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[junguler]

is this a trick question? is the op actually neil druckmann in disguise?

 

[synchronicity]

Engagement is what matters to me. That can come in the form of "fun", compelling narrative, concepts, mechanics, mood, visuals and/or sound - or a combination of all of the above.

If I am moved, if I am drawn in, then that is what I look for. But I can be moved by many elements. If it resonates for me on a deep level - for whatever reason - it's worth my time.

 

[Bryank75]

If the first word that comes into your head for every game you play is 'fun', then you might as well be playing with toys....

It's a very boring way to look at the potential of games.

 

[Hendrick's]

It's the only thing that matters to me.

 

[sonomamashine]

If the first word that comes into your head for every game you play is 'fun', then you might as well be playing with toys....

It's a very boring way to look at the potential of games.

 

[Bryank75]

Maybe I went a bit too hard there.... fun is great but a bit of diversity expands the potential.

I often say that some people play games to pass the time and others play games that bring value to their time, games they'll never forget.

There are many perspectives and all are valid.

 

[DeceptiveAlarm]

The game has to be fun or wth am I doing. There is different kinds of "fun" though.

 

[sn0man]

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.

I didn’t like the story but I was compelled to play. OP in a way you’ve caught me out. I found TLOU fun because it had okay gameplay, and because it had a story then ended in a place that made me feel good inside.

TLOU2 actually helped me realize that NO games don’t actually have to be about fun for me. I can get why many are turned off by it but I still think it is good and was a showcase of story and graphics. So I would say arresting is a reason I played that game. I might go back and play it to just try some mechanics or to collect things but the story is too painful to me to go in like I originally did and just play it

the game drew me in, it made me hate a character, it made me say to myself, don’t do it, it’s not worth it. It made me broken and yell it’s not fair; this character doesn’t get what they deserve. Yet I found it compelling and had to keep playing.

two classic game franchises I’ve always loved id Software games and Mario games. With id games I would play for the graphics and the adrenaline boost and immersion. With Mario games I would play for the graphics, the world Exploration, and the pure fun.

Recently I tried to replay Mario Odyssey because I never beat it. I made it to

Spoiler: Here

the moon

and was moving my wife and myself and so instead of rush I felt like I wanted to just slow play it to savor it (it’s a Mario game after all). So with Covid, I restarted because I wanted to just experience a full Mario game like it was Christmas and I was at my childhood home in my parents basement again. I started a new save and I found myself not that compelled to play. I’ll still likely do it but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that the fun wasn’t enough. A weird feeling. (Note this was before TLOU2 and no, TLOU2 hasn’t broken my love of games at all.)

Fun is important, but Hellblade made me realize that I could enjoy a game primarily focused on being an experience, as well.

It just really depends on what the creator wants to do, and what you’re interested. It’s great to see gaming diversifying in this manner.

this (along with many comments) are a good representation of what I’m talking about. Games as a medium is weird. Gambling, a toy, an idle time sink, competition, an engrossing story. (Candy crush, animal crossing, Tetris, street fighter II, TLOU). The medium of video games is more varied than a movie. Maybe more like books (coloring, pop up, crossword, sports nonfiction, good story).

 

[SnapShot]

Depends, sometimes I get more fun out of games that are more story-oriented because they keep me engaged with them, if it's ubisoft-tier bland openworld game then that's an instant pass.

 

[RAIDEN1]

The game HAS to be fun no matter what the hype, take Metal Gear 5 for example, so hyped up but when it came to actually playing it, it was no-where near as good as MGS 2/3/4

 

[cireza]

I love tedious fetch-quest based games in empty open-worlds.
Also tutorials that go on for hours and that take me for the most stupid person on the planet, as if I can't even bother trying to push the buttons to see what happens.
Skills trees that consist in making decent a main character that was nerfed for the sake of having a skill tree.
Shitty crafting while items could be directly picked-up, and instead I have to pick useless shit every step I make to actually craft useful items.
Spending hours managing an inventory that could not exist or be convenient to use.
Having to read tons of color coded lines of text to understand skills or characteristics while it could actually be super simple with a short summary, just to make me think that I am smart because I optimized my items after reading all this shit.
Having to raise characteristics every level without even knowing what I am doing in the long term, while the game could actually provide a set number of interesting and different builds, level up the stats by itself, and I could call it a day.
If there is an uninteresting and pretentious story told through emotional and ridiculous over the top cutscenes for tenths of hours, that's even better.

