Honestly speaking, I'm attracted to mods that have:

Even though Im the type of person to enjoy new universes over original game play, I do think in order to present a new universe, you will need solid game play mechanics to truly give the people the experience you have intended to create.

A person can create an amazing universe on painting and paper, but it takes so much more to present a universe in interactive/gaming form.

Sorry if i'm mumbling....its late and I really like this poll!

Anyone agree though?

Absoloutly, i agree. The more creative the universe it takes place in, the harder it becomes to keep the gameplay original and entertaining.

Original gameplay isn't as important as just gameplay.

It can be the most over done gameplay you can imagine, but if it executes it well, I'll give it a second look.

Realistic Gameplay for me! The closer mods can simulate real life combat situations, the better in my opinion!

But that's from an FPS lovers point of view too I suppose! ;)

It's all about originality.

I picked the "new universes" option, one of the best parts of games (and therefore certain mods) is being able to explore and experience a new universe to me. To me original gameplay isn't that important as being unique doesn't make it necessarily better, so I also like mods with fun gameplay.

come on, we need more realistic in game!!

I would say "originality" ( which is a tricky word since true originality does not exist ) in terms of "interesting gameplay" and an own IP. One alone can't cut the cake but without those two it's quickly rather boring.

Gameplay is most important to a game(in my opinion)
and the more unreal & Original it is, the funnier it is to play.
(Ragdoll Masters FTW!!)

I am a hardcore 'first person shooter' gamer, realism goes for me. I'd love to see build crumble apart and holes in the ground other the black marks and even worse nothing at all.

I voted "existing universes", but that's only true if it's a single-player mod built on the existing universe of its parent game. It means that the effort has gone into getting things /right/, not re-inventing the wheel. :-)

1. The more realistic a game becomes (how realistic can you get outside of FPSs people :P) the more complicated and less entertaining they become. I think people forget their using a keyboard and mouse to play these games and that because of this we're quite limited :P.

Gameplay > Realism

2. I voted for a focus on Original Gameplay cause I love seeing things changed up. Mind you I've not seen an "original idea" in a long long long time but thats not the fault of developers/modders but the lack of options that work in a game environment. New attempts are risky but appreciated.

3. Entirely new universes. Well again I've not seen much of this and for what I have seen it's either no fun to play or people just have no interest and the game/mod gets no publicity and disappears. Shame really.

4. This one is a no brainer. Existing universes are easier to work with, help with realism, and make things more believable so one can relate and involve themselves within the world. Nothing wrong here but nothing wrong with attempting something new other than what I've already mentioned above.

5. I didn't really understand this one cause it's basically saying "Crap mod but pretty models". Doesn't really fit but would have to say a good game can't hurt from good quality assets.

In the end all that matters to me is that I enjoy the experience. If someone can come up with something original that looks fun i'll try it. If it doesn't look fun like most I'll pass as I really don't have the time to try out everything thats out there.

P.S. You left out "A focus on being fun"

Tats...

Howabout a fun gameplay option. :P

I don't think a mod necissarily needs original gameplay to be good. If it executes existing gameplay really well in a fresh way, or improves apon a certain type of gameplay while still not quite being consedered "unique" and is set in an original universe, it is good to me.

New universes is number one for me. I've always been very big on creativity in mods. I want a mod to have a completely different setting and story from it's parent game. I've mostly played Half-Life 1 and 2 mods, and I've never been much interested in the sequel type mods. You know, the one's with descriptions like, "In this mod you play as Gordon Freeman after the Black Mesa incident...", or "This mod is what I think is going to happen in Half-Life 2 Episode 3..." I want a mod to be a completely different game from the original, not just a map pack.

New universes is pretty much original gameplay

hi dere some on make a mod a remake of the 1987 NES game made by capcom
MEGAMAN 2!!!!!
imagine a 3d megaman 2 remake in the unreal 2k4 or source engine
it shudnt b to hard to make
it shud play more like a 3d "punchout" another classical nes game

How about focused on purely fun gameplay, that's what I would've voted for.

I like it when it's focussed on original gameplay, IN a completely new universe. Is that asking for too much?

I might even say I like new universes better than original gameplay, the gameplay can be really good without really being too original, but if the mod has great atmosphere/awesome new universe, it'll be great. In my humble opinion.

to be honest?
THE FIRST 3 COMBINED.

even though i work on a realism mod im more attracted to original ideas or team play.

original gameplay all the way, thats why im making my mod

actualy i must agree with orion2sirius. i like realistic mods

Personally, there are two things that make a mod for me:

1) Polish.

2) Zombies.

I chose gameplay because it seemed to have the closest relationship with these two things, but really, I'm not going to play a mod that doesn't feel great.

