| Thanks for that perspective! I think about this all the time, and though my tastes are different I think you're exactly right. I think of narrative as a combination of several elements: character, plot, world-building, execution (word choice, visual choices and performance for film or games), concepts and ideas. I tend to be drawn to strong characters first, but not always. Some examples off the top of my head: Clerks: strong characters, mediocre almost everything else Reservoir Dogs: strong characters, strong execution, minimal plot and world-building Portal: strong characters, plot, world building, concepts, and execution Brazil (the Terry Gilliam movie): strong world-building and execution, weak characters and plot Lolita (the book): strong execution and characters Harry Potter: strong characters, world-building, and concepts, goofy plot and execution Primer: mind-bending concepts, good execution, weak characters and plot Don’t know why, but I could go on and on thinking about it. Edit: this list would imply I have pretty narrow tastes but really I like a little bit of everything; these are just some notable examples that came to mind as being particularly strong or weak in certain areas. |