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[Hostile_18]

"I believe if someone buys a game no matter the skill level they should be able to see everything just like any other piece of entertainment."

I see this a lot but it simply isn't true.

Take sporting events, for example. Supporters of both sides may buy tickets and may pay the same price BUT only one set of fans is going to spend the later stages of the evening celebrating victory.

Bad comparison, maybe.

Sure with something like a Marvel movie anybody can watch the film and have a right good time but that's how these movies are meant to be. They are specifically made that way.

For movies I think you could argue that some movies are very "challenging" and every person who sees the movie may not "get" it on the same level. Meaning while everyone in the audience can technically sit through the same 2 to 3 hours of visual and audio "stuff" the core content of the movie may simply be beyond some viewers.

Books can be especially tricky in this regard because some readers may not be at a level of literacy where ALL books are appropriate to them and some degree of actual education and experience may be needed. Sure, anyone can look at the pages but not everyone can read the words and understand them and see how it all works together to create narrative and themes and whatnot.

Certain types of music are certainly not made for "everyone" and, in fact, many genres may be deliberately weird and challenging and inaccessible.

I think before questions about whether or not games should have an "easy mode" we need to take a good few steps back and ask what a "game" even is. Ask what a game can be, might be or even should be.

Is a game closer to a theme park ride or a competitive sport? Somewhere in between? Or can many games be many different things?

Should a game try to sell itself to as many customers as possible to maximize profits?
I would say no as this really just encourages a generic medium where products are built by marketing experts to get the most units sold.

Even if a game is to be 100% the developers vision then they will still be constrained by some "corporate" factors.
They'll have deadlines and budgets and in line with that an easy mode will cost more money or time or both.

On a personal level I kind of really hate messing around with difficulty options.
When I buy a game I want to play as the developer intended me to play.
These folks are supposed to be the best at what they do and I want to experience their content as they intended.
Not sit back and let the game play itself, not struggle through because they never properly balanced the higher difficulty.

I generally feel that a game that actively FORCES the player to learn and master the games mechanics and actually get the point of the game is a well designed game.

Father Gascoigne in Bloodborne being a good example of this.
If you can't master the parrying, dodging and the way that being aggressive can help you win back lost health then, honestly, you have no business going beyond that boss because you do not understand the game.
Even using the music box to make the battle easier is a lesson that these in-game items contain hints and tips in their descriptions. This is a key aspect of the game and how Bloodborne tells it's story and delivers the lore of the world.

In a sense, using all those mechanics and skills to beat Father Gascoigne IS THE GAME.

So what's the point in putting the game into "easy mode" and then sitting back and "experiencing" Bloodborne?
It's like proclaiming your favorite food is pepperoni pizza but only after the pepperoni is removed.

Like I said you kind of need to go back and define what a "videogame" ought to be and then consider if it's possible for some developers to move out of that definition and do their own thing, make their own genres etc.

"This game should have an easy mode" feels like demand that only really serves to reel developers back in and make sure that they do not stray from established norms. Even then you will just have "rogue" developers who decide that they want to make a super difficult game with no options and then what? Force them to get back in line?

I think it's a conversation that can kind of go along with "games are art" and "games don't have to be fun" because if "all games should have an easy mode" becomes an industry standard then you basically limit the scope of what can be done in this medium.

Games are art but also artists don't your artistic license to make a game that is too difficult! There's a massive contradiction there, in my opinion.

Better in the end to just think of different types of games as genres and then consumers need to ask themselves "are the genres I just don't like" and then just don't play those games.

It seems mad to me that someone would look at Sekiro and say "I want to see everything this game has to offer EXCEPT for mastering the gameplay mechanics".

A well thought out response there. The only thing I'd bring up is that developers can't get one difficulty right for everyone as every person is different. I mentioned it a few posts earlier but a good challenge for one person is an impossible block for another. Not been good at reactionary games I could probably power through but spending hours upon hours on a boss isnt what the developers isnt intended either, it just becomes frustrating not rewarding. Fact is its impossible to curve a single difficulty for everyone.

I'm definitley one where the only thing I dislike about Sekiro is the difficulty. I'm all for learning the mechanics it just needs the damage you take tweaking rather than timings etc that would fundamentally change the game. I can only imagine what it's like for a less skilled gamer to be cut off from alot of games they otherwise would of played and enjoyed.

