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What Draws You Toward A Game?
#1
Good graphics.  I don't mean realism, HD, and all that.  But rather, a good style, and excellent use of color.  If the colors are bland and lifeless, the game's world is, by extension, bland and lifeless.

Smooth animations.  As a sprite artist, I can appreciate how much effort goes into making smooth animations, and I also know it's doable no matter what size graphics you're working with.  For example, there's no excuse to only have 2 frames of walking animation for 16x16 sprites, when you've got plenty of space to do 6 frames to make it smooth, even for retro styled sprites.  We aren't dealing with memory limitations anymore, so choppy animations turn me off.

Fitting and atmospheric music.  It's one thing to have decent music, but it's another thing to have memorable music and music that greatly enhances every scene and map of the game.  Look no further than the likes of Final Fantasy Tactics or Vagrant Story for examples of OSTs that blow many modern OSTs out of the water.

Perfect, responsive and fluid controls.  There's no excuse for stiff controls in this day and age.  The controls should reflect a player's common sense (like having the ability to duck, and attack in midair), and also not have any sort of response delay behind them.  Actions should be swift and fluid.  No choppy stiffness.

Story and characters to care about.  For the games that are going to have a story in the first place, as this obviously wouldn't apply to arcade style games.  If you're going to have a story, it might as well be a good one, and not one that'll have the player not caring about the people they're supposed to save in the game.  Majora's Mask, Final Fantasy Tactics and Legend of Legaia are good examples that come to mind.

Addictive Gameplay.  Good gameplay in general is what any game needs.  But for a game to have you coming back for more, even after its completion, the gameplay itself would need to involve something that'd want you coming back for more, like Terraria.
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#2
Good Graphics. By good it mostly means an artstyle that matches with the gameplay and setting. This includes HD and realism when it's accounted, such as driving games. If the game is presentable, it is a plus. This also accounts for animation.

Music. A good soundtrack is enough to make me hooked on the game, especially if the whole game is already good to start with. Extra points if the music seems unfitting at first but turns out to be a great masterpiece.

Perfect, responsive and fluid controls. Let's not forget that an action that happens frames after the input is not stiffness - it requires extra thought to attack and defend, and how to deal with that. You should be able to do everything the game lets you to, while limiting you like a good game of chess. This also depends on the type and premise of the game.

Story and Characters. This adds up to the immersion but it's not all that needed. Sometimes a simple game with a genius gameplay works better than a try-hard story with convoluted stories and fanfic-quality characters. A joke-ish game such as Earthworm Jim is funny and charismatic even though the story is pretty much an excuse plot.

Addictive Gameplay. Simple gameplay that is tricky to master. Mobile puzzle games are king at this, its premise is easy enough to understand but the challenge is to use t to your favor. Sometimes a game that doesn't add things up exponentially can be an eternal classic: such is the case with Agar.io.

Let's not forget the main reason: fun. This should be the main item sought by the players, ALL times.
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#3
The Universe and General Design - A unique world always catches my eye, as do character designs. A good world keeps you invested through the creativity and atmosphere. It's where you get lost in the game. An out of the ordinary, yet well crafted character is something I've always really been drawn to, as well.

Fitting and Atmospheric Music - Stealing one of Koh's. Music can make the game, even if all other aspects are solid. I'm always brought back to Super Metroid for the atmosphere, and part of what makes that atmosphere so incredible is the amazing music. It's part of the essential immersion.

Gameplay - A no brainer, really. The world around you can be fantastic, but if the actual gameplay is bad, you won't be very interested. If a game looks fun to you, you'll buy it. It's as simple as that.

I guess that's about it. Fun to think about.

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#4
Games that are fun (not tedious), charming, great to play and re-play.

I also like it when my protagonist is spunky, has a bad attitude, is good at something and is aware they are good at that something, but it's willing to put others before themself. Doesnt't hurt if they also have my faovrite color apparent in the character design (Royal Blue) Sonic and the first Musashi are alike a lot if approached from that regard so guys like them. It's proabably why I like the Ganbare Goemon series a lot too. I like games that are whacky but have their own notes of seriousness too them.
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#5
I usually approach a game for the first time because of pleasing visuals and interesting art direction. After that, it's up to the music, story, or gameplay to keep me hooked. Sometimes I'll approach a game if the gameplay looks promising, even if the graphics don't... but usually this is a situation where I'm familiar with the developers, the franchise, or there was a demo.
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#6
Story(If it has/need one): It needs to be a story to intrigue me if it has one, or one that I would get enjoyment in playing it... especially if it's a new series or a series I never played before. No decent story, and it could be the "Game of the year" and chances are I would hate it.

