Story, gameplay or graphics? Personally...I'd stick with the story, but since I wanna design RPGs, I wanna get some feedback here. What do you think?

Depends on the person. In my order, gameplay, story, then graphics. But graphics will pull someone in and the gameplay and story will keep them. You need all 3 for it to be a really good game, though sometimes I like to play games that have NO story, but this is an RPG so it needs one usually.

Hope my ramblings help!

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Original post by Fallen God Depends on the person. In my order, gameplay, story, then graphics. But graphics will pull someone in and the gameplay and story will keep them. You need all 3 for it to be a really good game, though sometimes I like to play games that have NO story, but this is an RPG so it needs one usually. Hope my ramblings help!

Kay. So I should probably start with designing an original gameplay style. Darn...I just wanted to rip off Square-Enix. :P

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Original post by BringBackFuturama Quote: Original post by Fallen God Depends on the person. In my order, gameplay, story, then graphics. But graphics will pull someone in and the gameplay and story will keep them. You need all 3 for it to be a really good game, though sometimes I like to play games that have NO story, but this is an RPG so it needs one usually. Hope my ramblings help! Kay. So I should probably start with designing an original gameplay style. Darn...I just wanted to rip off Square-Enix. :P

Fallen God did not actually specify 'original' gameplay, I believe he was more interested in 'fun' gameplay.

Me, I believe that since game boxes and advertisements can't really communicate gameplay, graphics and story are what sell games. But, if the gameplay is bad no one will buy the sequel or spin-offs.

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Original post by sunandshadow Quote: Original post by BringBackFuturama Quote: Original post by Fallen God Depends on the person. In my order, gameplay, story, then graphics. But graphics will pull someone in and the gameplay and story will keep them. You need all 3 for it to be a really good game, though sometimes I like to play games that have NO story, but this is an RPG so it needs one usually. Hope my ramblings help! Kay. So I should probably start with designing an original gameplay style. Darn...I just wanted to rip off Square-Enix. :P Fallen God did not actually specify 'original' gameplay, I believe he was more interested in 'fun' gameplay. Me, I believe that since game boxes and advertisements can't really communicate gameplay, graphics and story are what sell games. But, if the gameplay is bad no one will buy the sequel or spin-offs.

True enough. I guess that's why Halo 2 did so one (the graphics in 1 were terrible...so says me).

Anytime this question is asked, 99% of the people will say that they don't care about graphics, but this is misleading. Very, very few people will actually pay for a game with awful graphics, regardless of what they claim. Realistically, I'd say graphics are the most important thing to get people to buy your game; story and gameplay are the most important things to keep the people who already bought the game interested in playing to the end and possibly buying a sequel or expansion pack.

personally, what makes me love/hate a RPG is the combat system and the character management
for example, the not-so-old Final Fantasy (FF6/FF7...) were great because I always wanted to get into battle. The complexity of Actime Time Battles mixed with materia/esper management with tons of choices of equipment that made different combinations do different things

story second (btw the main foe HAS to be somewhat inspiring, say kefka/sephiroth and has to be the final boss, not like FF9/FF10 with a final boss we never saw before thus haven't developped hatred and don't feel in a rage to beat it)

graphics a distant third...honestly

that's how you'd do it if you made a game for me
if you're going for the majority just invert the priority orders

I always viewed character development as the most important aspect of RPGs. I guess that can be considered a subcategory of story. If the RPG doesn't have characters I care about, or am interested in, I feel no need to continue seeing their story, regardless of how good the gameplay or graphics may be.

The story also has to be interesting, although it doesn't have to be anything in depth or ground breaking. I thought the simplicity of Dragon Quest 8's story made it the great game that it is. It is much easier to relate to a simple well written story, than one that is over complex and deep and thus written poorly.

Graphics are always important, I love console RPGs, so old graphics don't matter as long as they are done well.

Gameplay is the least of my worries, I've been playing RPGs since the dawn of console RPGs, and looking back from then till now, I can't really see any REAL innovations in gameplay. You explore, you fight battles, you level up, rinse repeat. You may have a new fancy active time battle system with a fully custom character and magic system, but it still boils down to the same equation that has been done before. Now, this is no excuse for these mechanics to be implemented horribly.

It's important that graphics be good, but you should read that as "aesthetically consistent and nice to look at" rather than "photorealistic."

I bought this game Stella Deus because:
1. It was a tactical RPG

It looked pretty, but that wasn't exactly an incentive to buy it. Too bad it was a crappy TRPG. Oh, and the story sucks as well, but I don't care. If it was fun to play I wouldn't give a fig about the plot.

The most important thing is definitely gameplay. Graphics should be good enough not to turn people away (no one buys a game just because the graphics are good) and the story is pretty much icing on the cake. If the story isn't cringe-inducingly stupid, that's good, but if the game is a blast to play and the graphics are passable, it probably won't hurt that much.

The thing about graphics is that they need to show the flavor of the game. I've heard this TRPG Disgaea is supposed to be pretty good, but I'm not going to play it based on screenshots I've seen. Spending that much time what looks to be a campy snarkfest does not appeal to me, because I can't stomach that posture. Graphics are a gamer's first impression, and the gameplay is the game. Story? Eh.

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Original post by abstractimmersion The thing about graphics is that they need to show the flavor of the game. I've heard this TRPG Disgaea is supposed to be pretty good, but I'm not going to play it based on screenshots I've seen. Spending that much time what looks to be a campy snarkfest does not appeal to me, because I can't stomach that posture. Graphics are a gamer's first impression, and the gameplay is the game. Story? Eh.

what you're saying is sad and true...
because I've played Disgaea and it's in my top 5 of the greatest games I've ever played...
even though the graphics are somewhat way below the average