Is it possible for a game to be ''too hard''?
Is it possible for a game to be ''too hard''?
Kayden Murphy
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Robert Fisher
Nope
Theres a fine curve of difficulty and on either side of that curve there is artifical difficulty and machine only difficulty
Austin Ortiz
The game isn't hard at all enemies just have more health so it makes you have to fight harder than you would on a lower difficulty.
Nicholas Nguyen
There is no such thing as 'artificial difficulty'. Something is either hard to accomplish, or it isn't... there's no "artificially hard."
Sebastian Harris
Of course there is
Poor controls, shit cameras, hidden hazards
Inflated health and damage, bullet sponges
Connor Phillips
Still not artificial.
Badly designed? Yes. But there's nothing artificial about it.
Mason Butler
Obviously yes?
It doesnt take a fucking genious to figure out
Benjamin Fisher
I'm of the opinion that a game can't be too hard, but that the way failure is designed can be unfitting for the difficulty.
Adrian Rogers
Yes, obviously. If the game is close to impossible for anyone to play then it's not really fun or rewarding even when you beat the level.
To reduce this to an absurd argument, say we make a track in a racing game where right before the finish of the track you have to drive on two thin parallel rails, but the rails are so far apart that being misaligned by a fraction of an inch causes you to fall through the gap, after which you have to restart the track from the beginning and slog through it, only to probably fail again. That's fucking stupid.
Alexander Jenkins
Take most games, set player health to 1, remove all health increase, but make sure the game is barely winnable (with luck), remove the ability to save, then pretend the game was released in this state. Yes, of course, anyone would agree that the game has good graphics/mechanics/gameplay/story but that the difficulty makes it not enjoyable.
Blake Cruz
I think the durability bug in Dark Souls 2 would classify as artificial difficulty
Chase Green
You're arguing over a non-literal term. It's just a universally accepted phrase for when a game is difficult for reasons outside of player control or because something isn't functioning properly. Example, the loops in Sonic Adventure games or moments where you HAVE to take damage regardless of what you do (this isn't always bad if the game is built around it, LISA does this quite nicely)
John Jones
im making a game and having a hard time with this.
I wouldnt say the problem is that the game can be too hard, the problem is how much did the design of the game prepared the player for the encounter.
Using Tony Hawk as the example, when you start the first level the objectives arent hard, not even the hardest one is that outlandish, but now you have a level that for the objectives that are set by the game has a fast expiration date on its challenge. That first level by the time the player gets to the end of the game is now easy as fuck, unless the game has difficulty options with harder objectives.
So you either have a nice difficulty curve where the player feels challenged but knows its possible since he just beat a slightly easier challenge before (so the new challenge isnt that far off), or you can have the game be hard from the start due to bad preparation, the player will feel like its so out of reach that it wont be bothered to learn the game and simply will call it "too hard".
In the game im making Im loosing my shit because I have spent most of my time now "preparing" the player. But jesus fuck, they keep forgetting basic mechanics introduced less the a minute ago.
Cooper Lopez
The only thing I can really think of is broken boomer games where there is some bug that like forces death, guaranteed crash, or the game enters an unplayable state.
I had this happen recently in Dragon Age Inquisition when a necessary quest item dropped from an enemy spawned in the wall and I couldn't progress.
Lincoln Kelly
if they like the game they say "git gud", if they dont they say "its too hard"
Cameron Scott
It's worth to keep in mind that human memory is more specific than "I saw this so now I remember it", it learns best through multiple sessions with just the right amount of time inbetween.
Gavin Flores
Repetition and reinforcement of mechanics and concepts you introduce.
Or you can do the Driver thing where it's trial by fire right out the gate.
Cooper Morales
Yes, most arcade beat em ups were designed this way.
Brayden Johnson
I mean, I get it, and I do understand that between the introduction and the other time you have to use it again there is another thing the player has to learn... but its the simple fact that the player can double jump, like the Scout in TF2. Like, no special technique where its used rarely, nope, just the fact that the player can double jump. I know a way to remember the player but it feels like I am treating them like idiots by remembering them of such feature, again.
Joshua Brown
yeah, im going to have to change the level to make the concept stick better with the player.
This isnt the 90s anymore where I can hope that the player will keep trying to learn the game since its the only one he is going to buy this month. If I loose their interest the game is uninstalled and thats that.
Camden Nguyen
all video games are too damn hard.
Robert Green