I mean did you all play Mario to really save the princess? It's all about the gameplay. Nothing else matters.

This I probably why I've never completed more than 5 levels of Mario

Apart from casual time-wasters I play on my smartphone, I really don't play a lot of games just for their gameplay.

Archetype comes first for me.

As I grow older, I tend to choose games where I can jump in and out quickly. Casual games, fighting games, are among some that I play. I am avoiding any game that requires significant investment of time before player can explore the content game, such as RPGs.

Games like GTA, Mass Effect or Dragon's Age, despite their popularity, do not interest me. You need to invest your time in the story. Last RPG I played was Diablo 3, but Diablo 3's core gameplay is not the story, it's the looting and PvP, which fits my gaming habits perfectly. The fun does not start until you hit level 60. You jump in, play a few levels, tap tap tap tap tap, loot some legendary items, log out.

I've never started playing a game and gone: "Damn, I really love this game theme but the archtype sucks".

Well, I have.

Bioshock.

Beautiful world building, great theme, boring FPS mechanics. That's not that I don't like FPS, I just didn't think Bioshock was a good implementation of it.

I play games across all sorts of genres and settings, so:

3) Based on recommendations of how fun it is --

"Hey I'm playing this game that's really fun, you should check it out"

"googles... so it's a medieval fantasy top-down brawler? What's the gameplay like?"

...

I've never started playing a game and gone: "Damn, I really love this game theme but the archtype sucks".

Well, I have.

Bioshock.

Beautiful world building, great theme, boring FPS mechanics. That's not that I don't like FPS, I just didn't think Bioshock was a good implementation of it.

I think "Damn, I really love this game theme but the archtype sucks" almost every time I play a sandbox sim.

I dont think about it when choosing, I will choose the one that seems to worth it..

I do have personal preferences, like post apocalyptic theme, but my fave game genre is 2D platformers.. Not that you cant do deep meaningful 2D platformers...but really, I just like jumping from platform to platform.. I think more about that when Im inspired to make a game, not to play games.

Great games will not have just one strong point, my current epic game worth mentioning is arkham city: epic gameplay (orgasms making combos), epic story, epic graphics, replay value..

Can I say neither? I look for a game that looks like it has either interesting or polished game mechanics. Neither the genre not the visual themes are particularly important. I feel that if you're restricting yourself to particular genres, you're probably missing out on a lot.

I do think that story fits "theme" and isn't a standalone category.

A full description of a theme would be half of a high concept (whereas the other half is the archetype of gameplay).

Generally, if an idea can't be summarized as theme+archetype, its probably bound to fail (though its important to note that the archetype doesn't need to be established and can be entirely original gameplay).

My reason for asking is self-interested. I'm looking for the most efficient way to market my game, especially when presenting it as a one liner.

Example:

"UBER_GAME_TITLE: a ARCHETYPE in THEME!"

or

"UBER_GAME_TITLE: a THEME in ARCHETYPE!"

Unsurprisingly, the poll results can't really help me define the best approach here, though there seems (especially based on the comments) to be a distinct preference for archetype.

I don't actually see people thinking about archetypes and themes too much but it sure is an interesting topic for a survey.

Players might find that they aren't adept in certain archetype and just focus on the game genre they've chosen. Real time action games are after all totally different from puzzle games or story driven turn based games. Taking on a new kind of archetype is a leap of faith and you start out from bottom. Quick reflexes and perfected mouse aim you developed for FPS games won't save you when your friend schools you in RTS even if you tweak the setting and make considerable handicaps. Suddenly you are in whole another kind of social position.

It is pretty easy to move within an archetype, going through many themes. But some themes might fend some people off altogether as well. "Ponies and sunshine? Bleh." while other might think "Blood and guns? Gross." Themes and entire franchises can help players widen their archetype selection beyond their current repertoire as they make spin-offs and expand genres. For example World of Warcraft took a lot of Warcfrat players in the world or MMORGP and I'm sure many WoW players have visited the RTS counterpart as well because the game series share the story and history which makes it very interesting.

How big a deal the archetype and how good you actually are playing the game ultimately depends on the character and why you play a game to begin with. Because after all people can have multiple motives to play games:

(generic examples)

I want to try and succeed => Platformer

I want an intellectual challenge => Chessmaster

I want to manage, plan and organize => Civilization

I want to hunt and be hunted => Counter-Strike

I want to "belong" and interact with other people => World of Warcraft

I want to pass the time casually => Angry Birds

I want to engage in a story => Final Fantasy

I want to pass the evening with my friends in our living room => Wii Sports Resort

I find myself rather competitive player at times, I have to need to be good at something, I need challenge and I need to "succeed against odds" so I sometimes play FPS games. But then again I also enjoy story games so much and for me they beat reading a book or watching a movie any day. WoW was great when I played it, I loved the community and interaction in so many ways and situations...The only game genre I've skipped are the casual games like Candy Crush, perhaps because I don't have small amounts of time I couldn't find something "useful" to do and what gaming I manage to squeeze in is always a serious investment.

I guess there are many aspects to every person and to each his own

Well thanks all!