When purchasing an RPG what element is the most important driving factor in that decision?


Thanks Luethar.

All of them

Obviously, but is there one element that is more important than the other ones.

Second that all of them as well. but I will chose story.

The setting is most important. I like post-apocalyptic, but otherwise I'm not too happy with low-magic-only-human environments. Simlarly, historically authentic medieval settings is not my cup of tea (applies also to strategy games).

What I really would like is more games in the Planescape universe. Which sadly won't happen.

an incarnation of pibbur who thinks this is his opinion (ATM, who knows what he will think tomorrow).

PS. I admit I buy too many games. I have good games I won't ever play because I, at the age of 66, won't live long enough to give them proper attention. DS.

Difficult choice between story and setting, here. But just a good setting without a good story doesn't motivate me, while a good story is enough for me no matter the setting, or the fact it's an RPG (arguably, the story includes the setting).
I enjoyed pure adventure games just because of the story, so story it is

For me, I couldn't break it down in a granular way, and pick one factor. There's a lot of things that have to come together for me to get really interested in a game.

I'm really torn between mechanics and story as my priority. But even the most intriguing story might not hold my interest if I can't affect my impact on it by developing character. One of the things I love about RPGs is hearing how others approached and interpreted the story.

I'd lie if I don't pick - story.
The simple fact is that many games that weren't as fun to me as they could have been I finished just because the story was awsome. Vice versa, when the story sucks, no amount of visual candy or something can keep me engaged and there is a big chance I will never finish such game.

Most important for me are mechanics. But I buy many different types of RPGs.

Depends of the game but often it's reading the reviews and the comments from the people who have been playing it.

Sometimes it's just because it's on sale/very cheap and it looks at least semi-decent.

I buy a lot of them… the sort of rpg I *don't* buy are action-rpgs. Last one I bought was Titan quest and it got me bored after two chapters. They are usually way too repetitive. They feel too much like playing MMO. I also don't buy JRPG. They are just not my cup of tea.

The more expensive the game is, the more picky I am. For example, I have not bought Cyberpunk yet but I guess I might buy it eventually once it get cheaper. For the same price, I would buy Baldur's Gate 3 right away, once it leaves Early Access. Because I'm way more confident I'm going to appreciate it.

Mechanics, followed very closely by story. Setting comes third, but it changes often; sometimes I want pure fantasy, sometimes steampunk, sometimes a mix of different settings.

A great story followed by excellent mechanics. Being able to save whenever and wherever are almost as crucial to me these days.

For me its the studio as (assuming you have not played the game/demo before and the crpg is just released).

Open-world with good companions along with mechanics.

I put mechanics. However, I look for crpgs with this criteria:
1. First Person viewpoint
2. Open World
3. Fantasy
4. Magic
5. Single Character

None of these are absolutes, but it is how I start my searches when I want a new game.

So, I'm currently playing Solasta and it hits 3 and 4 only, for instance. It has AD&D mechanics though, so it gets a pass due to that.

My favorite game nails all of these: Skyrim.

I said "something else". For me the overall impression is the most important reason to like a game. It is like with a good book, a good movie or a good piece of music: one aspect alone (like plot, quality of writing, setting etc.) doesn't make a good work of art.

A combination of setting, atmosphere, lore, story and exploration is the most interesting part for me. Mechanics, in particular the fighting mechanics, is like the salt in the soup: It isn't tasty without it but too much salt makes it bad too.

The "gamey" aspects of the mechanics (i.e. challenges to my skill in playing the game) are not important for me, if I want something like that I play chess or table tennis but not a computer game.

Edit:
I realized that the things said above are the reasons to like a game, not the reasons to buy a game. This is a difference since you don't necessarily know, whether the game has the properties you like. So my answer to the question should rather be: If I assume from reviews and experience reports, for example from people on RPGWatch, that a game might be as described above, I will buy it. Also in many cases, when I know the developer and expect my type of game from that experience.

1- Mechanics
2- Story
3- Viewpoint (Hate FPS and love isometric)
4- Setting
5- Studio
6- Price (why not? some games are not worth the full price, so I wait for a sale)

I picked story.

In terms of preference I think it will look something like this:

Story > setting > mechanics > replayability, playtime > studio > price

Originally Posted by purpleblob
I picked story.



In terms of preference I think it will look something like this:



Story > setting > mechanics > replayability, playtime > studio > price

But studio implies all the rest. Maybe put it in the third spot, and switch out setting for strong characters. I don't care whether it is fantasy or sci-fi.

@carnifax I know save anywhere is popular around here but I'm coming back from that. It removes any sense of danger and lessens the exploration + if it's available then I'm going to spam it. It's distracting. Saving in hubs only (automatic or manual) is the best compromise.