Say Sekiro, they patched in an easy mode. It wouldn't affect how the game was built, it wouldnt affect your experience but it would open up the game for loads of new people, which is great for the health of the franchise.

Conversely how many people play games again when new game + or extra hard modes are added? Very few people complain about that and it's there for the very skilled gamers. I loved the Grounded mode they added to Last of Us for example, it was just an option added to an already great game. I wasnt worried how other people chose to play the game. Hell if they thought Naughty Dog games are too easy and they used Grounded as a starting point to jump in I'd be happy more people got to play a game I loved in a way that suited them.

Just like dating, more options are always better IMO.

 

[Radical Dreamer]

Explain again how you'd add easy mode in sekiro? Entire game is designed around challenge and overcoming it. You can't seem to graps there's a big difference when it comes to easy mode in game like uncharted for example and in game like sekiro. It's like telling people who make horror movies to make them less scary because then children will be able to see them too and it will make more money and "grow industry" (lol). What's the end point with this stripping everything of its identity and muddling the water so everything become the same, shallow and soulless?

 

[ruvikx]

Just like dating, more options are always better IMO.

lol what? That's such a random analogy to end your comment with. It kinda took me out of the post.

Back on topic I'd honestly favor a different achievement/trophy list for the "story difficulty" modes which now sit beneath easy in many games, i.e. a sort of "participation medal" equivalent which some kids get in track & field sports in high school for simply taking part (& getting their ass kicked). You want to beat Sekiro on easy mode? Be prepared to earn a trophy which carries the stigmata.

Spoiler

That way people would be shamed into getting gud.

In all seriousness though certain difficulties change a game completely, i.e. breaking the mechanisms in the process. Take Metro Exodus for example: the controls are designed with slow, "realistic" movement & survivalist gameplay in mind (moving slower in mud etc.), yet any difficulty below the hardcore options changes the game into a run & gun Far Cry equivalent... with way shittier controls for that type of game. So someone who plays on easy/medium might hate the game (I did at first) & then when restarted on hardcore goes "holy shit this is awesome!".

It's just something to consider, i.e. it's often not as simple as introducing a new difficulty. It can hurt the game massively & create bad user feedback.

 

[Hostile_18]

lol what? That's such a random analogy to end your comment with. It kinda took me out of the post.

Back on topic I'd honestly favor a different achievement/trophy list for the "story difficulty" modes which now sit beneath easy in many games, i.e. a sort of "participation medal" equivalent which some kids get in track & field sports in high school for simply taking part (& getting their ass kicked). You want to beat Sekiro on easy mode? Be prepared to earn a trophy which carries the stigmata.

Spoiler

That way people would be shamed into getting gud.

In all seriousness though certain difficulties change a game completely, i.e. breaking the mechanisms in the process. Take Metro Exodus for example: the controls are designed with slow, "realistic" movement & survivalist gameplay in mind (moving slower in mud etc.), yet any difficulty below the hardcore options changes the game into a run & gun Far Cry equivalent... with way shittier controls for that type of game. So someone who plays on easy/medium might hate the game (I did at first) & then when restarted on hardcore goes "holy shit this is awesome!".

It's just something to consider, i.e. it's often not as simple as introducing a new difficulty. It can hurt the game massively & create bad user feedback.

Haha yeah I can be a bit random. Potatoes.

I'd say in Metro Exodus that would make the options spot on. A mode where it's meant to be played/more realistic to the setting but also not to the exclusion of anyone else that wants to play but cant, either because of lack of skill/disability or time

Difficulty trophys are a great reward without knocking those that play on easy IMO. Just as long as they stack!

 

[Hostile_18]

Explain again how you'd add easy mode in sekiro? Entire game is designed around challenge and overcoming it. You can't seem to graps there's a big difference when it comes to easy mode in game like uncharted for example and in game like sekiro. It's like telling people who make horror movies to make them less scary because then children will be able to see them too and it will make more money and "grow industry" (lol). What's the end point with this stripping everything of its identity and muddling the water so everything become the same, shallow and soulless?

Surely you can see the difference changing content where everyone sees the same thing (like in a movie in your example) and changing damage/health modifiers as an option in a game.

Individual customisation is one of gamings greatest strengths. We should embrace it IMO.

Developers might prefer film grain but its sure as hell going off in my games, where its an option

 

[GhostintheRain]

I don’t know how to vote on this (tapped on yes and nothing happened), but anyway my answer is “Yes”. I feel as I get older my skills are not what they used to be so it would be nice to have that option.