Animation Lock: Why don't you like it?

[Pseudopsia]

I'm playing FFXIII and it has great aesthetics. Gameplay is really lacking, I feel like I'm watching a movie rather than playing a game. I do like FFXIII, but not for being a game.

gameplay > aesthetics

[Molly_Millions]

Oh, a number of reasons. Bad gameplay, bad questing system, not really a lot of content, the levelling system was awful as well... Still doesn't change the fact that aesthetics are extremely important in a Final Fantasy game. It only proves a game can't run solely on looks. However, a Final Fantasy game with good gameplay that's extremely ugly will also do just as badly.

That's right, people left in droves because the aesthetics alone were not enough to keep them playing. therefore, gamepley > aesthetics.

[Shikimaru]

Both are important, and we all want both !

And I'm sure they are trying to do their best so we can have both

[SkyeWindbinder]

That's right, people left in droves because the aesthetics alone were not enough to keep them playing. therefore, gamepley > aesthetics.

As I said before, a game can't run on looks alone. But Final Fantasy games, these days, can't run on only gameplay either. I repeat: If a Final Fantasy game is released that is visually unappealing, chances are it, too, will fail. For example...

I'm playing FFXIII and it has great aesthetics. Gameplay is really lacking, I feel like I'm watching a movie rather than playing a game. I do like FFXIII, but not for being a game.

gameplay > aesthetics

^^This. I, too, liked FFXIII. But, gameplay-wise, it was sorely lacking. Still, the story and beauty of the world had me hooked. Aesthetics ang gameplay = both important. But looks mean a lot.

[Firon]

I'm playing FFXIII and it has great aesthetics. Gameplay is really lacking, I feel like I'm watching a movie rather than playing a game. I do like FFXIII, but not for being a game.

gameplay > aesthetics

I have to say FF 13 is the only battle system that makes you do more than spam the attack button cause in every other FF Fire water attack don't mean much they all produce the same numbers and everything ends up being the same at some point. At least in 13 it has some type of complexity that if you dive deep into the battle system you feel really good how fast you can destroy your opponents.

There is like no depth to any of the Ff games 10 and under cause the attack command rules all, unless that char is lacking in the attack stat even then exploiting weakness with magic in the oldergames is a waste of time when attacks end up doing the same dmg

[Shurrikhan]

If you guys are correct, why do you think the launch of this game went so badly? 1.0 looked fantastic by almost all accounts. If aesthetics are everything, what was the problem?

Because graphics are a part of aesthetics, rather than being equally inclusive.

Art styling, blending, impressions given, synchronicity of visual and actant features, perception of theme, and even the nil-defined 'realism' or self-contained 'realism' (sticking to and fleshing out the fantastic world as if it were a reasonable alteration) are all parts of aesthetics. A certain few parts of gameplay even fall into aesthetics and vice-versa.

[SkyeWindbinder]

I have to say FF 13 is the only battle system that makes you do more than spam the attack button cause in every other FF Fire water attack don't mean much they all produce the same numbers and everything ends up being the same at some point. At least in 13 it has some type of complexity that if you dive deep into the battle system you feel really good how fast you can destroy your opponents.

You know, I was about to mention that, but you beat me to it. lol It did have some complexity to it's levelling and battle system. You could even completely skip some perks in favor of others. That's one thing I liked abou FFXIII's levelling-up system. And the summons were also nice. Wish they weren't all transformers, though.

[Molly_Millions]

As I said before, a game can't run on looks alone. But Final Fantasy games, these days, can't run on only gameplay either. I repeat: If a Final Fantasy game is released that is visually unappealing, chances are it, too, will fail. For example...



^^This. I, too, liked FFXIII. But, gameplay-wise, it was sorely lacking. Still, the story and beauty of the world had me hooked.

While it may not get as many people on board at first, any game with fantastic gameplay will keep players playing. If a game doesn't look the greatest but has fantastic gameplay word would spread and a large fanbase would eventually be created. Again, just look at minecraft. Although, for obvious reasons that model is not what SE wants. I think minecraft is just an extreme example that proves my point. ARR looks fantastic as well, so I don't think there's much to worry about in that regard. We're just talking about one particular mechanic that improves gameplay, and to my point, I'll take that over a minor hindrance to aesthetics any day of the week.

[Shurrikhan]

I'm playing FFXIII and it has great aesthetics. Gameplay is really lacking, I feel like I'm watching a movie rather than playing a game. I do like FFXIII, but not for being a game.

gameplay > aesthetics

And what gameplay improvements do you get from the previous games? In either case you're playing an active turn-based game; you input commands within time-constraints and they go off on measure. The strategy is the same. You either prioritize the elimination of a dangerous target or the defensive procedure(s) in relation to its upcoming significant attack. Between those times you apply buffs and debuffs and spam your best spells. Previous games had full control of party which adds a small degree more depth through precision. FFXIII instead had depth through enemy-party timing and party simultaneity.

If your issue is with everything but the combat system, then I understand, but if it's with the combat system specifically then it sounds like you're asking to trade out a movie for a slideshow (all for the additional option of a 'wait' battle setting).

Honestly, my favorite combat was in VIII, but I can't really say that combat system was any better than the rest.

[SkyeWindbinder]

While it may not get as many people on board at first, any game with fantastic gameplay will keep players playing. If a game doesn't look the greatest but has fantastic gameplay word would spread and a large fanbase would eventually be created. Again, just look at minecraft. Although, for obvious reasons that model is not what SE wants. I think minecraft is just an extreme example that proves my point. ARR looks fantastic as well, so I don't think there's much to worry about in that regard. We're just talking about one particular mechanic that improves gameplay, and to my point, I'll take that over a minor hindrance to aesthetics any day of the week.

People who are playing games like minecraft are looking for something different than what people who are playing games like Final Fantasy are looking for. People play minecraft because they want to play with blocks. You can build things, and go exploring for more things so you can build more things. It's the game equivalent of legos.

Now, Final Fantasy, for instance, is different. The first things that people who are fans of this series critique are "How pretty does it look" and "What's the story". The gameplay comes in third. Beauty and storytelling are what FF fans are looking for. And if it's good in that regard, excellent, that draws them in and gets them to play the game. Gameplay mechanics are judged later. Come to think of it, there also wasn't much story to the early build of FFXIV 1.0 either, and what story there was you had to level up to get to it, which was hard to do thanks to the lackluster levequest system... One of the big complaints about FFXIV was that there were too many roadblocks in the way or progressing lore-wise.