> What are the games that people play for years that only have pretty environments or another form of impressive tech to offer? I can't think of any.
Well, Final Fantasy VII frequently tops "greatest game of all time" polls, and its visuals were driven by 3D tech (and arguably less artisticly interesting than those of VI).
I think FFVII is much deeper than its graphics and storyline. It was (not quite, but almost) an early Cookie Clicker. Laughably easy, and yet you had fun anyway. It was fun to max out your materia and level your characters up even though you had long, long passed the point where the final boss was a pushover. The graphics/story/popularity/etc. allowed you to enjoy the "Cookie Clicker" without admitting it to anyone else or even to yourself.
The thing that defines Cookie Clicker is that it only has improve-stat-get-dopamine mechanics. All games with character progression are partly Cookie Clicker. The interesting thing about CC is its distillation of a particular mechanic.
It's not just improve-stat-get-dopamine. It's a very fine-tuned, well-balanced implementation of improve-stat-get-dopamine. That same fine-tuned well-balance was seen in FFVII, in my opinion. It's subtle (1), but just think what a fine line it is between "grinding hits a plateau" (2) on one side and "grinding makes you grow out of control" (3) on the other.
(1) "Good design is obvious; great design is transparent"
Well, Final Fantasy VII frequently tops "greatest game of all time" polls, and its visuals were driven by 3D tech (and arguably less artisticly interesting than those of VI).