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[Devenport]

Still the most important thing go me!

 

[GreyHorace]

That’s how it used to be, not so much anymore.

It used to be write a fun game and wrote a story around it.

Now it’s write the story, spend most of the budget on cutscenes and try to make a game that fits into it somehow.

That's why The Witcher 3 is such a strange beast to me. It's gameplay isn't that special (though not as bad as people make it out to be), and the open world is not as lively or random like that of a Rockstar Games title like Red Dead Redemption. Despite that, I still enjoy replaying the game and experiencing it's story again despite knowing all it's twists and turns.

Maybe because CDProjektRed managed to tie the story into to the core gameplay in such a way that makes the experience worth repeating.

 

[its_Ditz]

.

 

[Kagey K]

What the heck has happened that there's even a need for such a question?

“Above all, video games are meant to just be one thing: Fun for everyone.”
- Satoru Iwata

Welcome to 2020 it’s a few years late, but fun doesn’t matter much anymore.

 

[Dark Star]

I've had more fun with Dark Souls/Bloodborne than pretty much any other game TBH. The challenge is what makes it so exhilarating and intense, which equates to "fun" for me. Same thing with TLOU and Uncharted. They're totally gripping from start to finish, but maybe not as much replayability. They're not overly long open world games like RDR2 and The Witcher 3 (which I found to be amazing overall, but still kind of boring horse riding simulators due to the map sizes). I also find multiplayer FPS/shooter/looter games to much less fun than TPS/single-player experiences that actually make you think and feel something. Maybe I just like dark and gritty and gothic/halloween inspired stuff, but to me anything like that is what makes a fun time.

 

[cormack12]

For single player, some of the fun is in the challenge. I can't abide multiplayer though where everything is a challenge on uneven footing. Sports games are especially poor at this. It's nothing like the sport, they are like mini fighting games where for the entire game you're just spamming full intensity hoping to get the break. The downtime between rounds is terrible in most modern FPS. Arena shooters was dead, respawn (except for survivor modes).

 

[waxer]

Entertaining.
If not why bother. Don't care if high score story. Happy sad fun etc.

It's like asking if a story matters in porn.

 

[Bankai]

I choose "no", because lots of the best games I've ever played weren't so much "fun" as they were thought-invoking and interesting in the first place. I am doing something I love (dive into an immersive world), but I just wouldn't describe it as merely "fun". Then there are times I play a game just to have fun; Worms, Daytona USA, Mortal Kombat, Streets of Rage 2, Resogun and so on.

edit: I read the topic as "fun is the most important thing in a game". Maybe change the title to this, to make a bit more edgy.

 

[nemiroff]

Honestly, I am utterly confused by the question..

 

[Fart Knight]

What is fun? I just want it to be engaging.

 

[Woggleman]

It is but that being said fun is subjective. TLOU 1 and 2 are loads of fun to me.

 

[eastwood333]

100% I'm playing through TES Morrowind for the first time and boy is it a slog of a game and so far, rarely are any of the quest interesting or even the world. Oblivion and Skyrim on the other hand are some of the greatest experiences I've ever had in games minus the bugs.

I'm forcing myself to continue playing Morrowind since I've already put in so many hours and am a completionist. But yeah, don't think I've ever played a game that's this unfun and feels like a chore

 

[HaveButOneLife]

Games are supposed to be fun, not like movies.

 

[Tomeru]

What is fun? How do define fun? If it is something that you can feel, smell, taste and see , then fun is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

 

[MilkyJoe]

Jesus wept...

 

[Rean no Kiseki]

Oh look it's yet another TLOUP2 hate thread masquerading as a thought provoking one, we don't have enough of those in the four-

 

[Zephir]

I mean...life sucks already, why should I waste my free time in things that further drains me of joy?

 

[Miles708]

"fun" is just a colloquial way of calling an emotional response to an activity that you subjectively feel pleasure in pursuing. It comes in a wide variety of colors

Beautifully put

To expand a bit (just for the sake of discussion): "fun" is really an improper term, exactly like "games". It's entertainment, and people are entertained by different things at different times. I can't stand online shooters for example, even if they are the stereotype of "fun gaming".

We could make the same argument for movies: why someone should watch a thriller or an horror movie? Nevertheless, people create and watch movies wildly different from Marvel roller-coasters, for good reason, and thank goodness for that!

We could also expand it to music: I could never listen exclusively to Pink Floyd of Tangerine Dream, as much as I love them. The beauty of an artistic medium is also in the diversity of approach and feeling evoked.

