Video Games: What makes one good?

Explodinator

Explodinator

Harbinger of Memes
I've been playing a lot of good games recently, both old and new. I've noticed that all of them Have something in common about them, something noticeable, yet I can't place my finger on it. So, I'm doing what any sensible person would do: consult complete strangers in forums about it. So, in your opinion, what makes a good video game?
 
Good games have good gameplay. The end.

Oh, you wanted a bit more to it than that? Yeah, alright. I'll bite. Good games have...
  • An art direction that matches their themes, gameplay style, and budgetary constraints.
  • A lot of bug testing. Like, a lot.
  • A solid sense of pacing, wherein you are accomplishing a series of objectives--either of your own make, or of a more traditional narrative structure. (Note: "Pacing" in this sense refers to the literal progression from beginning to end of a game. Sandbox games end when the player wants them to end, but even they will normally have a series of "steps" and prerequisites you have to accomplish in order to gain things you want, like Kerbal Space Program unlocking rocket ship parts.)
  • Some genuine thought put into the emotional aspects of the game, as tied to the gameplay. (Ex: Dark Souls rewards you for getting through its difficult challenges with new spectacles and creatures to fight. Deus Ex unveils more and more of a grand conspiratorial plot. Et cetera.)
  • It has to make you feel something. It doesn't have to be a grand standing action adventure "save the galaxy" narrative, it can just be you and the cold destitute world you have to tame, or running a village simulator and seeing villagers die of old age, and what not. (The two pillars of art.)
  • It has to make you think about something. It doesn't have to be profound, it just has to involve you in a way that compels you to be curious about the world you are in, such as mastery over the game mechanics, or resolving mysteries. (The two pillars of art.)
  • Not overhyping and lying about your product's core features. Cough. (In all seriousness: Dead Island was not a bad game, but was set up for inevitable failure and spite by incredibly deceitful marketing.)
  • Remembering that a game is a game first and everything else second. IE: It has to be fun to play, before you start trying to stuff it full of political commentary for example. Command & Conquer: Generals is so hammy and cliche and unoriginal and it revels in it, and it works at this because the core gameplay was the #1 priority before anything else.
  • Remembering that you cannot achieve everything at once, and shouldn't even try. Just pick a couple to a few features you like and refine those features into the core gameplay. Nothing sucks more than playing a game of incredible potential, that spreads itself thin and shallow in such a way that it is never rewarding to play. (Ex: Hellgate London.)
  • Remembering that you cannot please everyone, and that what defines a great game will differ from person to person. So just make the best game that you can, that you think you would enjoy, and that your customers would enjoy. (Ex: A lot of people enjoy the shooter genre, and outside of certain exceptions, I generally don't. Give me strategy games though, and I'm more willing to overlook some of their flaws, because I am inherently geared to enjoying those types of games.)
  • Do not kill your game with extreme avarice. Games are momentary distractions from the real world, they come and go. You should be competing to sell your game at the cheapest possible price, not gouge the consumer--because the higher your price is, the more likely you are to disappoint someone with it. (Ex: Evolve. It wasn't a terrible game at its core, but it already had hundreds of dollars of DLC and microtransactions on release. Greed can kill a game as surely as anything else.)
  • Do not kill your game with extreme superbia. Nobody enjoys being talked down to like a child when they're just looking for a momentary escape. (Ex: Pretty much any game that advertises itself as a "stunning, critical view" of society at large in the indie section. The entire "Walking Simulator" genre.)
Basically, avoid the pratfalls above, and you likely have a good game on your hands. There's lots of good games, popular and unpopular out there. Some of them I enjoy (Jupiter: The Nexus Incident, X-COM, Stellaris, et cetera) and some I don't (Dark Souls, Terraria, Minecraft). So long as you go into it with some knowledge of game design, a couple of good core ideas that are reasonably entertaining, don't allow yourself to fall into the pratfalls of pride or greed, give yourself enough time to finish it, and don't lie to your consumers about what it is via overhype? You'll probably release a fine, fun piece of entertainment that will let thousands of people escape from the frustrations of reality for a while.

That's about it I guess.
 

In all seriousness though Nilum addressed most of the main points. I'll just add a few more points of:

1. Make sure players can actually understand the game. Nothing sucks more than for developers to get so excited about so many mechanics that they lose themselves and make something that causes players to run away.
2. Make sure your game can actually run. The number of developers who forget this are ridiculous.

Also, if you care about this topic I suggest watching Extra Credits. They got 13 Seasons of videos talking about game design, what makes games work etc.

Nilum said:
(Ex: Evolve. It wasn't a terrible game at its core, but it already had hundreds of dollars of DLC and microtransactions on release. Greed can kill a game as surely as anything else.)
Click to expand...
Speaking of Evolve, if those who played it found they liked it's writing their writer actually has a YouTube Channel where he talks a lot about DM'ing for tabletop RPGs.
 
nillium pretty much hit it on the head right there. but me personally my overall emphasis is on the storytelling of the piece and also the graphics. i am a graphic snob, sorrynotsorry. it's really easy for me to get bored with a game also if the pacing is just not on point either.
 
for me it always comes down to visuals, and the story. right after that is the world building. world building, arguably, is the most important. the whole point of a game is immersion, and without a great structure, its hard to really forget yourself in a game.
 
What's the difference between a crap game and a non-crappy one?

  • Graphics. The setting, character design, etc. better be the most breathtaking thing I've seen in my life. Having sick graphics will draw the gamer in.
  • Characters. I better see at least one character in game that attracts me or else I'm done. Having an interesting character during gameplay will make it hard for the gamer to take their eyes away from the screen.
  • Storyline. If the storyline is boring in general, I'm not even going to bother. Storylines should hook the gamer right up with their console/whatever they're using and devour their poor, little souls as they suck them into a whole new world. Really good storylines often set you apart from reality for awhile.
  • How challenging is the game? Is it too easy, causing the gamer to get bored of it almost immediately? Or is it too hard, causing the gamer to fall into a state of rage and distress. Games should be challenging, but not to the point where it's almost nearly impossible. That would take the fun out of the game. Having a game challenge you in just the right amount gives you motivation to keep going! Once you overcome these challenges, you feel great about yourself.
 
I think Nilum nailed most of the traits a good video game have in general, but for me personally a good video game is a game that is so fundamentally broken to the point where everything turns into an unintentional joke (like Ride to Hell Retribution). I usually have a blast when I go around trying to find all the ways to break a game.

Other than that, I also like games that makes me see something in a different perspective. There are many different ways a video game can impact someone, but I think games that does this best are the ones that tie everything (design, mechanics, etc) into a singular theme. Tracy Fullerton said that video game developers should start their development by writing a description about "goals that the game designer sets for the type of experience that players will have during the game", which I think is an interesting way to achieve this.
 
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