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Should games be hard or easy?

tabstistabstis
edited April 2011 in General Chat
So I recently played through Bayonetta which I thought was an awesomely fun game but I found that it suffered because of the extreme extent of normal difficulty...
So I'm wondering whether you guys prefer to play easy games or harder games and whether it can have a real impact on gameplay and the experience or whether overall it doesn't really matter...
Thoughts below ;)
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Comments

  • Gman5852Gman5852
    edited April 2011
    Depends on the game.
    Super Meat boy sells because of its difficulty. Where as if some kid were to play Sponge Bob and get a challange, it wouldnt be that good for them.
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited April 2011
    Depends what your market is. I don't have time to play through a game for more than about 2-3 days tops, at full speed. Maybe a week when I'm going slower. My emphasis in a game is story with fun gameplay that's not too difficult.

    I just don't have time for anything that takes too much time. Between moving onto my Ph.D program, working at the university and my writing for various outlets, I like to know I can come home, put in about 2 hours and be done within the week.

    When I was an undergrad I could commit hours and hours a day, but especially as I move into a realm where I'm thinking about marriage, I want games that I can finish in a week and move onto the next.
  • AlcoremortisAlcoremortis
    edited April 2011
    I like harder games. Of the games I own, the ones I go back and play over and over again are the ones that were difficult to beat the first time. This is because I like a challenge and I want to see if I've improved any since the last time I played the game or I want to try out new strategies to see if I can pass a certain bit faster. I also suppose that the time commitment for harder games also makes me remember them a bit more, either fondly or with not a little frustration.
  • RetroVortexRetroVortex
    edited April 2011
    Accessable but offers many additional challenges down the line.
    Mario games and Tetris get it right, so does in some ways Portal.

    Additional difficulty levels are a nice bonus, so long as the difficulty is not just less life, extra damage (as thats pretty cheap and usually get boring fast).
  • JohanShogunJohanShogun
    edited April 2011
    where is the option for having a well developed difficulty curve that is just right between enjoyment and frustration?
  • Gman5852Gman5852
    edited April 2011
    JohanShogun wrote: »
    where is the option for having a well developed difficulty curve that is just right between enjoyment and frustration?

    So you hate Meat Boy then?
    Considering the difficulty curve is the game gets impossible like hell after the tutorials are out of the way.
  • BlankCanvasDJBlankCanvasDJ
    edited April 2011
    Depends on the game. If a game has a compelling story, I don't mind at all if it's easy gameplay because it's still entertaining. If a game doesn't have much of a story, it's definitely better to have challenging gameplay that makes up for it.

    For instance, I don't mind that the BTTF games are so easy because I'm enjoying the story so much that I don't really want to get stuck on a puzzle, I want to find out what happens next. People can say it's nothing but an interactive movie and I say, "what's wrong with that?" It's a good price for a 10-12 hour interactive movie.

    But it is a rare and special game that can find the perfect balance of the two.
  • Chyron8472Chyron8472
    edited April 2011
    Depends on the game.
  • JedExodusJedExodus
    edited April 2011
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    Depends on the game.

    This, shove your point blank answers up your hole etc etc.
  • corruptbigginscorruptbiggins
    edited April 2011
    Personally I don't think it matters, as long as the game is fun to play.
  • Secret FawfulSecret Fawful
    edited April 2011
    Hard. Porblem?
  • joek86joek86
    edited April 2011
    Neither, a game shouldn't feel like it's easy or hard. If a game is made right, these concepts shouldn't matter. Need an example, would you classify Tetris as an easy game or a hard game? What about MYST? What's easy or hard to you may not be to someone else. I also find it frustrating when it feels like things are added to artificially make the game more difficult, like enemies getting one hit kills (especially in JRPGs).
  • GuybrushWilcoGuybrushWilco
    edited April 2011
    I have more fun if I am being challenged. I don't think games 'should' be hard or easy though, it all depends on the game.
  • jeeno0142jeeno0142
    edited April 2011
    I like to have a challenge, but at the same time I play games to have fun, so if it is too challenging then I usually just end up frustrated and play something else. This is just in general though. It definitely depends on what the game is.
  • ScnewScnew
    edited April 2011
    It really depends on the game.