Gameplay: This don't even need explanation but... whatever. The game needs to have a decent control set-up, or at least a way to customize controls in the way you would like. If I don't like the control layout and have no way of changing it, there will be some problems and possible frustrations with me and the game which might make me not want to play it anymore.
Next is how responsive the game it. The game can't feel clunky or like there's a delay in what supposed to happen between me and the screen. Some find that challenging, while I find it an annoyance.

Content(Talking about already within the game and not locked content): The game needs to have a decent amount of things to do in it as well. A game that I can beat in one sitting these days or even within a few days to a week, isn't a game I would be likely to bother with or care of touching the game. I will continue this onto the next one.

Replayability: With content, the game needs to have the right "stuff" to keep me playing it even after one playthrough. Maybe 2... 3.... 7... or even 15 playthroughs. Stuff to unlock is really great to have in games as it adds more to look forward to and try out as you continue playing. New Game+ games (when done right) also brings a lot of replay value to me as I do like to see what's new in the next playthrough or maybe see what I missed while not losing all of my progress from the last time.
I do not consider multiplayer as a replay value as after a while it does get boring as it usually never changes. The players do, yes, but not the game. Which brings me to...

DLC(Does not mean Disc-Locked-Content): If the game already plans for DLC to be day 1, it better be god DLC. I'm not a fan of microtransactions and will not support that kind of business set-up.
An example I can give of a recent game I would not touch like this would be Mortal Kombat X, while the last game I've played with DLC that I completely support is Hyrule Warriors. I say DLC in the way Hyrule Warriors was done is one of the best ways to do DLC in my opinion.

Customization: If a game has a creator within it, and a decent one where you can make your own character (and not an MMO game), chances are I will be really interested in checking the game out as soon as I can. I'm sure not many are too interested in custom characters as I am, but I always sees it as a way to get more into the story of the game. It feels as it's your game, your story, your world as you go into the game and play it as *insert name here* and not *Insert known protagonist* here after so long of doing so.

I'm sure there's more to it, but that's all my mind is telling me for now so I'll stop it here.

EDIT: As soon as I hit the post button I remembered one. Big one for me.

Music: The game needs to have really good music for me to even get into it or enjoy it long. Yes, I know I know... you can use your own music while you play a game if you like, but where's the enjoyment of that? Having to rely on your own music to enjoy the game makes the game not as enjoyable as it can be. It means the game has a flaw in itself which I can't agree with.
It's the same I would say as mods for a game. If I don't enjoy a game unless I need to install mods to enjoy the game, then I consider that game horrible and a waste of time. Not going to list the games I'm thinking of as this isn't a debate topic.
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#7
Depends on the genre I suppose. Different genre, different draws.

In case you didn't notice, I like cartoony colorful fantasy games. I do like games that are more gritty and real but they need a strong gameplay edge to draw me in.

As for gameplay, I can like a simple time waster or a more in-depth experience. If it's in-depth it needs a vibrant world to traverse and explore.

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#8
I have a broad spectrum of things that draw me to games, although a lot of them bleed into each other, such as the first three I'm planning to list. There's going to be a lot of repeat game mentions, as these are features that make up some of my favorite games.

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#9
As a warning I pretty much only play Music Games nowadays with the occasional JRPG at home and other arcade games while at the arcade such as Super Table Flip.

Graphics: They need to fit the purpose of the game without being overly distracting. As someone who plays music games the overly distracting part can be hella bad, particularly since I need to focus hitting the buttons at the correct time. This is something that in general could be something for boss fights too, if you're too distracted going up against the boss, then you're not going to do as well.

Boss Fights: They need to be terrifying. If you know me as a person, you'll know that horror games have 0 affect on me while playing them and I much prefer to watch other people play them so I can enjoy their experience. However if you've ever seen me play a game with good Boss Fights, I make the same noises as someone who does get easily terrified while playing Horror games. Also instead of screaming I will say/yell the word no a lot. I promise you this means I'm having fun. This only kinda related to the music game aspect when I have noticed I improved. Improving is more terrifying then the boss songs themselves.

