by Naoko Kensaku

Created on: March 14, 2009

More and more computers and consoles are able to handle graphics much better now, which has led to an explosion of beatiful-looking games. From the boundless vistas of Granado Espada on the PC, to the cinematic Final Fantasy Advent Children on the PSP and the gorgeous rendering in Resident Evil 5 on the XBox 360, graphics have come a long way, and boy do they look gorgeous.

But really, are they that fun to play once you've completed all the quests and the side quests? Would you really want to go back into the game just to look at the graphics if the gameplay sucked?

I know I wouldn't. When I play a game, I want to enjoy it, to have fun. Beautiful graphics may draw me in, but ultimately it's the story and the gameplay that keeps me hooked. The games above are a perfect marriage of both, combining beautiful gameplay with fun graphics. Or was it the other way around?

Between graphics and gameplay though, I'd rather have a game with better gameplay than one with beautiful graphics. In my opinion, graphics, while they may be the draw of the game, are only that; draws. What keeps a person playing the game ultimately is the gameplay, or rather, the story behind the game.

When designing a game, there should be an emphasis on how it looks, but it should never come at the expense of the gameplay. Forget the graphics while designing a game, and focus on the story and the gameplay. Once you have those two down down, then you'll know what kind of design and graphics to use to make your game great.

Here's an example: In the world of online MMORPGs, beautiful graphics are aplenty. Several years ago, the most popular game was Maple Story, Mario-type scrolling gameplay and cute "chibi" graphics. This was copied a few years later by a Malaysian game called Ghost Online, touted to be the local answer to Maple Story. However, Ghost Online never made it as big as Maple Story, even though they had the graphics down pat. The gameplay, to put it mildly, sucked.

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine (SMTi) is another example of beautiful graphics with horrible gameplay. Based on the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona PlayStation games, it has a gameplay style familiar to those who've played the game before. However, the game's very confusing for players who've never played the offline version (SMTi is the MMO version of the PlayStation games). It's got an unique concept, great graphics and interesting storyline. However, the unintuitive gameplay is a massive turn-off.

So while graphics might be the draw (as SMTi did for me), ultimately what keeps players coming back is the gameplay. Instead of just spending money for the graphics, make sure the gameplay is interesting. And it's always the simplest games that draws the greatest crowds.

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