I do wish more games would let you adjust the difficulty on the fly rather than lock you in for a playthrough. 'Normal' or 'hard' means different things to different players and developers, there's so many times I've wished I could just bump up difficulty for a few sections to see if I'm ready for the next setting, or reduce it just to get past a single section. It's especially galling to spend hours getting past an unbalanced section then find the rest of the game a cakewalk- at that point it's not a skill test for the rest of the game which is a common defence for disallowing difficulty changes, and it would have been nice to be able to modify that particular section as it's clearly an outlier.
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Do people who only play easy games not care about overcoming challenge?
- Thread starter oni-link
- Start date
That's what I tell to my nephews who joke about the fact at my age I play on easy. Also due to an accident, my right thumb can't endure long session, that reduce my gaming time. So definitely not looking to redo during that precious time the same level over and over to perfection...
I can see this being more common in games most likely.
I know people like to find more of a challenge in multiplayer, and that's true but it seems to be entirely random. Like you could either get destroyed by people or you could destroy them, it depends really. With difficulty settings you know what to expect while people are just random.
Melchiah
Member
I have NEVER played games at hard difficulty, always at normal, just sayingi never felt the need to prove anything.
I've played only few games on hard myself; Silent Hill 2, Resistance: Fall of Man, Resogun, Infamous: Second Son, and Bloodborne (NG+). Most of the hard modes just seem too frustrating for me, based on how challenging the games have already been on normal. Not to mention, that I have no desire to play a lengthier game through on hard. I think it could make me hate a game I love.
Alright, I get the missing out part, and... I guess? But that can be said about anything really. Youre missing out on that feeling when you nail a backflip at the edge of a scyscraper roof. Youre missing out on that feeling when after several days of looking for a specific bird in the woods, you spot it and can take a great pic.
But if you are not interested in risking your life or sitting around in the woods for days, you dont really care, right? Good for them, but you have your own things that you rather experience, right?
I watch a couple of friends on Twitch doing console challenges. Things like finishing all SCN Game Boy games or all SEGA published Mega Drive games. And the feelings they express when finally getting through a frustrating/hard game is something I will never feel. So I miss out on that joy/relief-thing. But I dont care at all because I have no interest in bashing my head against that boring/annoying/frustrating game for hours to experience that feeling even if I could.
People that miss out on the feeling described in the OP have other things that they experience and get great enjoyment/whatever feeling from. Probably a bunch of things that some people who likes challenges miss out on too! Even without bringing up stuff outside of the medium.
But if you are not interested in risking your life or sitting around in the woods for days, you dont really care, right? Good for them, but you have your own things that you rather experience, right?
I watch a couple of friends on Twitch doing console challenges. Things like finishing all SCN Game Boy games or all SEGA published Mega Drive games. And the feelings they express when finally getting through a frustrating/hard game is something I will never feel. So I miss out on that joy/relief-thing. But I dont care at all because I have no interest in bashing my head against that boring/annoying/frustrating game for hours to experience that feeling even if I could.
People that miss out on the feeling described in the OP have other things that they experience and get great enjoyment/whatever feeling from. Probably a bunch of things that some people who likes challenges miss out on too! Even without bringing up stuff outside of the medium.
dead_lighter
Member
I used to play always with the normal level. But recently I begun the witcher 3 goty edition, and put it on easy. So much hours to spend in it with a small amount of play time per week, I didn't want to spend more than a year to complete it like I almost did with XCX. And you know what? It's fine, really! I've discovered that easy mode is not boring, at least with this game this is challenging if you follow the story without levelling up with side quests. Probably depends on the type of games, here open world rpg, and maybe rail shooters are boring on easy mode?
theofficefan99
Junior Member
The level of difficulty someone chooses shouldn't matter to you or anyone else.
Now, I love grinding in games, and I always start off on Normal. I also can get bored of a game if it's too easy the whole way through, like a Kirby game. However, unless it's a game that I REALLY REALLY want to savor (kind of rare), if I die numerous times from the same enemy and I can switch to Easy, I'll do it. If I was having trouble on Normal I'm sure Easy won't be too much of a breeze anyways either.
My life is hectic.
I don't have too much time to play games.
I have a backlog of 9-10 games, and there's around 30-35 games that I want to buy and play. If a game is 20-25 hours long that'll take me like a month or more. Longer than that and we're looking at 2+ months minimum.
