I know everyone has their different game element priorities

But if you had to choose and could only choose one, which would be the SINGLE most important element (to you) of an Adventure game ??

Would it be the story, the puzzles or the graphics ??

For me it would always be the story ....

IF I had to choose just one it would be the puzzles. I like good stories and enjoy the graphics but it's the puzzles that are on the top of my list

Puzzles for sure.

Ana

Puzzles for me too, I think, if I absolutely had to choose.

Problem Solving - Puzzles for me for sure too......er....as long as they fit the story and...ahem... blend in with the graphics.....

Of course I prefer both blended well, but if I had to choose, it would definitely be story. I far preferred Dreamfall to Dracula Origin as an example. The former had an excellent story with light puzzles, whereas the latter was more puzzle focused but not very strong in the story department. Still fun in its way but nowhere near the top of my list.

I'd say story. I do like puzzles, but I need a good reason why I should be completing that puzzle. And I do like a good read.

GreyFuss took the words right out of my mouth!

For me it doesn't matter how good the graphics or the puzzles are in an adventure game, it's the story that keeps me intrigued - so if I had to choose one element it would be story.

If I'm in the mood for good graphics & puzzles above story I'd opt for a casual game. But, the stories in some of these are as good as you would find in, if not better than, some AGs but they still don't immerse me as much as an AG!

I'd have to say the story is tops. I'd put up with subpar graphics and puzzles, but if the story doesn't appeal to me, I won't continue playing it.

Story, definitately. To me, an adventure game means there's going to be a real good story in an intriguing place (glorious immersion), where I'll have to figure things out (problem-solving), and along the way, tinker with a few physical puzzles for fun. Without the story in the lead, I get bored.

It's the puzzles that make it a game.
But often it's the game environment that I enjoy the most -- not just the graphics but details of the sound -- elements that can transport you to another world with or without a story.

And some puzzles wouldn't work outside the game environment. They're an integral part of it, so you can't really separate them out.

You can find great stories in books and movies. It's harder to find a really great story in a game. But games can provide experiences you can't get anywhere else. How else would you be able to explore imaginary realms or faraway places you'll never get to visit in real life?

Maybe we ought to be assigning percentages... or amounts, like a tasty cookie recipe.
Cream together 8 ounces of graphics with an equal amount of puzzles. Add 16 ounces of story & blend well. Et voilà! A yummy game.

This is a very hard call, because so much depends on how the other factors compensate.

I've enjoyed games without a great story because the graphics and/or the puzzles were good. And games without great graphics because the puzzles and/or the stories were good (some of the classic games, for instance). And I've enjoyed games where the puzzles were problematic but the story and the graphics were good.

I think the puzzle aspect is the hardest to get right because gamers are so varied in terms of their puzzle-solving experiences and the time available to them and their patience. A game where I find the puzzles incredibly frustrating and I am grateful for the graphics and/or story that got me through -- might be a game that someone else thinks has wonderful, challenging puzzles!

I've played only a handful of adventure games where I thought the puzzles were so easy (or where there were so few of them) as to make the experience annoying. I've played many more games where the puzzles were nonintuitive or repetitive or tedious, and that brought down the overall experience.

I like it best when the puzzles do something in addition to making me think about puzzle logic. Where the solution makes me laugh, or tells me something about one of the charcters, or furthers the story in some way, or helps me understand the environment.

Like Jenny, I like exploring other worlds -- that feeling of immersion in a world and control as I explore is something books and films can't give me.

Carrie, I think that's a great idea!

Becky, what an interesting response! I am primarily a story gamer, but I really see where you are coming from. I do agree that sometimes a game may not have a great storyline, yet it's world sucks you in nonetheless. And it certainly is true that players have different puzzle solving strengths and abilities. I know that when I've played games with friends in the past, something one of us may find easy the other may have difficulty with and vice versa.

And you also hit the nail on the head as to why I think experiencing a strong story in a game is different than experiencing it in a movie or a book - exploration of the environment. Again, Dreamfall, for example had very simple puzzles, but its world and environment sucked me in as much as the story did. I got to explore the world in a way I simply couldn't in a novel or a film. It's a unique experience with or without challenging puzzles. (Not that I don't enjoy challenging puzzles, but I would prefer that they are incorporated into a good storyline.)

I do have to have other characters to interact with, though. I think Myst and the like are great games, but I just can't personally get into them due to the lack of character interaction. Good thing there is something for everyone.

Ditto, the story.

Puzzles are the most important to me but it is a good story added to the puzzles that make a game great for me.

Yep, I love puzzles first in a graphically beautiful setting with a great story!

I think, therefore I am, what initially draws me into a game are the graphics. At least that's what did with the Myst games I played.

I was blown away with the graphics of the first Myst, and intrigued and fascinated by the aspect of the puzzles. And while the graphics will still draw me in, or push me away, I'd have to say it's the puzzles which keep me playing. Or in some cases, cause me to lose interest. I like a challenge, I hate trying to figure out what someone else was thinking.

I to like Jenny love to explore a beautiful colorful environment where I can wander around and explore. So I would say the graphics would be number one for me. Exploring a "new world" is an adventure in itself!

I would have to say ,graphics draw me to a game..<Second> Is inventory puzzles..

Now..A few years ago...Graphics weren't the best, but if the game had a good spooky story, and Great Adventure puzzles... I would buy the game...

"Sanitarium" is an example..

I certainly enjoy good graphics, but I also like being able to explore all that scencery, not just the rock that I have to find a key under. Puzzles are good, as long as they are logical and don't require "off the wall" kind of thinking to solve.
As Jenny100 said, music and/or sounds can make or break a game; Myst was perfect for me in that aspect: it didn't overwhelm the player with constant, looping music.
And, for me, I don't need to interact with people, at all! Sometimes those conversation trees drive me nuts, since you KNOW you have to click on every single option. And having to go back again and again to the same person to get more information bit by bit drives me to distraction. I'd just as well find out what I need to know by exploring the surroundings.

Graphics for me too!! water has to move......and it's sad, I know, but the blue flames in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban amazes me, could watch them forever!!

Story comes first for me because all the other things - puzzles, graphics, music etc etc - can be used to enhance it

Whereas not having a story would just not be having an "adventure" to my mind

But of course we are all different and it's good that we are

I have to vote for story above all, but the graphics usually play an important part in the overall game. The puzzles I can live without. Sometimes they're fun but so many of them are almost impossible to figure out without spending days (or at least hours) trying to do them.