What makes a video game fun?

[NintendoLegend]

The question is like Tetris: Easy to understand the idea of, difficult to thoroughly master.

So, what are your thoughts on it?

Is offering in-game "incentives" enough, whether in items gained, an ending screen to reach, high score, or level-up grinding; is it the cinematic enjoyment of images and sounds; is it the social aspect, even if playing alone to be able to relate to other players; a combination of these and other factors; or something else entirely?

[gunsage]

I think it really comes down to what the game in question actually is and how well the developer understands this. For example, if it's an adventure game like Monkey Island, we want there to be a lot of puzzles and preferably decent length, but it also comes down to things like story, plot twists, great characters, and an awesome ending.

When it comes down to something like an action/platformer, sure, an awesome ending might nail it for us, but for the most part we're concerned about level design, a ramping difficulty, and constantly throwing new challenges at us that are do-able, but still tough. I've been saying that game endings have been in steep decline for years now, but to be honest, we've always had crap game endings.

The original Final Fantasy, for example, had a TERRIBLE ending, especially after how much work you put into it. Sometimes it's more about appreciating the game for what it is, whether that's a journey, an overall challenge, or "that one part where that thing happened," than what it could be.