That's actually pretty cool. I learn something new every day =D
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What do you mean by gameplay? What does anyone mean by gameplay?
Absent an unambiguous definition, why would anyone put "gameplay" as the least important element of a game? "Gameplay" is the only thing that separates games from other (multi)media. "Gameplay" is paramount.
You could have no music, a nonexistent story and primitive graphics but still have a great and successful game by virtue of "gameplay" alone. In fact, I think that's how this whole games business got started!
Well!
I had this big argument ready, but about halfway through I realized I couldn't think of a bad game that had good music. Plenty of the inverse, sure, but... I mean, I can't say you're wrong, even though it sounds like you are on the face of it.
I just can't offer a counterexample. I don't think there is one, so, yeah. Fine. Whatever!
You're not not wrong to hold that position by virtue of not being not right.
Edit: FFXIII. Ha!
Edit2: On the other hand, Jesper Kyd didn't compose for Assassin's Creed 3 and that was a big disappointment.
Music is pretty low on my scale, as I can always turn the sound down, or off. So I think I'd switch gameplay and music on that list, for myself. However, good music does enhance the experience, for sure.
Storyline & gameplay rank number one for me. Then Music and Graphics.
This is why I am able to play Xenogears over and over again, because it's story and battle system is awesome. So is the music, and look how dated the graphics are.
Now with FFXIII all it has is graphics, it's story is excessively linear. The battle system is garbage with that terrible teammate AI. It's music, is subaverage, couldn't stand that they repeated the same , song like 8 to 10 times with different instruments. For that reason I can't even beat the game, even though I am apparently at the bridge just before the final boss.
So when it comes to FFXIV, I'd rather them work on story, gameplay, and music. Well before they even touch the graphics. Cause too me they don't matter.
I would put it in this order for me:
50% Content
30% Gameplay
15% Graphics
5% Music
If the content is bad it does not matter how good anything else is. The game has to draw you in with a well developed story, the game has to have content for all play styles, and the game has to have enough content that you cannot finish it before they add more.
Gameplay: The controls should make sense, things should be developed for ease of use for the players. If something is cumbersome it becomes the focus instead of the content you are playing through. The battle system should flow, should be engaging. Bad gameplay will ruin a game with awesome content/story.
Graphics: If the game looks like crap I do not feel I should have to pay for it. It is one of my main problem with cartoony or Stylized (which apparently what they call crap graphics in the industry these days) mmos. I just feel like I am playing something from a past era, something that should not be released in this era. Some people do not mind, but a mmo with horrible or cartoony graphics will make me walk the other way unless it is just ungodly good (which non have been in my eyes yet). Graphics does not make a good game, but it does make a subpar one.
Music: Music draws you in the first few times, then you end up muting the game or talking on TS and not paying attention. A crap score can be a negative, but a great score will not make the game.