What do you want in a video game

Karkadann · **Posted:** Tue Jan 28, 2014 8:22 am

What do you wanna see in a video game? I feel that a software company that keeps in touch with its fans and occasionally asks "what do YOU the fans want in a video game" has the potential to make a video game that is more popular with its fans, in theory.

I know people change over time and their interest also tend to change as well, no one can know what everybody wants. What was popular yesteryear might not be as popular today. However if you ask from time to time, keep in touch with what people are interested in and somehow work that into your own vision in theory it should be beneficial for all parties involved.

So just out of curiosity Im asking "what do you want to see in a video game, what will hold your interest and keep you coming back"

chrissifniotis · **Posted:** Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:33 am

[OFFTOPIC]I'M ALIVE!!![/OFFTOPIC]

Hm. Different things for me I suppose. A number of games I enjoy have a good story and backstory like the Age of Wonders storyline. I mostly take an interest in historical games, I closely follow the Civilization and Age of Empires series for that reason. Graphics and wonderful attention to detail also interest me, one of the reasons I love Myst and Uru. Then there's the ability to be creative like MineCraft.

What keeps me into Myst is the fantastic worlds, the backstory behind them and the puzzles to flex my brain a bit.

Annabelle · **Posted:** Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:05 pm

Karkadann wrote:

So just out of curiosity Im asking "what do you want to see in a video game, what will hold your interest and keep you coming back"

Let's see some criteria:

Violence & weapons - Shoot the bad guys type... a complete turn-off
1st person view... grrr :evil:

Logical puzzles... ouch, I'm feeling a migraine coming
Strategy & organisation type of game (SimCity)... Bankruptcy awaits :wink:

Point-and-Click... an awful constraint
Inventory... a shovel, a rope, and a plank...seriously

, I mean it...seriously...
Gambling... do I look like a gambler? :lol:

Backstory... it must grab my attention, I won't push too much into it though
Puzzles... there must be a walkthrough somewhere :lol:

3rd person view... that's more like it
Freedom of movement for exploration... that's more like it
Card/Patience game (no money involved)... bring them on
Lovely graphics/sceneries... sure!

URU (mostly), Journey (PS3), Syberia series, Dreamfall series, Mahjjong/Spider/Patience games
The odds that I'll play these games and replay them: High

All the other games (including the Myst series)
I might finish them once/twice or I might just not finish them at all - just wandering in the sceneries

In fact, it's just like in real life...drop me at the entrance of a National Park with food/water supplies, a packsack, a map (well...that's not necessary, I might with high odds, get off the track), I'll be really happy. At night, I'll play patience game. What about the bears & other long-teeth animals? Well... hmm... I will make use of violence & weapons

janaba1 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:06 pm

I'll immediately seize the opportunity, after you've done all the hard work to compile this wonderful list and put myself completely behind it all ... We seem to be a good team, Annabelle ...

Acorn1 · **Joined:** Sat Jan 12, 2013 8:46 pm **Posts:** 985

One thing you didn't mention, Annabelle - but maybe I'm the only one who feels like this - is absolutely HATING stuff where there is a clock ticking and you need to react fast! I like to take my own time rather than be driven by a game.

This rules out an awful lot of games for me!

Jamie Marchant · **Posted:** Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:24 pm

What I like in my video games, depends on what mood I'm in, if I want to get a lot of energy at once I play Sonic, if I want to think, explorer and solve puzzles, I play Myst, etc. The most important thing to me is that I have fun.

Annabelle · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 12:45 am

Acorn1 wrote:

One thing you didn't mention, Annabelle - but maybe I'm the only one who feels like this - is absolutely HATING stuff where there is a clock ticking and you need to react fast! I like to take my own time rather than be driven by a game.

This rules out an awful lot of games for me!

Right

!

I was in real hurry (well...not really :lol:

) this morning so I forgot that issue BIG time... I can become a monster when there are beat-the-clock puzzles or if the puzzles are too hard to be fun. I remember "trying" to play Chameleon. At the end there were teeth bites on the box cover & the CD-ROMs all finished their pity life in the garbage.

This is why I never liked Myst 4 Revelation:

The colour dots puzzle in Serenia is too hard to be fun and the spire mechanism puzzle to do whatever with the nara (don't ask me what we can do with it :lol:

) is too timed to be fun. And that spirit chase puzzle...grrrr

Ainia · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 2:31 am

Shorah everyone,

I'm completely on board with Annabelle, janaba1 and Acorn1. :mrgreen:

I *love*

taking my time
exploring endlessly
genuinely logical puzzles (like in the original Myst with figuring out what the levers controlled, how to turn on the power, etc.)
interesting NPCs and rich history/backstory (e.g. Yeesha is an odd but very interesting character and gets more and more complex as we learn more about her)
collaborating with other people
realistic and detailed worlds (realistic=well-rendered rather than identical to familiar Terran landscapes)
hidden nuggets to discover but which aren't required for gameplay
imaginative and mysterious worlds

I *hate*

conversation trees
having to collect piles of things (inventory, money)
anything requiring refined eye-hand coordination (fighting, high-speed chases, etc. YECH)
"enemies" (and all the evil things that go with them)
illogical puzzles (e.g. having to talk to NPCs in the exact right order, arranging refrigerator magnets in the right order to unlock the door, etc.) If it wouldn't make sense in real life then I will walk away and call it lazy game design
health meters (and all the evil things that go with them)
anything that promotes competition instead of collaboration

As you can probably tell, I'm not a gamer. I'm an explorer.

