what do you think is most important.

[fps]

i want to know what you guys think. because i can still change the way my game comes out easily from this point.

[Destron]

Story-based. a game is almost NOTHING without a story.

[federico]

Personally I would vote for any of the first four choices. The next ones are important, but not as the formers. Think about splinter cell or metal gear. They have few weapons and very basic, storyline is quite deterministic but the feel about the story and the identification with hero is total. That's why I don't like FPS: i simply can't get attached to the character if I don't see him.
So interaction and storyline are quite all.

[Jay]

The No. 1 thing for me are the characters. That goes for the protagonists, and also for the antagonists as well. It makes me getting sucked into the game when i feel that the characters are not just your stereotypical types.

That's what i loved in Golden Sun (GBA game) - all characters had different personalities - even the side-characters. The antagonists (Saturos, Menardi) were so cool that it was really them who kept me plaing the game to the end. They even weren't evil in the end - at the end you found out that they wanted to save their hometown because it was going to be consumed by the void surrounding the world.

Characters have to have a past, and a future. They have to have likes, dislikes, and a goal in life. A family. Poeple they love and care about, and poeple that care about them. EMOTIONS. They have to have special abilities, maybe they are the only ones on the whole world thatr are capable of doing this special thing. And they have to develop themselves.

Really. Everything, and i mean everything, is built on the characters in the game. If the characters were perfect, you would not even need a super-cool world (but it should be good enough...). The player's imagination, his identification with the characters would just go wild. And thats what games are all about. IMAGINATION. Yes you heard me right. If you can get the player to imagine it all, he's the hero, or he's leading the group of heros, and he likes the other characters too... It will not count how the game looks... really! Of course it can help how the game looks - it can help you imagine the whole world, and how he is the hero going on the big quest, how he is saving the world etc...
Look on how horror/psycho-films get you to imagine they are scary. If it werenn't for your imagination that is set into motion, and you would not imagine scary thinghs, the movies wouldn't be all too scary. You could even laugh about them. Good horror/psycho-movies even leave out certain details so that your imagination can add them.
Also good books use your imagination. You get sucked in by an 'imagination black hole' and then you believe (in your magination, of course) you are the hero/the heroine. But you know, even if your imagination is not real, the emotions resulting from it ARE real. Why should games not use this too? Well they already do:
You know chess? Looked from the outside, it's a board with some figures on it. But what counts is the IMAGINATION that the players are kings and in a war. That's what the game is about. It's not about moving white and black figures on a 8 fields square board that has alternating white and black fields. Without the imagination of being king, the whole game would be senseless. That's also why chess feels so 'royal' when you play it. In this game, you are king, and because of that, it makes total sense that chess feels 'royal'

No. 2 is the story. You know, the great quest they are setting out to. It should be heroic in some way, but just 'saving the world' is too easy. You see, if you could just go straight for the main boss, it would be too easy. Make it so that the characters have their own reasons to go onto the quest. Maybe (i am talking about groups of heros here, not just the single hero that is saving the world alone) one of them tries to rob all of them first. Then another wants to find out more about the world. Or they just want to save their love, and so they save every one else 'by the way'... Or even like the hero/the heroine just wants to rob the main boss at first, but then he/she discovers that he/she has got a heart and frees the prisoners inside the prisons of the boss, risking to get caught. Which is then the start of his/her hero-life.

[darksmaster923]

i absolutely love player to weapon, weapon to pawn and player to environment.

[Agentarrow]

AI, i hate Ai that just sits there and shoots. Good AI makes the most in-depth experience

[Juutis]

I voted for story. But immadiately after giving my vote I realized I'd like to take it back. If the question was 'What makes a good game?', then I would vote for the story, but this is about being fun and have replay value.

To have replay value, I think the game needs to give something new each time. From the options above, 'free form play. (ex) plot is open and can change with players decision' would be the best one to accomplish it. If the story changes based on the player's actions and there's several ways to play the game, it would definately have a motherload of replay value. Multiplayer and modding abilities also increse the 'lifetime' of a game. So that there's something more to it than just finishing the story.

So what makes a game fun, then? That's an incredibly hard question, actually. I can't say exactly what makes a game fun. Everyone has their own opinions about this, but here's my list. It's about shooters, mostly:
+ Game mechanics, especially the movement and actions of the main character. I'm not playing a game where controlling the main character is nearly impossible. That's for sure.
+ Lots of things to shoot. Well, I play shooters to shoot things, so give me things to shoot.
+ Many ways to harm and kill the enemys. Loads of weapons with different effects on the enemy, like the ones mentioned above. Also ragdolls are fun.
+ Player to enviroment interaction. Breaking things, physics, etc.

These things alone won't make a game fun, though. They need to be done properly and there has to be something else too.


Excellent arguments, Jay. Especially in RPGs the characters are the key.

[fps]

i like all of you suggestions very much.

just to get a perspective of what i am talking about as far as unique fist person combat systems you should try "the specialists" mod for halflife.
(i am talking about the 2nd version seeing as i couldent get the 3rd to work on my computer)
you need the cheat enabled versoin of halflife.
create a lan game and type the cheat; addbot
a couple of times.
try the system of slomotion and the diving, wall double jumping. the wall run. the super jump, customiseing your weapons, ect.. try it in third person and read the instructions to get the greatest effect of game play.
it is a nice mod but it is just action movie gameplay with no story.

i want to build a player system that works better then this that i will evolve through the 4 games it takes to tell my complete story.

some facts.

my game has 4 main parts (sequels) that deal with several different carectors.
my plan is infact to have several charector backgrounds to choose for to determine the carecters abilities and personality.
missions are chapters and there are many. (mabey not enough)
also the names of my games (although not the titles) are as follows.(if i remember them right. i dont have my papers)

CH1;
PAIN:
Creation
(personality and ability creation, meet the squad)
Birth of an Antichrist "aka" babysteps
("the dream" unexplained tutorial and "meet the antagonist")
Learning
(Introduction to game and charectors "dream explained")
Life
(the missions and main game and side missions)
The End
(awakening, betrayal, death?)


CH2;
SUFFERING:
Creation
(ability creation, meet main charector)
Birth "aka" babysteps
("memories" tutorial and "meet the antagonist")
Learning
(Introduction to game, charectors, mission, ect..)
Life
(the missions and main game and side missions)
The End
(betrayal, death?, "traitor among the defenseless")


CH3;
MADNESS:
Madness consumes reality "aka" babysteps
("Escape" aka "meeting evil" unexplained tutorial)
Modification
(ability creation body upgrades)
Learning
(Introduction to game and charectors reason for "escape" explained)
Life
(the missions and main game, weapon and personal upgrades)
Freedom... from existance. "aka" Ultimate End Game
(betrayal, death?, awakening"explination", the end of existance)


CH4;
PHYCOSIS APOCOLIPSE: (spl)
Rebirth "aka" gathering of lost souls
("come to the light" unexplained tutorial in hell)
Learning
(Introduction to game and charectors reason for "escape" explained)
Restructure
(ability creation weapon upgrades)
Afterlife
(the missions and main game in phycotic alternate (remaining) reality, weapon and personal upgrades)
Good vs. Evil
(final battles, a new reality ,forgivness "gift from god")

CH5;
THE LAST EVIL: ???


i hope this give you a better idea of how my game will play out.

thanks,
fps