New Poll

There's a new poll off to the right side of the page concerning what game elements appeals to you the most to buy a game. I suspect Story will take the lead, but I'm interested to see how the rest of them will turn out as well.

This poll is non-BouncyRock affiliated and is for personal interest only - although it can possibly have an impact on future projects involving BouncyRock's endeavours.

5 comments:

  Wyrin

July 2, 2009 at 5:58 AM

I think you need the option for multiple choices otherwise story will dominate
But I'd say innovation (in gameplay) would possibly be my (distant) second choice

  Unknown

July 2, 2009 at 6:51 AM

I voted exploration/sandbox because it was the closest thing to describe my attraction to believable and immersive worlds. I get hooked when I can get the feel of a particular world to the point where I can imagine my own stories and events occurring inside it.

JasonNH

  Frank Perez

July 2, 2009 at 9:06 AM

What would interest me enough to buy a video game? That’s an interesting question, the answer to which is different from another related but distinct question : What qualities in a video game do I find most enjoyable? Just as the qualities that would make a man sleep with a woman may be different from the ones that would make the man stay with the woman for life, the qualities that would make me buy a game may be different from the ones that would actually make me enjoy it.

None of the stock answers that you provided is a perfect fit for me. I generally read up on how highly the game is rated by Gamespot, but that is not the only factor that will get me to purchase it. If the game promises an intriguing interactive experience as well without becoming overwhelming to play, I’ll buy it. Note that what I consider to be intriguing is highly subjective. The setting and flavor of the game is definitely a factor. I like horror, noir, and superhero settings but not westerns or modern warfare. (I’m not into abstract games like chess or backgammon precisely because they lack an intriguing setting.) I also like games where I can spring some nasty surprises on the enemy or the enemy can spring some nasty surprises on me as long as these surprises don’t break the natural laws of the game world.

Here’s an example of a game that I bought for none of the reasons that you listed in your poll – Master of Orion (1993). I bought it because of the promise of competitive conquest in a fun sci-fi setting. The game had no story to speak of, no first-person shooting, and no stealth action (apart from the use of cloaking devices, but that’s far from being the same experience as Tenchu or Thief). Its deep, turn-based gameplay is anything but hack-and-slash. The game does involve some exploration, but this is not a sandbox kind of game. There are set objectives to achieve, and one can win or lose the game. While the gameplay may be considered innovative for its time, that wasn’t why I bought it. The fact that one never knows what the enemy races were up to was what made this game intriguing enough for me to buy.

One thing I’ll say, though. If a game is an MMO, I’m staying away from it.

  Josh

July 2, 2009 at 12:28 PM

Wyrin: Its not multiple choice because it says the "most." And if it was multiple choice, I suspect many people would just check them all or most of them (then MMO would probably be at the bottom).

I forgot about Strategy when making the poll. Games like Warcraft, Starcraft and Age of Empires would fall under that category.

  Josh

July 2, 2009 at 1:48 PM

Poll is closed for the time being. Its current setup really isnt working, and I'm trying to find an alternative method of accurately allowing people to choose multiple combos.