where did I say a game has to have a story to be a classic? I said the overall experiences, that can be through great gameplay, story, or a mixture of the two. I personally prefer games that have a good story as they leave a longer lasting impact, while games that are entirely focused on gamesplay are normally forgotten as soon as you stop playing.

Just because you don't care about a games story that doesn't mean it's objectively irrelevant. Are you really going to argue that Grim Fandango is not a classic? Not sure why you brought up tlou, I don't even like that game.

@toast_burner: no, you said, "mostly it comes from the story."

i, too, want a game with a great story and i brought up tlou for a pretty obvious reason. to relegate your argument to the "not sure why you brought up tlou" bin is perfectly bargain.

tlou is a perfect example of a game with very good "cinematic presentation" getting the typical p.c. approval with almost zero innovation (again, i could care less about multi) and a forced and perfectly p.c. story and character development.

forgetting great gameplay is all on you. remembering "great" story is all on you.

I never mentioned cinematic presentation.

It seems you just wanted to vent and have decided to have your own little argument even though it has nothing to do with anything said in this thread so far.

@toast_burner: lol, again, "mostly it comes from the story." what exactly don't you understand about your own comment?

Like I said for me it mostly comes from the story. So why is unacceptable for me to say that story > gameplay, but ok for you to say gameplay > story? Do you not see how hypocritical that is?

Some games are considered classics for different reasons. Some don't have great gameplay but stand the test of time because of their story (Grim Fandango) Some have great gameplay but no story at all (Tetris) and some have a mixture of the two (Half Life)

you first denied that you said story. i have nothing against you thinking story. however, story, imo, is a worthless piece of crap when video games are judged. and, i mean worthless. in fact, i'd argue, a detriment. (tlou is my perfect example.)

here's my position: great gaming stories is ruining gaming gameplay. or, tlou sucks as a game, but, is perfectly pc and sucks as a story, as well.

A very important part for me is whether the game has soul; when it's evident that the game had plenty of enthusiastic, passionate work put into its development. When a game has its own charm and identity, rather than appearing hollow and by the book. A gamer's game, if you will; it's hard to describe.

Combining that with great, well-paced gameplay, good audiovisual presentation, an inspired story and fresh ideas - all around excellent design, makes a game classic for me; or perhaps even timeless.

A classic is games like Pacman, Missile Commander, Donkey Kong, the first Mario, pong, and other arcade games thats more then 25years old

Games such as Portal, Halflife, The Last of Us, Mario brothers on SNES is not what i consider classics.

To me personally, it has to be great gameplay or the story

For a game to be classic to me, it has to have stayed in my head well after either the credits roll or the final score flashes onscreen, or has been out so long that its impact is still felt to this day, like Pong or Super Mario Bros. as two examples of the latter. The former can come from either a great gameplay experience like Mega Man X, a wonderful story that I happened to partake in or control through gameplay mechanics (whether they're "good" or not is irrelevant as long as they do what they're supposed to do in context) like in BioShock or BioShock Infinite, or just have something that impacted my life or point of view in some way or another. As an example of the last bit, The Last of Us, my personal favorite game, not only impressed me by how well it was made (my opinion obviously), but it also cemented my feelings towards someday being a father, that no matter what mistakes are made, your children should always come first no matter what. Now does that mean these are classics to everyone? No, of course not. It's too subjective to consider any game a classic or otherwise, but these are all just my personal opinion on the subject.

Something that is TIMELESS something that is so good that you play it again and again!

Retro classics: Castlevania,Megaman,Metal SLUG,Resident evil original trilogy

Modern Classics:Tomb raider legend,God of war 1,Devil may cry 3,

It can be any one or combination of things that make up a game like story, gameplay, graphics, sound, music, etc. It also doesn't have to necessarily be an innovative game just something that strikes a chord with me, moreso then other games of it's kind.

@The_Last_Ride: what makes a game classic to me is the overall gameplay.

@jimmy_russell: I will have to disagree with you, because games I've played 10 years ago like Metroid Prime or even Jak & Daxter I still remember their plots and whatnot. Hell, I still remember the plot to Wind Waker, and I haven't picked that game up in God knows how long. It depends on how much importance you put into the story then, if you don't see it as something to be remembered, but I always put story as equal to gameplay for any game I play.

There is lot of things that makes a game good and that makes a great game.

To me I will remember a game that has personality and style and it knows that it's a game it wants to have fun and not try to be too realistic. But more importantly gameplay and a good story is always my favorite ones.