Notice how I didn't use the word "looks". I mean "feels". If a game doesn't feel cohesive or tight then it just doesn't work for me. I don't mind realistic games so long as the 'feel' polished. Insurgency is fine with me. It's not the most original, but it's the polish that makes it stand out.

I put zombies there because the inclusion of zombies makes me automatically ignore what I said in the previous two paragraphs.

IMO, realism isn't always fun. The best games are the hyper-real; they take the laws of the real world and tune them to the way we would like them to be (eg shooting someone and watch them going flying through the air), and ignore mundane trivialities (like having to eat).

New or existing universes are only good if they're compelling, and that comes through in the story in a way that makes you feel like you're really there. Picking a mod because of the universe in and of itself doesn't mean you'll get to fully experience it or actually enjoy it.

Pretty pictures are meaningless unless there's actually a good game underneath.

Of the options listed, I'd say original gameplay wins hands down. I've always liked new and interesting ideas, and while it doesn't automatically make for a good game, that the developer is willing to challenge the status quo can only be a good thing- somewhere out there, the next Portal or Crayon Physics Deluxe is waiting. Even if it is a dog, hopefully the concept will spark other ideas- what if we did this instead- and produce more awesome things.

The rabid fervor over IPs such as Star Wars and Star Trek (or B5, or BSG, or Warhammer, etc) in RTS or space oriented game's modding communities get on my nerves. Whereas a mod using an existing IP should have an obligation to create exciting and original gameplay to make up for it, usually they tend to just be a bunch of model replacements.

Dawn of Victory, the mod I'm lead scripter on, started out in '05 as essentially "Nazis in space", but there's an entire universe that's grown around it mostly because of community involvement. When you have original universes, you're free to define your own canon, and this tends to help invigorate a fanbase as well. People tend to get excited about universes where they can go "hey, I had an idea for a ship" and then six months later their ship is in the game. It's much more difficult to do that with a existing property or universe, because new additions tend to be shot down as unrealistic or blasphemous to canon.

I prefer Add-ons to be honest. All they do is add to the game and not possibly corrupt any files/games that you have installed. Althought i aint saying that mods are rubbish or that they corrupt games all the time. I do enjoy playing games. But its just all the hassle of uninstalling blah blah business. I say, but this my opinion, screw mods! Focus all our attention on adding to the games to make them great. If you began making mods in addons insted then my life, and others of course, would be a lot easier and more fun when you want to play more then one "mod" (Addon if you converted correctly of course). Of course i think that addons are fairly had to make depending on what game your "addoning" lol. However, mods like configuring the graphics too make them look better is the best mod of all.

Pretty pictures, because they are just pretty.

TBH pretty pictures. I would like to say original gameplay, but 99% of the time original means broken or not actually fun.

i like teh pretty pictures

Original gameplay of course (Empires ftw).

Original...ORIGINAL!!!

most people aren't voting for what they really think lets think of some popular mods... fortress forever, insurgency, zombie panic. while things like eternal silence, project valkyrie, Battle Grounds, Empires aren't nearly as popular. btw i voted for pretty pictures :P

Yeah I like original gameplay mods for some games, mods that make new content for other games and mods that focus on reality for others.

I like to see developers doing something new with games and mods and introducing their own gameplay elements into the mix. Not being scared to break away from the norm is what makes a great development studio and leads to new ways of playing and developing games.

I'm attracted to mods that have entirely new universes... I don't need realistic gameplay to have fun =)

most interested in mods that (successfully) create (and more importantly, present) entirely new universes

in terms or realism, i'm more interested in realism within a context, and internal consistency - so for TF2 you've got cartoony players doing cartoony stunts, that's all good - in any of those boring modern-combat mods you've got realistic weapon models and damage, well that's fine too.

personally im interested in mods that are focused on a good story-telling experience.
i believe gaming is one of the best ways to convey a story due to interactivity.

this is a pretty hefty achievement for modding due to the professional tools and experience needed to create a great story driven game(eg, metal gear, final fantasy, mass effect). Most are also singleplayer games which is the less often choosen of mediums for mods.

I guess attractive screenshots affect me the most, its a way to see how serious and original the game is. As they say "One image says moore than a thousand words ^^" but when it comes down to playing i look for 1: Fun, sure its great when a game is original, but a fun game that tries just a few new ideas is in my oppinion better than a ultra complex super innovative mod.

2: Visuals, interesting visuals is important for me since....well its like what makes the game special. Art styles and mapdesign is everything you see in a game, and if thats not good, well then you can **** off XD

pretty pictures, definitely. Not interested in reading a wall of text about how great a mod is going to be..want to actually see it. Can be pretty without being uber eye candy too....so I vote that :).

Of course most people are going to say they are attracted to a focus on original game-play...'original' is a buzz word these days it seems.