What do YOU find rewarding in gaming?

There are MANY different gamers, who play different genres, some might be more attached to one genre and others might be the "jack of all trades" who play multiple, different genres. Whichever genre you prefer, what do you find rewarding for YOU? Is it completing a character's storyline? Is it crushing other players online? Or perhaps you are a completionist who feels very rewarded when he gets a new trophy/achievment? Maybe you like to feel like a badass, crushing enemy AI with your awesome superpowers? Or you like exploring the game world for various treasures? Anyway I could go on forever, but I would just like to see what YOU guys find to be rewarding for you in videogames.

When I'm enjoying the whole experience, and feel like I got my money's worth.

I play all kinds of games, but I've always been most drawn to RPGs, for a variety of reasons, but specifically in the sense of character progression you get from them. Nothing beats building yourself up from nothing into something great.

Hm, now that I write that out I have to wonder what that says about me.

@zeik: lol its all good bro :)

Buffing your character specifically in a RPG.

I like to try things in open-world games and see what happens. Like:

• I hack someone with a hatchet once in ACIII and run away, and then its funny.
• Or pay a hoe in GTA, and then run over her slowly near the pier and see how much money I get back.
• Go through all the "open" dungeon in Dragon Age II, and finally see Oh shit this one dragon is way too fucking big.

And CTF-style multiplayer in like Halo and Assassin's Creed is just pretty awesome. At some point I might learn when the rocket launcher spawns where in Reach, and traverse the "open" level, and if I get it I might blast some fools to a multi-kills.

Garmes.

I basically 100% completed Fallout 3 and felt really great about it. I did every quest, got all the unique items, maxed all my skills, and even got 10's on all my S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes (except Luck, I think and maybe one other one because its not possible without cheating). The day I got that final achievement in Mothership Zeta and made my ~400th save was a immensely proud day for me. I've never played a single game so much and gotten so much out of it, and that's why Fallout 3 remains my favorite game of all time.

So basically, 100% completing a game is really rewarding for me because I barely ever have the patience or admiration for a game to do it.

Really good swinging mechanics. Even the grapply thing in Tomb Raider Legend gets me juicy.

Anything crazy, daft and charming. No western games this generation have really done this and that why I think the 360 is the biggest pile of shit I've ever owned.

Fannying about in sandbox games. Chaining explosions, seeing how high you can get, that kind of thing. I don't play anything old-timey, though. Swords and orcs are for the dribbling kids.

Being told a magnificent tale and going on a fantastic journey are the best things. Even A Link to the Past and Paper Mario on the N64 did that. It doesn't need technology.

Loot. I WANT ALL THE LOOT.

Hm....

@zeik: I, too was like: WHAT?

Big bouncy boobies and as little clothing as possible. And deep customization, RPG ranking systems, a good story, gameplay that is constantly evolving to keep it from getting repetitive, and gameplay that rewards using your brain to think over clicking buttons fast. But mostly the boobs.

Atmosphere.

Story. Doesn't really matter which genre. Moral choices are a big bonus too.

Accomplishing goals I've set for myself. I mostly play Strategy games and open world RPGs.

Don't have really a preferred genre. Not too while ago finished Spec Ops, before that To the Moon, now played a bit of OFF, which is really good so far!. I guess I'm more of a story person... Then again, I have had sometimes a desire to get every achievement in a game, to collect every special item, do every quest (still going through Xenoblade Chronicles, trying to complete every quest I find...)Maybe a story person, maybe a mood person? I have played through games that play terribly but have an amazing atmosphere... Or just brutal difficulty? I'm a bit of a masochist and found the Lantern Run so satisfying. Getting to that first page of the leaderboard was really satisfying... Also Dark Souls. Or an old roguelike.

I guess a game just has to have something... a bit more? I don't want to insult people who play Call of Duty or something but military shooters usually don't have anything appealing for me. But what's rewarding probably just depends on the game. Either caring about the story, finishing or getting to a specific part in a difficult game or collecting every item in a game...

Mechanics. Specifically in 3D action games like DmC,Ninja Gaiden,Bayonetta ECT... And a difficulty mode that means something and isnt just switching number values in the background. Again,see all of the above.

A worthwhile story and fun/satisfying gameplay.

winning a hard battle in a game. i use xcom as my example, the situation i was in with the final boss was that if the "dice roll" didn't work out for me, i seriously was gonna lose the game as it was a 47% chance to hit shot.

and lo and behold it worked out. and now xcom is one of my favorite games ever.

so incredible level of challenge in a game or a story with a satisfying ending, and my example to that is asuras wrath,

@wickedfather: u should play the bionic commando game thats on these gen of systems, u would really dig the swinging in that game if nothing else.

@mrfluke: I did. Played it through twice. Swinging was fairly juicy but not without its pips.

I only played the N64 version of Paper Mario last year. Even though the mechanics were a bit lame it's the characterisation and a funny story full of heart that made it great.

Although they might not sound similar I enjoy exploration and game mechanics for pretty much the same reason, learning and understanding new things. The concept of feeding my curiosity and getting results from it is always rewarding.

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!

• Building stuff (Civ, SimCity, Theme Park)
• Usually outsmarting the AI in games like Civ, Xcom, Crusader Kings etc. Not really games I play against humans, due to time constraints.
• Outsmarting humans online
• completing stuff

I am usually drawn more to mechanics-focused games in contrast to story driven games.

Depends on the genre. If I'm doing and RPG, finishing a hard boss battle or having all the side quests done in an area so I could move on. If it is a shooter it would be not dying or placing the the top.