Music: It needs to make sense. For example, the song Microwave Popcorn is in Pop'n Music, based on the chart it has, it's honestly perfect for Pop'n music and is one of the most fun charts to play. The Pop'n Music game controller is 9 buttons, 4 on top and 5 on bottom, and all slightly bigger then a Sorry game board dice popper. So it's a lot of Kinetic movement and it's really fun. Meanwhile the song wouldn't translate into IIDX very well because its 7 buttons, in a very much piano like style shaped as smallish rectangles, and a giant turntable on the side. IIDX is more based on hand speed while Pop'n is more based on moving your arms. That being said some songs do work well for both, Nadeshiko Rock being one of them. Nadeshiko Rock was originally in Pop'n Music but was eventually translated to become a IIDX chart as well, then eventually all other music games made by Konami as well. It goes for other games too, I don't want a slow and easy song when facing off a boss, I want something that is going to make it much more terrifying.

Gameplay: It's sometimes really hard to grip my attention game wise. Sandbox and Music games do the best job at it, I think I just kinda like to be able to do whatever and go at it. Constant improvement and being rewarded when you do improve is also really great. Music games are particularly good when it comes to that.

Controls: I'm used to controls being hella on point, and if they are not it bothers me. Playing music games with lag is like trying to play an FPS without only a mouse and nothing else. It doesn't work and it's god awful.

Story: It needs to have a good story. Well Music Games don't but IIDX is full of different stories if you pay any attention to the videos, and each character in Pop'n Music all have their own backstories and there is around 1,000 characters if not more. So honestly Stories are minorly important there too. I really love world and character building so anything that has shit like that in it I will fall in love with.
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#10
Unique Art Style: This is the number one thing to grab my attention, the style NOT the graphics. A unique style will last throughout time, but graphics will not. For example, Parappa the Rapper has a great style and looks fantastic but the latest Call of Duty has 1000x more advanced graphics... that will just become outdated as time passes. Nothing immerses me more than an beautiful and unique world Heart

Great Dialogue: This is almost as important as the art style, as it gives the game it's personality. I don't care all too much about the story, I just want all the characters to have something funny to say. Paper Mario TTYD made me want to talk to literally every NPC because they all had so many great lines!

Experimental Gameplay: When a game tries to fuse two genre's together or just aims to try something completely new this always catches my attention. I mean sure I love the classics, but a rhythm-god game? Patapon is a great example it's seamlessly blends two genres together and it just works so damn well, there's really nothing like it.
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#11
you know what draws me to a game? hot babes, which is wh y I only play dead or alive game and dating sim.

give me the babe on the cover and i will bye the game.

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#12
(05-20-2015, 04:14 PM)Pik Wrote: give me the babe on the cover and i will bye the game.

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#13
Instant buy.

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#14
Gameplay: If the game has something that interests me, I'll be drawn to it. Hyrule Warriors for example was a clear Dynasty Warriors like game, and I used to love those games. Heck, I even have Dynasty Warriors 8 on PC.

Past experiences: When I have good experiences with a game before, I'll keep on purchasing them, or similar products of equal quality. The Incredible Machines was a really great franchises, so when I heard the creators of these games started a new studio to create Contraption Maker, I jumped on it as soon as it was available, no regrets.

Potential: Whenever a game is in clear alpha or beta, I mostly just look at what the game could become. Doesn't mean it necessarily will be anything like it, also doesn't mean it will live up to its expectation, but if I feel like it might be worth my money I'll give it some. Minecraft I didn't just purchase for the gameplay that was there, I purchased for the gameplay that could be, and I have to say I got a lot of fun out of it.

The protagonist is a female who wears glasses: Yeah, that was actually the main reason I installed the Blackwell Legacy, and I've played all installments since then. Rosangela Blackwell has grown a lot on me, and I really felt a hole in my life when the series ended. And that's something that ties with the next point.

Emotional attachment: If a game can make you come back to it because of its protagonist, because you feel for them, feel with them, it definitely is a game worth playing. Now I haven't played any of the newer Telltale Games games, but the one series I loved was Tales of Monkey Island. The series started at a point where Guybrush was basically older and wiser, more mature, and even through his wackiness, it showed. It made his struggle all the more real.

Fun: If a game is looking to be fun to play, I'll get it. Super Smash Bros. is one of my favorite gaming franchises, and that's only because I had a lot of fun with it, even without friends. Not that I don't play it with friends, but it's still fun either way.
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#15
I don't want to write a post about 10,000 topics, so I'll just focus on one thing I haven't seen anyone say too much about already.

When it comes to most genres, I'm pretty big on environmental design. In fact, I find that its importance is often equal to or greater than the characters and story, so I think it's a topic that deserves more focus.

