Gameplay or story? What is more important?

Gameplay, it's an interactive medium, ergo the most important element is the interacting with it part. The part that makes this medium what it is. Not to say there isn't some potential to an interactive medium telling a story, as I do enjoy some of the exceptional stuff done in this medium like a Mother 3, like Planescape, and something like Silent Hill 2. But, you can be a fantastic game, an amazing game with a shit plot, to me you can not be amazing, or great, with shit gameplay. You are failing at the thing that defines this medium.

Because we start getting honest about this, as a story telling medium? This medium is so fucking outclassed by film, literature, and even music and television. Largely because those mediums are more organic story telling mediums not tied to something that dictates the flow of the plot, they can go into the most natural direction with the plot. The problem with all these cinematic driven stories in games? Those stories are tied and must adhere to the fact that eventually the player is going to need to do game things. In a sense like a porno flick needing to get to two people fucking, the game has to get to the shooting, the puzzling, the action, the platforming, what have you.

That by design is a flawed story telling medium, and its why this medium struggles with more traditional stories/story telling tactics, and instead does better with player driven stories or stories that find a great harmony with the interactive bits. For instance Shadow of the Colossus? In reality the main plot is shallow as ****, dude needs to save a bitch, kills a bitch of things, sucks in darkness, she wakes up, he goes to eternal prison or whatever the ****. The wankery loving fanbase will act like the religious undertones mean something, but they fucking don't, it's window dressing. What makes it all effective though is how that plot is conveyed and the harmony it has with the player playing the game, the feeling of hopelessness, dread, and connection the characters (the horse, wanderer) feel earned through the play.

In that instanced its story via gameplay, and still comes back to gameplay>story any day of the week in this medium. Because if you suck at the interactive part, why are you even a game? You can suck at the other and be fine, you can not suck at the part that defines this medium.

Uhh, most of the games listed on the Story side has good gameplay too.

But anyway, why not both?

Gameplay is a lot more important than story even though I prefer story driven games (with good gameplay) . Most casual games these days get higher scores because lot of so called critics started to game after 2005 , so they think video games are about "Characters" and "Plot that breaks their hearts and makes them cry" even if the game is nothing more than a walking simulator or cover based shooter . Same goes for new gamers , who think that the game's combat is broken or unbalanced if their character dies a lot .That's the reason why complicated games don't get higher ratings .

Implying those games don't ahve gameplay.

Also, stop making threads already

Always gameplay. If I were in it for the story I would have quit gaming long ago.

Gameplay. For instance, I put thousands of hours combined into Demon's Souls, Valkyria Chronicles, The Elder Scrolls, The Fallouts, and this generation Diablo 3 RoS, based on gameplay alone (though they did have interesting stories); but I put The Last of Us down after making to "The Outskirts." Never played Red Dead, the Mass Effect or Uncharted series (played demos of the later two, thought the gameplay was poor).

This poll is broken. The right answer is BOTH. Of course gameplay is more important, but saying storylines are for morons, or that people with low IQ's prefer gameplay is laughable at best, and putting a stereotype on gaming... lol

You lose.... good day sir!

I'd take a fun game with bad story over a boring game with good story any day.

I think not making threads is more important...

They should really put a break on how many dumb topics someone is allowed to make within a period of time.

All you have to do is look to SONY for guidance.

STOREPLAY

GAMERY

Games are games, not movies or TV shows. While I almost always prefer a game with a good story to a game without one, sometimes it gets boring when the gameplay feels like an afterthought. A good example would be Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. With Dreamfall Chapters releasing currently, I decided to give that a go, and found most of the gameplay to be fetch quest after fetch quest, with puzzles few and in between. Tested my patience quite a bit. (Heard the original Longest Journey is better in this regard, but not playing that until I find a place where I can put my old CRT monitor and play on that, because 640x480 on an LCD monitor looks like ass.)

It's more important that you stop making threads, also stop breathing while you are it.

Gameplay is more important, if i want a good story i buy a book

Gameplay by miles.

A great game should be able to tell a story through it's gameplay, not through static cinematics. The whole point of the medium is interaction. And pressing "x to advance to the next cinematic" doesn't count.

Depends on the game. Im sure no one is looking for a plot in mario they just wanna platform.

Man, your attempts to downplay Bayo2 are getting sadder and sadder.

With the exception of Planescape (only because I've never played it) all the games in the "Story" side have fantastic gameplay.

Depends how I feel.

Games are not all about gameplay anymore.

What are you talking about? TLOU, RDR, and HL have the best goddamn gameplay in their genres.

Why are Mario Galaxy 1 and Mario Galaxy 2 not on the gameplay side.. I mean, weren't they among the highest rated games of all time with zero emphasis on story... oh, this is a FreedomFreeLife thread... Got it.

Bayonetta 2 really hurt some feelings around here huh?

Another Bayonetta Topic.

Gameplay. If I wanted a good story, I can just watch a movie or TV show, or read a book, or play a visual novel.

Experience, mission design. Non-linear and not repetitive game design by doing the same shit over and over again is the most important thing for me.

Wow you REALLY hate Bayonetta. Gameplay is king. If I wanted a story I'd read a book.

Other than Mass Effects story and the character development in TLOU last gen I would say I don't care much for video game stories as of late.

Come on now can we just consider this disruptive posting already? TC is clearly a garbage troll with nothing to contribute.

I think TC is the one most obsessed with Bayo2 than anyone else.

when is he gonna stop? his threads are really dumb, and he also does a lot of Apple and Oranges

How about you pick some actual story games where there is mainly only a story and no gameplay to back it up?

Gone Home, Beyond 2 Souls, etc.

LOL this thread

Gameplay >>>>>....>>> story

Video game stories are a joke

@blamix99

All we can do is Hope. Or just move on with our lives oblvious to his threads

The only story driven game that you listed that has what I would consider a passable story there would be Planescape torment.

In the meanwhile, the games on the gameplay category all have good gameplay, aside from CoD.

@magicalclick

What personal issues ?

It depends

Right?

How about both! Where's that option? It is possible for games to feature both and be fun and interesting you know. Now if we can just convince more developers and publishers about this option....

A game can stand without a good story, but it can't stand without a good gameplay. Game is a medium of interactivity, first and foremost.

And besides, story is only part of the bigger pillar of narrative system. Gaming is still adolescent in handling narrative, probably around Griffith era or even before if we compare it to film history.

I can`t play a story.

If I wanted story over gameplay, I'd just watch a movie/tv show or read a book

This is like those people who ask what is more important, 1080p or 60fps..

IT DEPENDS ON THE GAME. Anything other than this answer is wrong.

Such bad poll options. facepalm.

Story into Gameplay? The 1st Mass Effect took me to a whole different level I loved every part of the game story/gameplay everything ties in so nicely to me. Same goes for Red Dead Redemption I have spend the most hours in these two games because of story into gameplay.

Both are equally important. The best games nail both really well so there isnt a more important one.