What is inherently required for a videogame to be "good?" State what qualities you believe are necessary to make a "perfect" game if possible.

hmmm...i like realtime games better but its hard to include strategy with real time...thats why baldurs gate 2 is good....real life aspects to a game is good...like fatigue....and... a different story line from bad vs good

For me the visual qualities of the game are not too important. However if the game looks good it's even better. The most important thing in a game for me is gameplay. It's hard to identify what exactly it is. Simply said, if the game process is interesting for me, it's ok.

Another thing I really value in games, but most of them lack is atmosphere. If the game makes me believe in what is happening on the screen, it can rouse some emotions, feelings in me, it is great. One of the main reasons why I like games like System Shock, Thief, Deus Ex is that they have a great atmosphere. You fear of every sound, you're very careful, you're trying to hide in shadows. Oh, well, after playing System Shock 2 for two nights, I've been trying to reach my shotgun every time I heard the monkey cry.

Another things that are important for me in games are story and setting. When a story is good in a game, the experience from it may be much better then after watching a good movie. The characters in a game are very important too.

It's good if a game is non-linear, it has many variations of how you can go through it. However a game with a straight plot can be good too. I also don't like when a game makes me rush the decisions, I hate timelimits. I prefer to have an option of carefully thinking my next move and plan ahead. So, I don't like the real-time in complex games like strategy games. Real-time with a pause option is perfect for me though. For action games pure real-time is fine of course

Playability has to be one of the most important factors, as does difficulty (challenging), atmosphere and storyline.

Silent Hill was one of the best since it captured all these elements with great graphics and sounds thrown in.

...scary games arent good...because some ppl dont like them...thus making the game not perfect...hehehe

Well they all apply to rpg's too. The FF series was a sellout because of it's quality.

Currently I love Halo ... its an amazing game.. but its not perfect. Maybe Halo Next will be better.

there's no such thing as perfect in a real world and even the definition of a perfect game is different for different people.

As example, while most of you here consider FF series to be one of the best, it's not so for me. While i consider FF series to be one of the best for consoles, it's totally different for PC. The game has a great storyline and characters, nice graphics (for the time of their release at least), but gameplay itself was actually quite boring IMHO.

Have they released it for PC allready?

they will release it for Xbox again and PC in fall/winter

why would they need to release it again for the box? and i agree with morph... while we might THINK a game is perfect, by definition no game can be perfect since it is made by man (an imperfect being)...

they are releasing Halo Next for Xbox Live.. and it has more weapons and stuff .

hmm.. so that means I should make a game someday..

oh no, online halo... whats a guy to do... oh wait, i know... NOT GIVE A SHIT... heheh, sorry, i know u like it and all but a man must stick to his anti-gates principles...

Aside from good graphics and an involving storyline, I think replay value is very important. I hate games that I play once and never want to go back to.

multiple endings are great for short games... for 50+ hours though think it would be too tedious save for a few exceptions (lke Vandal Hearts 2)

What is inherently required for a videogame to be "good?" State what qualities you believe are necessary to make a "perfect" game if possible.

I think a good story line, good graphics, games that make you think... good strategy games.
Some good games: final fantasy games. civilization 3. ALL zelda games! fate of the dragon. dynasty warriors 3. Onimusha. GOLDEN EYE! metroid (for reg nintendo.) Castle vania games. parasite eve. clock tower. silent hill. resident evil. Shogun total war. command and conquer series. Age of Empires 2. The sims.. its so addictive! Turok (shh i liked it!!!) Wolfenstein. Thief.

Now for future reference, not ALL of those games are favorites of mine. I just know they are good games.

I think perfection is impossable, so is impossablity.Nice little insane paradox there. O_o
For a great game:
Good characters, reward system based upon progress/play time, consistant increase in difficulty, passable graphics, at least one track that makes me want to seacrh for the MP3 of it.

and strategy is always important...even in fighting games....like KOF series...