Playing games on easy difficulty- how do you feel about it?

[DechCJC]

I can agree that not all games even need a difficulty slider. There are games that, as you said, the difficulty can be controlled in game by decisions the player makes. I'm just saying that the existence of that slider should not be something that detracts from your experience. Play Skyrim on Legendary. Play it on Normal. Play it on any difficulty you like. Just don't insist that should be the only option for how other people play Skyrim.

It is something that detracts from my experience though, it can even be the factor regarding whether or not I buy a game in the first place. I have no problem with how others play games, but putting a slider in DOES take away from my experience, it's not really an opinion; It does.

Dark Souls would never have received it's level of infamy if its current iteration was only found on the 'super ultra hard mode' while 3 easier modes existed below it. It would have been a very average game at best and I likely wouldn't have even attempted it. I just genuinely believe that games are flat-out improvements when developers focus on the one difficulty rather than 5; I feel that 'normal' mode is designed to be easy enough that anyone can beat it and 'hard' and 'easy' mode are an after-thought with percentage modifiers.

It just doesn't feel good to me and it greatly influences my decision on whether or not i'll purchase a game or how much I'll enjoy it.

[Egomaniac]

It is a simple fact that, for me, the existence of difficulty options can be a decisive factor in whether or not I enjoy a game. Not every game handles difficulty settings the same way, some just do a simple numbers pass changing the health and damage multipliers, while others alter the gameplay itself. Having to deal with sorting through that additional information can be a chore, to the point where a game stops being fun because I'm too busy trying to figure out exactly what the difficulty settings are changing and then trying to figure out which difficulty would be the most enjoyable for me.

Any game that does not have difficulty sliders is automatically set to "Normal". Adding "Easy" or "Hard" does not change what the default experience would be. By choosing to play at "Normal" you are choosing to play at the difficulty the game would be even if those other choices were not included. The only "choice" you are making by choosing "Normal" is that you are choosing not to make changes to that default level of difficulty. In a functional sense it is no different than there not being those other options.

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It is something that detracts from my experience though, it can even be the factor regarding whether or not I buy a game in the first place. I have no problem with how others play games, but putting a slider in DOES take away from my experience, it's not really an opinion; It does.

Dark Souls would never have received it's level of infamy if its current iteration was only found on the 'super ultra hard mode' while 3 easier modes existed below it. It would have been a very average game at best and I likely wouldn't have even attempted it. I just genuinely believe that games are flat-out improvements when developers focus on the one difficulty rather than 5; I feel that 'normal' mode is designed to be easy enough that anyone can beat it and 'hard' and 'easy' mode are an after-thought with percentage modifiers.

It just doesn't feel good to me and it greatly influences my decision on whether or not i'll purchase a game or how much I'll enjoy it.

I'm just saying that putting an "easy" mode in Dark Souls would have no bearing on "Normal". Normal would still be the "Super Ultra Hard Mode" that it is.

[Ragnarohk]

I don't want the choice.

I don't want to have an option, therefore nobody should? Whaaaat?

[DechCJC]

I don't want to have an option, therefore nobody should? Whaaaat?

Read my other posts, that's not what I'm saying.

My general point is that there's a place for games without sliders as much as there's a place for games with them. Having options can take away from the game-play experience for a lot of people, it's not as easy as telling me to just play on hard or normal.

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Any game that does not have difficulty sliders is automatically set to "Normal". Adding "Easy" or "Hard" does not change what the default experience would be. By choosing to play at "Normal" you are choosing to play at the difficulty the game would be even if those other choices were not included. The only "choice" you are making by choosing "Normal" is that you are choosing not to make changes to that default level of difficulty. In a functional sense it is no different than there not being those other options.

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I'm just saying that putting an "easy" mode in Dark Souls would have no bearing on "Normal". Normal would still be the "Super Ultra Hard Mode" that it is.

Right, but having the easy mode there would make people pick that one instead of the super ultra hard mode when things got tough, rather than looking for an in-game solution.

[Egomaniac]

Right, but having the easy mode there would make people pick that one instead of the super ultra hard mode when things got tough, rather than looking for an in-game solution.

Some people...sure...but you don't have to worry about what other people would do. You've set your sights on playing at the default level of difficulty.