Deck 15 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:41 am

Dittos! Particularly about logical puzzles.

EXPLORATION!!

I would LOVE to see a game with the vastness, complexity, and beauty of a game like Skyrim but where you don't have to fight every person and creature you meet. Gore is a major turn-off. So are undead/demonic themes.

The Myst games will always be my favorite but I have to admit it's a little disappointing to finish exploring an age and realize it's so VERY small.

Make me think (puzzles!), but also let me explore my creativity. When you have a game that allows the users to create mods, it keeps fans engrossed in the game for years.

Humor is always a nice touch. But keep it subtle. (And innuendo is a cheap laugh. Lazy.)

Enough complexity that when you replay the game you find things you missed the first time around.

Lord Chaos · **Joined:** Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:57 am **Posts:** 1337

"The Manhole" was the first computer game I finished. "Cosmic Osmo" followed that, and then "Myst." I'd played games in arcades but few of them engaged me and when they started moving in the direction of more gore I stopped going there.

"Riven" is, for me, the apotheosis of video gaming. I wander around, look at things, figure things out, and am regularly astounded by beauty of scene and music interwoven. The only bad thing about Riven is that it ends. It's like a good book, and leaves me wanting more. All these years later, I still want more but I fear that age is gone.

So, add my voice to Annabelle's. Give me a place to explore, things to figure out, beauty and grace and good music, with mystery and detail. That's a game I would play because I want to be in the world for a time, and that would differ from something like "Guild Wars," which I play as a time-killer on those days when I don't want to deal with anything else.

The first thing I did in Guild Wars 2? Start walking. I set out from the Black Citadel and found my way to all the other major cities. I echo the other voices in this thread and say I'm an explorer.

KathAveara · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 7:39 am

Hm, ditto for me too, Ainia!

AdamJohnso · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:12 am

Guns, bazookas, and gazongas.

[trollface.jpg]

Tomala · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:15 am

Ainia wrote:

arranging refrigerator magnets in the right order to unlock the door, etc

You didn't find that puzzle in Riven? :shock:

HarveyMidnight · **Joined:** Sat Apr 14, 2012 2:59 pm **Posts:** 432

Years before I even played Myst-- back when it was typical for games to get harder and harder as you moved up in levels, I wondered myself if someone could make a game that didn't get harder as you went, that just provided unique and interesting things to see and hear.

It didn't occur to me that it would be puzzle-based, or about problem-solving.. so no, I didn't envision or predict Myst.

But I've heard about games like 'Dear Esther' and 'Journey' that sound more like what I was envisioning; just games where you explore , and your presence in certain spots will trigger the storyline... you don't die, you don't get frustrated and stuck-- you're just on an easter-egg hunt. The more you look, the more you find.

I think I would really enjoy a game like that.. just a fictional, beautiful place to explore, with a lot of amazing visuals and beautiful music-- the more you explore, the more new cool stuff you see and hear.

If I were to design my own "Myst VI", for example, my FIRST priority would be to come up with a story-based reason why your character would need to visit almost ALL of the Ages from the past games, just to put them all in one place with all the original music & sound effects and some new things added in, new music and new things to find-- so even AFTER you complete the story-mode, this game would be a 'museum piece' where you can always go back and tour your favorite Ages.

Nev'yn · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 5:46 pm

For me, I always enjoyed the Quest For Glory Series. My all-time favorite would be #IV: Shadows of Darkness. Unfortunately, they completely redid the engine for QFG #V. I only played it for a little while, found it tedious for gameplay, and have never went back to finish it.

Another game I recall fondly is King's Quest 6. That game was always more of story to me than an actual game.

Although Myst/Riven are notable, the novels I will perhaps always like even more than the games. I need to remind the readers here I only discovered the cavern upon accident while researching other things. The game was briefly mentioned in comparison to something else. After doing a search, I discovered Uru. I thought the series had ended with the first two games and the book series. I still haven't played Exile or Revelations, while I obtained EoA only after an online copy was finally released on Steam.

Anys, sorry for the rambling nature of this post...Didn't really answer the question, did I?
(/me shrugs)

What do you want in a video game

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