Bittersweet Candy Bowl Forums

You argue that story is required to make a great game. I Argue story results in great narrative, not gameplay, the thing that makes the game.
If the twists and revelations of the story are more engaging and satisfying than the game-play elements, then it's more a novel than a game.
That's not a bad thing, I just consider it more a novel with some bookkeeping. Do you play the game to enjoy grinding the enemies, or do you want to eradicate them to get closer to the end so you can find out what happens when Lavos gets kicked in the face?
If the latter aspect wins over the former, then are you really playing the game game? The mechanics and so on? Or are you reading a story with a nonstandard way of turning the pages?

That said, I love CT.

About the funny moments in FF, I too enjoy them, but they are not gameplay related. They aren't a mechanic, well, okay, in a way they are, to see them you must flip some flags on so the game engine progresses to the story bit, but it's not gameplay.

Would you consider the iconic one up sound in Mario games a gameplay mechanic? It's satisfying but one can still play SMB with the sound off and still have a good time. Take everything but the battle system out of FF and all you'd do is choosing actions from a menu eternally.

Anyway, I guess it's mostly philosophy, one I disregard all time time, seeing how I used to be, and still somewhat am into all those games I apparently dont want to classify as such.
I still find it important to know about this and disregard it than being ignorant about it and attributing the term game to something that is not one.

Or things like the following two gems shall be thine personal hell evermore.
http://youtu.be/OLMM6wmmDho http://youtu.be/_JU6dXf39JY

Even worse than quicktime fests.

Edit:
So yeah, I still stand by my original ingredients that make a good game, and while I love CT a whole whole whole lot, I'd still consider something Tetris the better 'game', but CT certainly has moved me more.

Except the new gayness of the awesome quote.

Did somebody say hate?
Edit:
Other than that I don't think I really hate anyone or anything, except maybe brussel sprouts, but I do misuse the word a lot.

Mine means ghost and is reserved for things I'm invested enough to make contact with but know i won't end up doing much with.
Ghosts don't exist, after all. I doubt grandma who spent most of her later life sitting on the couch and died the other day miraculously gained such immense knowledge of physics, calculus and all sorts of universal data that she would be able to hover her incorporeal 'body' in accordance to the massive speed of the universe and its bits for long enough to physically manipulate the world around her to create a banging noise before the earth races through her and her floating ass is sitting somewhere in space.
The fate of all things giving up physical attributes.

Gameplay that can stand on its own without a story, making any story around it a nice bonus that adds to a solid core.
Tight, responsive controls.
Fitting music.
Graphics good enough to see what's happening, doesn't have to be AAA quality.

This formula has made even the most simple video games games fun since 100k B.C.
Music is optional, but can help a whole lot. I'd be more likely to play something like Sokoban if it had a tune that just keeps one pulled in than if it just were bleeps and bloops.

Story and so on is of no consequence if the core mechanics are solid. Tetris for example, no story there (even if the game boy version had missile launch events), awesome, timeless game.
I wouldn't say that narrative driven games are for chumps, but I consider those games not as gamey as they could be, they're more like interactive novels with some housework tied to them.
(And a few of those belong to my all time favorites, but I still don't consider them very gamey. )