Poll Question 004 - What is the most important aspect of a game?

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3

Introduction

There’s no doubt that game graphics have improved tremendously over the last few years, the same seems to be happening with game physics. Unfortunately, game A.I. is lagging behind. I’m sure things will improve but who knows when?

Out of the three areas listed above, which is more important to you?

Artificial Intelligence
Graphics
Physics

Of course having all three is obviously what we want but you can only choose one.

I chose A.I because I would prefer a game look like Half-Life 1 but play fantastic. Graphics are nice but they don’t really improve the gameplay for me. Physics are cool but the thrill of exploding barrels wore off rather quickly for me.

Results

Artificial Intelligence = 75%
Graphics = 16%
Physics = 9%
Total votes: 64

Comments

No surprise about the winner but I am surprised that 9% voted for Physics. yes, it’s fun but certainly not more important than the other two choices. Perhaps the readers who voted for physics prefer a different type of gameplay?

About this entry

Published:: 10th November 2006 at 9:10 pm

Category:: Poll Questions

Responses:: 4 Comments (add)

Zockopa 10th November 2006 at 21:28 1

I agree with you. In an SP-Game a good AI is essential. I think GFX and Physics have gone far in the last years. Now is the time to improve AI and game mechanics a bit.
MMAN 10th November 2006 at 21:56 2

Definitely AI, a lot of FPS games at the moment seem to make human enemies with laughably pathetic AI, give them cheap hitscan weapons and throw hordes at you somehow thinking that constitutes to “gameplay”. If they’re going to do that I’ll take Monsters/Aliens/whatever over “Humans” any day as at the very least the gameplay will be kept from hitscan **** that turns the game into a luckfest (though I guess that’s another matter entirely).

The only recent FPS I can recall that had fun human enemies is F.E.A.R, to the point where I didn’t mind that you fought them for 90% of the game. Speaking of F.E.A.R part of good AI is “artificial stupidity”, as they didn’t become completely psychic when alert and you could still outsmart them during battle (even if it was difficult to).

Physics does have potential to bring a lot of things, but it’s not really developed enough for me to say it’s anywhere near as essential to develop as AI for now.
Zockopa 11th November 2006 at 04:33 3

MMAN@: Yeah,your right. F.E.A.R. is the only game of the past couple years that managed to
keep closed quarter fighting human enemies
the whole game entertaining. Thanks to the effort of the devs in AI and well tuned mapping.
Monolith sets a new standart here.
The thing with F.E.A.R. is that it appears
unspectacular at first sight,but once u get immersed it becomes kinda addictive and has a
real replayvalue.
AI 12th November 2006 at 05:44 4

I just finnished playing F.E.A.R. Extraction Point tonite! I would say my little namesakes (AI’s) were doing very well! They were reacting with much improvement! I run this and others on an Nvida 7800GS 256mb video, but ofcourse it’s out of date already! I realy like HL2 but F.E.A.R has got the AI part beat, That’s only my opinion tho!