Metroid: Other M

[Alpha Six]

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 a game to have gameplay.

But without controls and fun factor, it's not a game. It's a movie, a cutscene, something you don't interact with. You can't completely rule out control as a crucial gameplay element.
If there's no game to play, there's nothing to do but watch. You can't rule out one or the other. Character interaction by itself is character interaction. Character interaction with controls is gameplay.