Metroid: Other M

[PrettyNier]

gameplay is, indeed, the controls, how fun a game is, and how a game plays. hence, "gameplay"

And with no environment there is no control, there is nothing. It is the interactions with the environment that allow there to be control, that allow for you to control your character and have "fun".

Game play - "how a game plays" is contingent upopn both of these factors, it is the interactions between a character and it's environment. It cannot exist with just one, it must have both. It comprises the entirety of the game on a subjective level, what the player experiences while playing a game.
(of course, however, all subjective reactions inherently have objective causes thus what the player experiences is a result of what is in the game itself).