Why wouldn't I love this ?

More importantly than loving fun games (which I do), I don't want the game to waste my time. Any game that respects my time will provide enjoyment, thus, fun.

 

[trapanesenyc]

I think fun can be an aspect of some games but doesn't have to be an aspect of all games. Like Journey wasn't a "fun" game but it created an experience that was enjoyable to play even. I think games having to be associated with fun come from the fact its origins is in arcades and being seen as pure entertainment. I think the medium has evolved a lot where fun shouldn't have to be a major part of what makes a game good. Many films aren't fun to watch but are still amazing. I think the developers should be judged on what they set out to accomplish and not preconceived notions on what makes a game good. A game like "The long dark" isn't fun to play. It's tense, tedious, annoying and stressful because the developer wanted to make a realistic survival sim and they accomplished that. I think saying a game has to be fun limits what the medium can do, but its the post MCU era we are currently living in where everything has to be a pure endorphin hit.

 

[Virex]

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:

r/tomorrow

Underrated gem

 

[Fbh]

I'm not exactly sure on the wording...but I guess what I look for in games is entertainment/enjoyment more than "fun".

I love the souls games, it's one of the few gaming franchise where hours really feel like they fly by when Im playing them. But I wouldn't call it "fun" in the traditional "laughing and relaxing " sort of way.

 

[NahaNago]

That is complicated to answer. I would go for more am I enjoying the game then it is fun to me. I played tons of ff14 before the remake but I wouldn't say it was fun but I really enjoyed the grinding I did in that game which was a boring task.

 

[TheCrimsnFuckr]

I mean yeah? Why bother playing if you don’t enjoy the gameplay?

I didn’t care for TLOU2 because it just took itself so damn seriously and once a specific scene came up that didn’t land it just fell apart for me.

I’ve heard people say that Death Stranding wasn’t fun, but it was a well paced game that didn’t take itself seriously (like at all) and it allowed me to have fun playing it.

People criticize Halo 5 for the poor story but I love the game because the level design was awesome and the game played amazingly and multiplayer was fun as hell.

Fun is relative, but definitely important

 

[Bakkus]

I hate the term and it's overusage in the gaming industry. Especially by Nintendo-Youtubers. It's like they're all D-level high school drop outs.

 

[Silvawuff]

I know people use games as a catharsis for dealing with mental illness or depression. While it might not be fun, it's a good place to put your focus on. I got through years of depression playing the MMO circuit. I've pulled away from that and found my "fun" place in playing single player stuff while balancing real life, work, education, and personal improvement.

I once met a player in WoW that dealt with his real-life hoarding by collecting items in the game. He had a large number of characters across different servers that collected all sorts of stuff. When I chatted with him, he told me it saved his marriage since he didn't need to hoard in real life.

Video games can provide more than fun.

 

[ChoosableOne]

No, i'm a backlog fighter and i mean it.

 

[CatLady]

Fun is important, but Hellblade made me realize that I could enjoy a game primarily focused on being an experience, as well.

It just really depends on what the creator wants to do, and what you’re interested. It’s great to see gaming diversifying in this manner.

Fun means different things to different people. I originally wasn't interested in Hellblade because I had a totally wrong idea of what the game was about. I thought it was some shallow samurai game. then I tried it and I had a lot of fun playing it as I was totally immersed & engaged in the experience, character, gameplay and story.

I couldn't put my controller down because I wanted to learn more about Senua's past and see what happens next.
When I am playing a game and I'm that involved in the narrative and gameplay (which I liked a lot in HB) that to me IS fun.

What ISN'T fun to me is a narrative game with a terrible story, any game with horrible controls and/or really ugly graphics (pixel art for one) and games in genres I don't like.