The importance of game play

Game Documents are said to be in most cases very poorly written documents. Filled with ramblings about back stories, describing only som,e not all of the games elements and being “to thin and ellipsis!” or being to informative and descriptive that they insult the intelligence of the game artists. Its hard to imagine that a games entirety can be implemented into a single document, especially as a game can change dramatically over the course of its development. If this is the case then who is responsible for its content. I believe game play should be documented in a way that it should inform the very basis and core elements of the idea of the game, but be vague enough to imply changes and improvements to be made. For example, describe the characters feel and moods. There behaviours and character. Not give them names and history.
I don't think the story is the most important aspect of game play. For me the importance of game play is its ability to entertain, by being illusive and rewarding. That's why there's been a sudden trend to add achievements to games. Its hard to find a game on any platform these days that doesn't include them. It gives the player a reason to come back and play the game again even if they complete the single player story. Its even more rewarding when there included in multilayer as this entitles you to bragging writes among your friends. Better still some games (team fortress 2) allow items and weapons to be unlocked as you accomplish more achievements. Not many games offer this yet but I see it as being more popular with upcoming titles. Ubisoft now have Uplay. This allows you to collect units across Ubisoft games and use them to unlock additional content. Assassins creed 2 allows the player to obtain Altair's outfit from the first game as one example.
With internet connection now being a lot faster for most homes this also enables developers to add downloadable content or explanations for games. Allowing ideas and elements of the game the developers wished to have included, but didn't have enough time or resources to implement before the games deadline. These thing in my opinion are how the future for game development is evolving and opens new doors for game play and even more importantly, better value for money!