Animation Lock: Why don't you like it?

[Zantetsuken]

Gameplay is very important,

But Final Fantasy is a series built on Aesthetics. It's what draws players into the franchise and keeps them coming back.

Ideally they should be of equal weight, but I think when push comes to shove, aesthetics trump gameplay in core FF game design at SE.

[Molly_Millions]

Gameplay is very important,

But Final Fantasy is a series built on Aesthetics. It's what draws players into the franchise and keeps them coming back.

Ideally they should be of equal weight, but I think when push comes to shove, aesthetics trump gameplay in FF game design at SE.

They look great sure, but if the gameplay wasn't there the series wouldn't have lasted as long as it has. A game can look fantastic, but if the gameplay sucks, the game sucks.

[Zantetsuken]

They look great sure, but if the gameplay wasn't there the series wouldn't have lasted as long as it has. A game can look fantastic, but if the gameplay sucks, the game sucks.

It's not a zero-sum game.

But at the end of the day, when faced with a difficult decision (esp in RPGs), the gameplay should be altered to fit the aesthetic, not the other way around.

Obviously this doesn't apply to other genres like puzzle games, arcade style shooters, action games, etc..

[Molly_Millions]

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?

[SkyeWindbinder]

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.

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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.