So, I don't want to waste time replaying a part over and over and over and over and over and over again.
Unfortunately as much as I fucking love Bloodborne (it would've been my favorite PS4 game, by far), I don't think I'll ever come even close to finishing it because of the difficulty. I've also passed on other games because I'm not very used to/good at the genre and the game is known to be hard and has no difficulty settings. For example, my coordination isn't the best (read: it's terrible) so FPS games are very challenging for me. I've had to skip out on some games that appealed to me because they were known to be difficult.
Seriously though, there isn't a single argument the opposing side could present that would be valid. If it doesn't affect you in any way/doesn't harm anyone else, why does it matter how someone plays their game? I swear it's like a debate on LGBT people, but for a video game related topic. And just like how people are more than their sexuality, games are more than just their difficulty level. I didn't buy Bloodborne for its difficulty. I bought it because of the beautiful visuals, the fast-paced and fun combat filled with depth, the amazing art direction and atmosphere, the great music, and the intriguing story premise. It's a shame that I won't be able to experience more than like 15% of it because I'm just absolutely not down to literally have dozens of hours go down the drain from my deaths (and losing blood echoes).
Now, I love grinding in games, and I always start off on Normal. I also can get bored of a game if it's too easy the whole way through, like a Kirby game. However, unless it's a game that I REALLY REALLY want to savor (kind of rare), if I die numerous times from the same enemy and I can switch to Easy, I'll do it. If I was having trouble on Normal I'm sure Easy won't be too much of a breeze anyways either.
My life is hectic.
I don't have too much time to play games.
I have a backlog of 9-10 games, and there's around 30-35 games that I want to buy and play. If a game is 20-25 hours long that'll take me like a month or more. Longer than that and we're looking at 2+ months minimum.
So, I don't want to waste time replaying a part over and over and over and over and over and over again.
Unfortunately as much as I fucking love Bloodborne (it would've been my favorite PS4 game, by far), I don't think I'll ever come even close to finishing it because of the difficulty. I've also passed on other games because I'm not very used to/good at the genre and the game is known to be hard and has no difficulty settings. For example, my coordination isn't the best (read: it's terrible) so FPS games are very challenging for me. I've had to skip out on some games that appealed to me because they were known to be difficult.
Seriously though, there isn't a single argument the opposing side could present that would be valid. If it doesn't affect you in any way/doesn't harm anyone else, why does it matter how someone plays their game? I swear it's like a debate on LGBT people, but for a video game related topic. And just like how people are more than their sexuality, games are more than just their difficulty level. I didn't buy Bloodborne for its difficulty. I bought it because of the beautiful visuals, the fast-paced and fun combat filled with depth, the amazing art direction and atmosphere, the great music, and the intriguing story premise. It's a shame that I won't be able to experience more than like 15% of it because I'm just absolutely not down to literally have dozens of hours go down the drain from my deaths (and losing blood echoes).
I don't, no.
I almost never play games on Hard and there are titles I most certainly crank down to Easy. I have several hobbies. I have multiple jobs. I don't care about trophies/achievements. And I am drawn to gaming primarily for its storytelling and atmospheric value.
The exceptions are the Mass Effects and Metal Gears. I played them so thoroughly and so frequently that over time I decided a greater challenge would appeal to me.
But outside of them, nah.
I almost never play games on Hard and there are titles I most certainly crank down to Easy. I have several hobbies. I have multiple jobs. I don't care about trophies/achievements. And I am drawn to gaming primarily for its storytelling and atmospheric value.
The exceptions are the Mass Effects and Metal Gears. I played them so thoroughly and so frequently that over time I decided a greater challenge would appeal to me.
But outside of them, nah.
Video games were created to allow a person or persons to interact in a virtual space.
Arcades created the fallacy that immense challenge was the ultimate reward. The ones who really got rewarded were the cabinet owners, especially when you've spent in quarters the price of a modern triple a game to master that cabinet
Interaction is the end all be all, so if your method of interaction with that game inspires you to move forward; whether that be through its challenge, story, or visuals, that game achieves its prime directive where you are concerned. The games that manage to hit on every front for different types of people are something special.
SomedayTheFire
Member
Jesus there are some embarrassing and unhealthy reactions to people playing games on easy.
I guess some people don't like it when others play on easy for certain reasons.
Unhealthy is the key word, the superiority complex is palpable.