Maybe the game-play doesn't matter to the story (I'd argue it does because of immersion), but it definitely affects the experience. The experience is a collect

Maybe the game-play doesn't matter to the story (I'd argue it does because of immersion), but it definitely affects the experience. The experience is a collection of it's parts. You can't look at one in isolation (aka the story) and say that' its inadequate compared to an experience where that is the only part (a novel). Because a game offers more than just the story and if you ignore those other parts then you aren't appreciating a game for what it is. They all work together.