[DechCJC]

Some people...sure...but you don't have to worry about what other people would do. You've set your sights on playing at the default level of difficulty.

I would put it on the hardest difficulty, like previously stated.

Then there would be an absurdly hard enemy that's ridiculously over-tuned (potentially because the developers haven't put the time in to balance all of the modes), and I would have to deal with the constant temptation of turning the difficulty down rather than working out how to beat him. If there's one balanced difficulty, I would likely not meet such an over-tuned enemy to begin with but, if I did, I would have to just figure it out.

I feel like we're going in circles here. I don't care what other people do. I prefer games with one difficulty, it can be ball-crushingly hard or a story-mode cakewalk, I just believe better games CAN come of it, though I can see where sliders are good.

This is really frustrating. I'm not saying that sliders shouldn't exist, I'm saying that games without sliders are more appealing to me (for a plethora of reasons that i've listed) and I wish that more of them DID exist. Saying that I can pick a difficulty and it'll be the same thing is just false.

[Ragnarohk]

Read my other posts, that's not what I'm saying.

My general point is that there's a place for games without sliders as much as there's a place for games with them. Having options can take away from the game-play experience for a lot of people, it's not as easy as telling me to just play on hard or normal.

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Right, but having the easy mode there would make people pick that one instead of the super ultra hard mode when things got tough, rather than looking for an in-game solution.

Had to go back because I skipped 2 pages of the thread. Anyhow

Regarding that last part. Why would it matter if somebody switched difficulty when it gets too tough to bypass things? If I do that just now in my living room on my TV screen, how would that affect you? I'm not talking about Dark Souls (Because it was mentioned before that it has a multiplayer mode, to which I offered a solution).

Just because"you don't want the choice in your mind" doesn't mean that there shouldn't be one. If you want to complete the game in hard-mode only then by all means do it. If you think you might switch the difficulty at some point, destroying your whole "experience", then you need more self control.

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I would have to deal with the constant temptation

How can this even be a thing?

[Destinas]

Depending on the game, I'll choose normal or easy. I'm usually more interested in the story or overall experience, rather than challenging myself in my off time. Many games aren't challenging, and more frustrating on higher difficulties anyway.

[DechCJC]

Had to go back because I skipped 2 pages of the thread. Anyhow

Regarding that last part. Why would it matter if somebody switched difficulty when it gets too tough to bypass things? If I do that just now in my living room on my TV screen, how would that affect you? I'm not talking about Dark Souls (Because it was mentioned before that it has a multiplayer mode, to which I offered a solution).

Just because"you don't want the choice in your mind" doesn't mean that there shouldn't be one. If you want to complete the game in hard-mode only then by all means do it. If you think you might switch the difficulty at some point, destroying your whole "experience", then you need more self control.

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How can this even be a thing?

I don't care what other people do and it's not like I'm trying to detract from anyone else's experience. I'm not saying that every game should be frustratingly hard, just that they should be balanced. Hundreds of casual-friendly games have released without difficulty sliders and they've been overwhelmingly successful, I find great joy in them myself.

I TEND to find less joy in games with multiple difficulties that I can change on the fly, it just gives me the constant voice in the back of my head saying "what's the point?" whenever things get tough. I will usually just push through it because i'm stubborn, but often the frustration comes from the fact that the higher difficulties are unfairly difficult, because it just hasn't been balanced well enough and it's an after-thought.

A challenge can be fun, but often-times the multiple difficulty sliders just lead to a 'hard' mode that requires you to cheese your way through it, barely playing the game the way it was intended to be played (Halo Legendary comes to mind).

[Egomaniac]

. Saying that I can pick a difficulty and it'll be the same thing is just false.

Playing the game on Normal is exactly the same as playing that same game without a slider. "Easy" and "Hard" are modifiers that are based on that "Normal" setting.

You being seemingly unable to play a game that isn't at set at the highest difficulty imaginable is something entirely self-inflicted. If you feel that you need to play every game at the highest possible difficulty... I don't see how the temptation of lowering that difficulty can even exist for you.

[DechCJC]

Playing the game on Normal is exactly the same as playing that same game without a slider. "Easy" and "Hard" are modifiers that are based on that "Normal" setting.