Probably the most obvious thing about environmental design is the actual art (drawings, models, sprites...). People tend to associate "fun" with "gameplay," and arguments about graphics in AAA games lead many people to claim, "the graphics don't matter! Who cares what it looks like?!" But if you think about it, the graphics in a game are not at all unrelated to the amount of fun you have, and gameplay can only get you so far.

The very act of looking at good art is fun, isn't it? How often have you found yourself admiring images on the Internet? Considering the amount of time you spend staring at the art while playing a game (y'know, the entire time), having good assets in your environments can create a higher level of fun than good gameplay alone can create. Like, level 99 gameplay is good, but level 99 gameplay with level 99 environmental art is better. 
(As a side note, the problem with the graphical obsession is the fact that many people have a narrow definition of what good graphics are, not that people care about good graphics.)

This is all rather superficial, though. There are things about good environmental design that are more important than having pretty art, including mood, points of interest, and interactivity. I've enjoyed environments with mediocre graphics as long as they've nailed these points!

Mood is pretty obvious. When all of the elements of a game work together to create a specific atmosphere, they tend to generate more impact than a nonspecific or generic atmosphere would. Think horror games or weird old Rare titles.

Environments, of course, are a pretty big part of what makes an atmosphere. More impact tends to make you feel more engaged (sometimes to the point that you can call yourself invigorated!), and that means more fun for you. Mood also contributes to worldbuilding, and worldbuilding makes you feel more invested, and that means more fun for... you get the idea, right?

The next thing, which is a real big one for me, is the inclusion of points of interest. Environments that lack points of interest can be pretty hard to remember. Environments that do have them, however, are memorable because they give our minds something to hone in on. That's entertaining in the long run when we can reminisce about all the moments we had in those particular places. Also, points of interest tend to act as landmarks that make you feel like you're actively having an adventure rather than passively going through some levels. They grab your attention and wake you up a bit, so to speak.

Nothing has to be extremely overt to be a point of interest, but just having variety can be enough. For example, I wouldn't call the cyclops statues in the dungeons of LttP a "wow" factor, but they give the dungeons some character and differentiate them from the dungeons of other games. On the other hand, if there's too much crap crammed into a level, that can mean that nothing stands out. Even if the assets look well-done when taken individually, it can be hard to care about that particular area as a whole.

Another issue is when there are definite points of interest, but they're so uniformly planned and lacking in spontaneity that they become routine and less interesting. I have that problem with Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

Some examples of points of interest include the little arches you fly under in Corneria, the eel in Dire Dire Docks (which you could call a "character," but I'd say the little hole with the eel in it is an environmental thing), tons of stuff in Wind Waker and TTYD, the arcades and little capsule machines in Shenmue, the special buildings in Mega Man Legends (museum, town hall, stores...), or even the checkerboard pattern and weird sunflowers in Green Hill Zone.

If you think about it, without its little details and quirks, Green Hill Zone would just be an extremely boring grass level. Some of you might still think it's boring because opinions and all that, but the base images are iconic enough that they can be used in multiple Sonic games as a throwback (even if they seem to do it too often).

Something of a subcategory for points of interest (if I haven't used that term enough!) is interactivity. Not all games need it, but isn't it great when you can play with something in the environment? I like interactivity for a lot of the same reasons I've already gone over. It helps you feel like an active participant in an adventure, it gives you good memories, it creates variety, etc. Levers and buttons, hidden or destructible objects, minigames, usable instruments, botherable NPCs, platformable dinosaurs, whatever! Even little doors that make satisfying sounds are fun for some reason.

Overall, when it comes to environmental design, it's the little things that add up to create something I really appreciate. It seems like a lot of games are too afraid to include things that stand out or are particularly unusual, or are at least too unwilling to make that extra push. This can be particularly true for games in longrunning series that already have a defined identity. Mario games, for example, don't really interest me anymore because all of the environments, while fairly well-made in a general sense, stick to what's been established and don't do much to surprise you or break the mold. I pretty much feel like a zombie when I play games like that, no matter how good the gameplay is. I beat Mario Galaxy, but I honestly barely remember anything about it because there's nothing for my memories to focus on...

Regardless of my feelings about Mario, I think it's worth considering the specifics about which parts of environments you've enjoyed. I see people talk about this subject every once in awhile, but the discussions tend to be general and unfocused. Those types of discussions seem to miss the meat of what make an area fun to play in. If you want to understand environments, then I really think it comes down to the specifics!
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