But my favorite has to be completing everything in an area of an RPG, I feel accomplished. That or knowing I completed something challenging.

I like breaking things, figuring out systems, learning mechanics. I don't have the fastest fingers to pull insane shit off, but just understanding the game is good enough. For story and visuals I'm a style over substance kind of guy. Make shit look really flashy and unique, and I'll have an interest.

I have a soft spot for really moody and bleak worlds, which is basically the only way I consume games that aren't cartoony and/or ridiculous.

A strong conclusion to a game. If I'm sitting at the credits thinking, "Well that was a crappy ending", then even if the mechanics are satisfying I'll won't feel the same sense of reward that a good ending gives me.

A good game should be its own reward. Otherwise, anything that's not meaningless in the context of the game as a whole.

An example of what I think is bad rewarding: Borderlands. It gives me a bunch of new loot all the time, but they feel meaningless because all they do is make the meters go down faster. There's not a lot of game in there.

edit: Also games that makes me (or at least feel) smarter or more skillful. A good reward is to show the players that they are actually good at something. e.g. the Portal games, beating Dark Souls or Platinum action games.

Winning

Speccing a character out in a way that is effective and I enjoy the play-style. Makes me more attached to the gameplay rather than games where there's pretty much only one way to play it (take cover and shoot at heads for example).

If the game is consistently fun or engrossing that's all the reward I need. I don't really subscribe to the notion of a reward specifically being a requirement in any game. The one exception perhaps being loot based rpgs where the constant "ooh I wonder what drops next" is the major driving force, but even those get tiresome and pointless eventually.

@wickedfather: hmm im actually curious to hear what you think is the best grappling game you played?

Do you mean "takes place in a fantasy land with swords and monsters" or "a game that came out in the '90's"? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that A Link to the Past had both.

There were plenty of games this generation that were crazy, daft, and charming. Just Cause 2 and Saints Row 2 and 3 come to mind, not to mention indie games like Super Meat Boy.

EDIT: As for posting something on topic, I'm mostly a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. I play a little bit of almost everything and I understand the merits of most genres and games, but I haven't 100 percent'd any game this generation and very few before it.

Personally I'm most drawn to games that try something interesting with narrative and/or characterization, regardless of genre.

Gameplay wise I prefer stuff that isn't about being super good and quick with a controller or keyboard/mouse, because I'm not. I like stuff like the Zelda games or Shadow of the Colossus or Portal where it's more about solving a puzzle. Though lately I've been expanding my horizons and playing some stuff outside of my comfort zone and I've been enjoying it.

Maybe Spider-Man 2 on the xbox in expert mode. I remember the learning phase being really hard because I picked up a 2nd hand xbox which only had a Duke controller and its triggers were so hard it used to make my fingers go numb when I played driving games. I've been using it for the last few days and it's still takes about 3 times the force of a 360 trigger.

Searching for videos of it led me to this: Energy Hook. It could be the grail for swingers.

Just Cause 2 I really like but I still like even the simple stuff like Arkham City and using the hookshot in Windwaker which I'm also playing through now. I played the Ratchet and Clank games last year and they had some swinging but I can't remember what it was like in the later ones. In the first it was really linear and unsatisfying. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones also had a simple but nice bit of swing-me-dooo.

I can't remember what game it is but if there was a bit of exposed rough wall you could grapple to it. Maybe even if you fell off things you could save yourself and grapple to some if you could find it quickly. This could be a mish-mash in my brain of all the other stuff I've played, though.

This, I miss the days when beating a boss was the most rewarding thing in gaming. Nowadays it's just the most rewarding thing in Dark Souls. That said nowadays im going to say a good ending as well as a pretty view are the most rewarding things in gaming.

At first, I THOUGHT that this was a BIGJEFFREY thread.

Also, I suppose fiero is pretty swell...

• Working together as a team and beating the objective in a multiplayer co-op game
• Achievements of any kind
• Games with thick atmosphere that immerses me in the world
• Noticing my skills/tactics within the game improve the more I play it
• A good story

A good challenge coupled with an entertaining story.

Probably why I like JRPGs so much. Nothing beats a nice cutscene after a difficult boss fight.

@fancysoapsman said:

YESSS this, that moment where you land the final blow.

Gibs.

Ludicrous gibs or just gibs in general?

Extreme gibs.

The most rewarding feeling in games is seeing a result that shows significant improvement of my performance in gameplay. Example; Super Meat Boy. Failing 100 times on Ch. 6, then deciding to go try Ch. 2 Dark World instead and just decimating it after all that practice. Shows you didn't fail for nothing.

killing people

people I know makes it even more worth it

I like figuring out a games mechanics and learning the way a game world operates. Then I like to mess around and create my own fun in them.

For more linear games I like getting wrapped up in the story. I also like finding collectibles but that's only rewarding for a portion of the game and then it starts getting tiresome. I don't like to compulsively need to check every trash can and garbage pile for some hidden treasure.

Puzzle games are probably the most rewarding for me. I like the problem solving aspect of them and I think they stimulate my brain and force me to look at things in very logical ways. I feel that puzzle games do the most for me outside of gaming.

Making a decision, spending a talent/upgrade point and then getting something noticable and cool from it is pretty rewarding.

Filling bars and skill trees, there is just something so satisfying about a game that keeps track of all the collectables/destroyables/visitables and I can watch as each icon is removed from the map as I collect it.

Games like Just Cause 2, FF13-2, Saint's Row 3, and Guildwars 2 all do a really good job of that, and I've played them way too much...

I like the gratuitous violence.

I like for there to be more gib matter post-gibbing than a single body should plausibly be able to produce.