August 25, 2013 by

So I was just sitting on my couch with my laptop thinking about video games and the upcoming releases and how the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto V is approaching very soon. Then it hit me... What makes video games fun? Is it the gameplay, the graphics, or the storyline? Can it be all of those things in one? I'll let you guys know what I think makes a game fun very soon.

So what makes a game fun? That's probably a question that most people ask themselves and cannot seem to answer. Well I can guarantee that it has NOTHING to do with the graphics. I still find myself enjoying Nintendo 64 games more than the big games being released for the current generation consoles and it's kind of crazy. But I had to figure out what makes a game fun so I then proceeded to debunk why that was and I found out it could potentially be what the gameplay is like and what the overall experience is like.  Although the graphics lack MASSIVELY on the Nintendo 64 the games are still the best games you could ever play and can be enjoyed for years even if you beat it a thousand times. So, if it's not the graphics and gameplay has very little to do with it then what can it be? It has to be the quality. Now although in today's world people compare graphics all the time to decide if one game is better than the other they seem to forget about the quality of the game. So even if, hypothetically speaking, Battlefield 4 was a guaranteed failure and still had the graphical elements it has now then people would still prefer the game over other games that were guaranteed to provide a better gameplay experience and just better quality overall. So with that being said why do gamers prefer these amazing looking graphics? Because it's expected nowadays. A game company cannot release a first-person shooter that looks like Golden Eye 007 without it flopping... Hard. It would be better off free and in a flash player. But why would I say graphics don't matter earlier when it seems they do? Well I've been playing Splinter Cell: Blacklist for hours since it's release date and although the graphics aren't as great compared to Battlefield or Crysis the game is still amazing. The quality of the game and the overall experience I got while playing Splinter Cell: Blacklist was phenomenal. I can literally play it for months and will never get bored of it. So, the graphics don't matter when it comes to gaming. It's all about the quality and the time the developers put into the game. Graphics have a little to do with it but I still banked more hours in the Ocarina of Time more than any other game out there. Same with Super Mario 64 and other classic Nintendo 64 titles. So what type of "quality am I speaking of? It's pretty simple actually. It all depends if the game feels fun, responsive, and the storyline makes sense and can keep people coming back to the game. If the game lacks all those things but has good graphics it will still flop. But if a game has all those things and bad graphics it can still be enjoyed for years. I like to use the Call of Duty franchise as an example to this because the graphics are very poor compared to other shooters out there but the game is very fun. I really love playing the multiplayer and the campaign to those games just because of how fun they are and the companies know how to keep me coming back. But what happens when a game has all those things plus great graphics? Then you are very lucky. Very few games can provide everything from very high quality, great gameplay, and amazing graphics. Those usually come from the companies that are super dedicated and want to throw everything into their game and spend every waking moment on the game. They make new engines and they just want to make the game better than any other game out there and they don't care about the money... Just their fans being happy and trying for the Game of the Year. Very few companies do this though like Rockstar, Naughty Dog, DICE, Bethesda, Bioware, Crytech, Ubisoft, Irrational Games, Bungie, and the new company that adopted the Halo franchise 343 Industries. Please note that there are more companies that do this kind of thing but not that many. Now what makes all those companies special is that they aren't in it strictly for the money. They just want to work because it's fun and they want to make the game that pleases millions of people.

So in the end I guess it does take a little of everything to make a game fun and good. But it's mainly the quality of the game and how much time was put into the game. But the games that provide all of those things and then some are the games that will take the world by storm and really make a difference to the gaming industry.


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