That's the thing, actually: different games evoke different feelings, and maybe an oppressive story like the one in TLOU2 is exactly what I'm in the mood for, at the moment.
And maybe the next day I go straight to the absurdity of Gravity Rush 2 and Devil May Cry 5, followed by a way more "passive" game like Detroit: Become Human. The diversity of approach is part of the "fun" itself.

"Fun" is also too much of a liquid word, its meaning changes based on mood, person and current context.

 

[Stilton Disco]

Fun is the only reason to play games.

Of course there's different kinds of fun. A good story is fun, exciting gameplay is fun, skillfully defeating an opponent is fun, and even gibbering in terror as you flee from some monstrosity in a horror game, is fun.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Obviously. Souls games are fun to me, by the way.

I'm currently playing The Sinking City and while it's interesting and atmospheric, I'm not sure I'm having fun. It's like a detective simulator.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Oh look it's yet another TLOUP2 hate thread masquerading as a thought provoking one, we don't have enough of those in the four-

Talk about overly sensitive. Dry your eyes.

 

[Rean no Kiseki]

Talk about overly sensitive. Dry your eyes.

Here cure your butthurt

 

[Sander Cohen]

Honestly, in most modern AAA games fun is secondary to story (TLOU), gameplay (Dark Souls), competitiveness (CoD) etc. That’s just my feeling. Rocket League is most fun game I still play regularly.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Here cure your butthurt

I'm not the one crying about 'hate' threads, dummy. That would be you. Toughen up.

 

[Damigos]

Fun is too loose a term to be defined. I dont play a horror game because its fun, but because i want to be scared. I dont read a book because its “fun”. I dont watch Dark on Netflix cause its fun.
Same way i dont play games because they are fun. Some of them are, the “fun”ny ones.
So, to conclude, the question is wrong

 

[ROMhack]

+1 that fun is different for everyone. I'm playing The Witness atm and it's the most fun I've had in ages. The frustration, thinking, success loop is so much fun.

I don't usually find instantly gratifying games as enjoyable. DOOM for example, is boring for me. I need something deeper and more involving.

Anyway, this isn't unusual. I've read books about fun; some of which discuss game design. Many enjoy what is called 'hard fun' - the experience where you really have to use your brain to see past a problem and work towards a solution. This could be any type of game. Puzzler, Competitive team multiplayer, Dark Souls, Etc.

You can also sum it up as a short-term vs. long-term sense of fun.

 

[Rien]

Yes and no. I can have fun with stuff without having a good feeling and smile on my face for example.
It’s not just the gaming media but with dozen other media as well. I love watching heavy movies which are not really fun to watch but rather emotional instead. Still they give me a lot more fun then if I would watch something lighter.
I always prefer heavy stuff above light stuff. It get’s me on a level light stuff could never reach

 

[Clear]

Sorry, but I think this is a silly question.

I like music, movies every other sort of entertainment in a variety of flavors to suit my mood, and games are no different. Sometimes I want fun, othertimes I want something a bit challenging, or a bit thoughtful or emotional.

 

[DetectiveBananas]

If a game has good controls and a challenge then I’m intrigued. Preferably, not a bloated run time either. Beating hard games is fun for me!

 

[Virex]

I maybe old fashioned, but good old fashion fun is what draws me to my favorite games. Thinking on this, games like the Last of US 2, dark souls, bloodbourne, do not appeal to me because they lack FUN. I understand the real sense of accomplishment when beating a hard boss, level, etc. Often times between that accomplishments there is tons of frustration, cursing, some even break controllers.

Take a game like the Last of Us 2. It is a technical marvel that many including myself hating the story. After reading dozens of reviews, I cannot think of one that said the Game was FUN.

Does it matter to you?

Are you fucking mentally deficient?

 

[baphomet]

What a fucking dumb thread.

 

[OutRun88]

fun: pleasure, enjoyment, or entertainment.

Time is precious. If you’re not getting any of the above from the activity you’re investing your time into, I’d highly suggest stepping away.

 

[Miles708]

Are you fucking mentally deficient?

Was this comment really necessary?

 

[SirTerry-T]

Of course it is, the game part of videogames is important. Important enough for me to spend my booze money on. It better bloody well be fun

 

[Skyr]

So you are the authority on what fun is op?
Ok got it.