You being seemingly unable to play a game that isn't at set at the highest difficulty imaginable is something entirely self-inflicted. If you feel that you need to play every game at the highest possible difficulty... I don't see how the temptation of lowering that difficulty can even exist for you.

But you're just making the assumption that normal would be the same difficulty if different difficulties didn't exist. I disagree.

If you go back further in this thread; My original post was that I enjoy a challenge but if I know i'm only in it for the story, I will put it on a normal or easy difficulty. I don't always feel the need for it to be super hard.

I don't think sliders are always bad, I just think that games can be better without them without taking anything away. You can make games challenging without relying on a slider while still making the game accessible to the masses.

[Adam Jensen]

Then don't make the choice. Play on the default difficulty and don't change it.

Kinda reminds me of that guy in Skyrim who went out of his way to make a mod to disable fast travel.

Like dude . . . just don't use it . . .

[Egomaniac]

But you're just making the assumption that normal would be the same difficulty if different difficulties didn't exist. I disagree.

Because that's how games are designed. You have to have a "Normal" setting to determine what an "Easy" or "Hard" setting means. Dark Souls was designed to be very difficult...but adding an easier or harder game mode to that would not change how difficult the "Normal" mode is.

Also, if you go back further in this thread; My original post was that I enjoy a challenge but if I know i'm only in it for the story, I will put it on a normal or easy difficulty. I don't always feel the need for it to be super hard.

Well, to me you specifically said that you have to play Skyrim on Legendary difficulty because you are too stubborn not to.

[Ragnarohk]

I would have to deal with the constant temptation of turning the difficulty down

and

if I know i'm only in it for the story, I will put it on a normal or easy difficulty. I don't always feel the need for it to be super hard.

You're contradicting yourself. You use the option, but for some reason condemn it.

[DechCJC]

and



You're contradicting yourself. You use the option, but for some reason condemn it.

I would still prefer for there to be no difficulty in the latter quotes case.

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Can't keep arguing this right now, got places to be. Please just understand that I don't wish to make games less accessible to players, I'm just trying to convey why I prefer games without a slider. I totally get why not everyone will agree with me, just that there are negatives to having multiple difficulties.

I would wish for an RPG's difficulty to be designed with Breath of the Wild in mind, rather than Skyrim, that's all. I just think it's better. It's never fun trying to argue across an unpopular opinion.

[pewpmeiser]

With the limited amount of time I have to play so many different games I want to experience, I have no qualms with cheesing on the easiest difficulty.

[ldev]

Because those games are intended to kick you in the face until you learn to avoid the kick, or get help from other players, or grind levels so your face can tank multiple kicks to the head. If none of those things appeal to you, then you aren't really the target audience of the game.

It is the same reason that Silent Hill and Resident Evil games don't have a "We're going to remove all suspense, gore, and warn you calmly when enemies approach" mode, that would fundamentally change the game and the target audience.

Yea, just gamer things.

Imagine a world where you couldn't rent a race car on a track if you can't do like 1:40 lap - FUCK YOU YOU'RE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE ANYWAYS. Or you couldn't jump with a parachute with a trainer because FUCK YOU YOU'RE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE - AIR PARATROOPER. Or diving with sharks in a cage - FUCK YOU YOU'RE NOT STEVE IRVIN. And let's close Greece borders for tourists - YOU'RE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE, YER NOT GREEK.

Are you fucking serious? Making a target audience is as easy as putting one checkbox that reduces enemy damage by 80%.

I'm glad gamers don't run shit, because world be in an awful place, gatekeeping unfinished products with predatory tactics, geeeeezzzzz. Seriously, I'm always astonished about how much shit can gamers eat and still defend their games.

[Krothar]

Games are meant to be fun.

Play the difficulty you find the most fun in and don't worry about how someone else is finding fun with their game.

[Egomaniac]

It is the same reason that Silent Hill and Resident Evil games don't have a "We're going to remove all suspense, gore, and warn you calmly when enemies approach" mode, that would fundamentally change the game and the target audience.

It doesn't though...because the people that want that experience can still have it. The target audience doesn't change...it expands to be more inclusive

[TEHPALLYTANK]

It doesn't though...because the people that want that experience can still have it. The target audience doesn't change...it expands to be more inclusive

So why aren't you out crusading for non-scary modes to be added to horror games?