    Super Meat Boy is hard as crap, but that's the appeal. But at the same time, if Super Meat Boy had a totally epic storyline that I was dying to see the end of and was still just as hard, it would be a lot more frustrating.
  • lattsamlattsam
    edited April 2011
    I choose harder games, because I'd really like to be challenged! Anything to give my brain and/or reflexes a workout!
  • AndrewFAndrewF
    edited April 2011
    What's the point of a game if it's easy? Where's the challenge? Saying as if "Click 'A' Twice, then jump, and you beat level 2/3...
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited April 2011
    Mindless fun to occupy an hour of my time.
  • Chyron8472Chyron8472
    edited April 2011
    It should be easier than picking your nose, but harder than setting a wild hippopotamus on fire.
  • BlankCanvasDJBlankCanvasDJ
    edited April 2011
    How hard is it to set a wild hippopotamus on fire? Do you get a flamethrower? How flammable is a hippopotamus, anyway?
  • GozzoManGozzoMan
    edited April 2011
    Games should be engaging... Achieve it with whatever you want.
  • Rather DashingRather Dashing
    edited April 2011
    DAISHI wrote: »
    Mindless fun to occupy an hour of my time.
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  • Secret FawfulSecret Fawful
    edited April 2011
    No, he said FUN.
  • Rather DashingRather Dashing
    edited April 2011
    mI2vp.jpg
  • Secret FawfulSecret Fawful
    edited April 2011
    There you go.
  • coolguy721coolguy721
    edited April 2011
    hard is better
  • SoultakerSoultaker
    edited April 2011
    I'm one of the (apparently) few who voted for easy games, because although (as JohanShogun said) ideally a game should be neither (too) easy nor (too) hard, I'd rather play a game that errs on the side of being too easy.

    I remember back in the 90s I'd play adventure games and get stuck halfway through, which is very frustrating. Today, we have the internet and you can find a walkthrough if you get stuck, but finishing a game this way isn't nearly as satisfying as doing it entirely on your own. That's why I prefer games which I can finish on my own, though it's OK if that takes a little while.

    Ideally I still think a game would be challenging but doable, but I'm convinced it's much better for a game to be on the easy side than on the hard side.
  • coolguy721coolguy721
    edited April 2011
    the good thing about hard games is after you finish them you feel a bigger sense of accomplishment. Whenever there is a difficulty selection in a game i always choose the hardest so i feel like i actually beat the game.
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited April 2011
    hamza721 wrote: »
    the good thing about hard games is after you finish them you feel a bigger sense of accomplishment. Whenever there is a difficulty selection in a game i always choose the hardest so i feel like i actually beat the game.

    See I don't do this. I'm in it to beat it as quick as possible and get back to life.
  • AndrewFAndrewF
    edited April 2011
    DAISHI wrote: »
    See I don't do this. I'm in it to beat it as quick as possible and get back to life.





    Then what's the point of having the game, if it's not even to entertain?
  • coolguy721coolguy721
    edited April 2011
    games should be fun not wanting to beat it quickly
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited April 2011
    I don't watch a movie that stretches over a week. I want a good story I can interact with that takes me no more than a few days to beat. Doesn't matter the genre. I have way too much going on in my life to sit down at a computer, play for two hours and not make much progress.
  • Giant TopeGiant Tope
    edited April 2011
    Usually when I'm super busy I just don't play the game until I have a patch of time where I'm not super busy. Even then, I rarely play games for over an hour anyways. That doesn't mean I want to play a half-assed game, even if the story was alright. If I just wanted to take in a story, I'd watch a movie or read a book.

    I'm not entirely sure why, but the whole "I play games for the story" thing has really started to bug me as of late. Not that games can't have an awesome story, but playing a game for its story just sounds like an unnecessary hurdle to make.
  • coolguy721coolguy721
    edited April 2011
    play games to have fun
  • PainDealerPainDealer
    edited April 2011
    Harder than BttF for sure, but not necessarily as hard as Sierra's games of ultimate frustration.
  • The Green RangerThe Green Ranger
    edited April 2011
    I like harder over easy any day but it all comes down to the game play.
  • Chyron8472Chyron8472
    edited April 2011
    DAISHI wrote: »
    See I don't do this. I'm in it to beat it as quick as possible and get back to life.

    Interesting that you say this and yet you have an MGS avatar, which is not a quickly winnable game, at least at first.
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited April 2011
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    Interesting that you say this and yet you have an MGS avatar, which is not a quickly winnable game, at least at first.

    I played that in...11th grade? I think MGS4 took me two days to beat.
  • doodinthemooddoodinthemood
    edited April 2011
    I never got this. I'd like all games to go on a slope from chronically easy at the beginning, to almost impossibly hard at the end. Everyone gets to play it to some degree, but you really have to work hard at it for the satisfaction of completion.
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited April 2011
    If I drop sixty bucks, I want to see the end. Completionists get all sorts of challenges and trophies to work towards. I don't care about those, and am glad that they're there for those looking for higher challenges.
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