 

[SirTerry-T]

For me, "fun" is bleak and dark and depressing. I just respond to those elements in a way that something that is forcefully "cheery" could never hope to. I guess it depends on your existential outlook. Mine is that life is something strange and awful and the world is not a good place, so to incorporate that into a game is satisfying like applying a balm to an itch. When games or any media try so hard to be "sunshine" it always feels forced to me, like a guy contorting his mouth into a smile with both fingers.

Unless you are living in some war torn shithole or surrounded by death, disease and famine then for you own health and sanity I'd at least try to look at things a bit more positively.
Having said that, I'm a 40-odd year old bloke whose Sunday morning has just involved hoovering and cleaning dog shit off the lawn, and that wasn't my idea of cheery fun so.. different strokes for different folks etc.

 

[GHG]

"fun" is subjective, so for that reason alone I'm voting no.

What's important to me is whether the experience is engaging and entertaining.

 

[MeatSafeMurderer]

No. I play games to feel like I'm getting punched in the dick.

 

[Andodalf]

I’d say sometimes. There are games I really enjoy that I wouldn’t exactly call fun. A game might have a really tough puzzle, which isn’t really fun to solve, when when you do get it, it’s incredibly satisfying. So I play more for the satisfaction than for fun.

But tbh I’d say that’s how I view most things in my life, I don’t generally seek happiness/Fun as much as I seek satisfaction/fulfillment

 

[Brofist]

No I hate fun. I prefer my wannabe Hollywood film walking sims to make me depressed, only then I know they are legit entertainment.

 

[Kev Kev]

in a game like halo multiplayer? yes, fun is most important, even over winning or scoring the most points

i love to score points and win and all that, and i will do my best if its ranked match (although i never play those). but if its just a social match, fuck it man im gettin in a goose and tryin to mow people down (rarely successful but highly satisfying when it happens), im trying to just blow shit up, im doing all kinds of shenanigans and its all in the name of just having fun.

dont get me wrong, winning is fun too! but thats more for ranked matches imo. so it depends on the game, and even the game mode i think

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

The fun factor is the main reason why I play video games. But I'm also open to other types of games too, depending on what type of experience the game is going for and what I'm in the mood for.

 

[iconmaster]

Yes, of course; but some of the games you call out as unfun are controversial at best. Dark Souls not fun?

I would be more specific and describe the fun of games as the moment-to-moment operation of the player’s onscreen representative, whether that’s a sword-wielding hero or a flat Arkanoid paddle. If it feels good to control that representative, then the game is fun as far as that goes. “Feels good” is no more clear than “fun,” but game devs do have ways of tuning responsiveness and in the best games a lot of work goes into it:

 

[Rikoi]

Fun is subjective, often I find stressful and challenging games fun.
Easy games? boring, might just watch a movie or something.

 

[DrJohnGalt]

FUN is the most important factor in games for me. I don't need 4k quality, 60 fps, movie-like graphics. I don't need AAA titles. I will even overlook a mediocre story and minor bugs/glitches as long as the game is fun. Could be why I spend so much time playing retro games. And stuff like Fallout and Oblivion. Because face it, those are sometimes hard to look at and they're buggy at best. But they're FUN!

 

[John Mullins]

Fun is paramount. I correlate good physics with fun greatly.

Next in line is atmosphere.

If it has neither of those things it is a total waste of space.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Fun is on SONY's resume and games like Little Big Planet, MLB The Show etc. display this.

 

[sonomamashine]

I play video games to suffer, fun you said ? pfff i come out from COD more angry than when i logged in.

 

[slade]

I had fun playing TLoU2. Had fun with most of Sony's first party games. I wouldn't own 20 titles from them on PS4 if I wasn't having fun.

 

[tassletine]

I maybe old fashioned, but good old fashion fun is what draws me to my favorite games. Thinking on this, games like the Last of US 2, dark souls, bloodbourne, do not appeal to me because they lack FUN. I understand the real sense of accomplishment when beating a hard boss, level, etc. Often times between that accomplishments there is tons of frustration, cursing, some even break controllers.

Take a game like the Last of Us 2. It is a technical marvel that many including myself hating the story. After reading dozens of reviews, I cannot think of one that said the Game was FUN.

Does it matter to you?

Yes, but I don’t quite get what isn’t fun about Bloodborne / dark souls?
I grew up with arcades, Pac-Man, ghosts and goblins Defender etc. Those games were brutal but really, really fun. Mario Kart is unfair too, but really fun.

Last of Us 2 isn’t that fun because a hell of a lot of it is watching and walking, which isn’t why I play games. Bloodborne is constantly assaulting you with challenges so therefore is doing it’s job.