The Makings Of A Perfect Video Game
Long gone are the days when video games were just for kids. The truth is that, now more than ever, they are as much the realm of young adults as teenagers. Along with this change, games have also become much more mainstream and are now rightly viewed as being pieces of art in their own right. If you are interested in what goes into them, as many are, then it can be good to know what actually goes into the makings of a perfect video game – if there is such a thing. What is it that really made all those classics so classic? Let’s take a look at the elements that make a video game popular, successful and highly playable even many years later.
Addictive Potential
There is much to be said for how addictive a game is when you are trying to define a classic. It obviously needs to be very playable, and if it is the kind of game where it is hard to put it down, you know you probably have a classic on your hands. That feeling of losing hours and hours of time without realizing it is a sure sign of a great game. But this addictiveness must be balanced by a real sense of attainment, which is the hard part. Generally, we can say that the truly amazing addictive games tend to have a learning curve which is built so that you are never quite able to leave it alone, always keen to get to the next level or attain the next accomplishment or to level your character up. There is also much to be said here for those games which never really end, such as many of the MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. All in all, addictiveness is a sign that the game will be highly enjoyed by true gamers the world over.
Good Graphics
People always talk about the graphics of a game, and for very good reason. In most games, you want to feel immersed, and generally one of the best ways to do this is to ensure that the graphics allow you to feel that way. Depending on the game, there are many things you might want to achieve from the graphics. Sometimes you want it to be ultra-real and high-def, and sometimes it is much more about being subtle. Either way, however, you can be sure that the graphics always play a big role in how good the game is – and we could argue that the perfect video game is one in which the graphics match the gameplay intuitively and in such a way as to enhance the gameplay without masking it or distracting from it. This is a hard balance to get, and there is a reason that not every game manages to achieve this well enough.
Strong Stories
From the simplest game of Pong right up to Call of Duty, a game always has a plot of some kind, even if it is just a back-and-forth of a ping pong ball. What matters is not so much the intricate or complex nature of the story, but how well it serves the game as a function within it. Stories vary widely in games, and there is no one story which is better than all others. A game like Portal is revolutionary because it enables you to see how plot can change in many dimensions which ultimately surprise you and keep you on your toes, thereby making the game more addictive and enjoyable. Playing a game of Final Fantasy is usually an immersive game of high story potential, and if you look at finalfantasyxvapp.com you will see how the plot is very much the main driver of the game itself. However they are done, games must have good stories with work within the world of the game itself – or else they are not likely to really succeed, and will certainly never be considered classics in any realm.
Original Style
It’s not just enough to have good graphics and a strong story – these two need to intersect in an original way, in a manner which makes for a very original style on the whole. The style of a game can be seen in everything from the plot to the graphics and even the packaging, and it is something which massively influences the overall experience of the game itself. Style cannot be faked, which is why you can tell whether a game has the necessary style or not pretty much instantly. If there is a good sense of style, it means that the game is much more likely to be truly enjoyable and definitely closer to being an instant classic. This alone is reason enough for game developers to try their hardest to find an original style when creating a new game.
Characterization
You might not always have a character in a game, but when you do you want it to make sense within the game. It should also be highly original and hopefully the kind of character that you can sympathize for and wish to succeed in some way. Games achieve this by creating a sense of depth within the character, and this is something which the best games do extremely well. Take a look at https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/50-greatest-video-game-characters/ for some of the very best. A deep character is one who changes in some telling way as a result of circumstances, and in those changes we can see what their true nature is beneath the surface. A good story reveals this incrementally, and when you are controlling that character, it is even more thrilling. Therefore, finding good characterization in a game is a great way of ensuring that it is playable and enjoyable beyond just being mindlessly addictive. If you find this in a game, it is much more likely to be easily considered a classic or perfect game.
Finding the perfect game is not necessarily easy – but if you do manage to find it, it can make a huge difference to your experience of gaming on the whole. Look out for the above qualities if you are serious about trying to find a game you can consider a genuine classic.