What do you look for in a game?

[Spuuky]

I'm sorry, but 'gameplay' is not a valid answer (I don't mean to pick on you in particular Pol). Obviously, you play the game. If you can't play it, it's not a game. It's almost like saying the thing you look for in a movie is 'plot'.

What types of gameplay elements do you guys who like 'gameplay' look for?

I think this is really bad sarcasm, but I'll respond seriously anyway. It's possible to enjoy a game without enjoying the gameplay of it (I nearly enjoyed Xenosaga: Episode 2 despite the gameplay being abjectly awful). You can derive fun from other things than gameplay, like the atmosphere, story, or aesthetic.

But it is pretty close to the line and would be better served with a deeper explanation, yes.

[Slothy]

That's a bit like asking a car nut what his favourite car is Del. You really can't go too narrow with it or you lose the variety that appeals to someone in the details, and you can't really get into specific mechanics too much because then answers can be as utterly meaningless as saying I like games that let you jump.

In the broadest possible terms, I like gameplay that is challenging and has plenty of depth and nuance to it to keep you busy for hours. This could include anything as complex as Starcraft or as simple as the running, jumping, block breaking combo in the original Super Mario Bros.

But to put it into somewhat easier terms for anyone to understand, if you can play a game for hours, months, or years, just for the simple joy of experiencing it's mechanics, then it's got great gameplay. And if you can't enjoy a game for that long because it's mechanics just don't hold up over time, then what's the point in it being a game in the first place?

[Spuuky]

Are you saying there's no value in a game that is tremendously, massively enjoyable to play for an hour, and then has essentially no reason to replay it until you've kind of forgotten what it was like two years later? Because that's basically what all movies aspire to.

[Slothy]

Of course there's value in a game that's massively enjoyable for one hour. There's exactly one hour of massive enjoyment. I wouldn't pay $60 for it though.

I'm not saying shorter experiences can't be enjoyable, or that they can't be well worth the time and money, but if you want to know what makes for great gameplay, see my comment above. Any game you can't enjoy playing just for the sake of playing for more than an hour probably doesn't have the best gameplay (I'd be hesitant to say it's even good gameplay if that's how long the experience holds up with nothing else to discover mechanics wise), but may have other qualities which help overcome that.

[Quindiana Jones]

Of course there's value in a game that's massively enjoyable for one hour. There's exactly one hour of massive enjoyment. I wouldn't pay $60 for it though.

Hmm...

Y'know, I think I'm charging too much.