Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

What are you playing. Hands out of your pockets!

Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Easy. Games are meant to be easy and meant to be something to enjoy.
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Hard. Games are better when they challenge you. Easy is boring.
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Total votes : 18

Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby DanteHoratio » Wed May 31, 2017 4:05 am

Is it better for games to be hard or easy? Personally, I HATE challenge in games, just takes all the fun out of playing games. Games are better when they are easy and fun, not hard and annoying.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby cmsellers » Wed May 31, 2017 4:12 am

I like games to be complex to learn (when it comes to boardgames I liked games with twenty+ page rulebooks; when it comes to computer games the only one I really play is EU4) but I don't find them hard to learn, and I also like winning. Hell, part of the reason I liked those board games is I was usually the only one who could remember all the rules. It's the same reason I prefer Chinese chess over regular chess.

So I guess it depends on what you're asking.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Wed May 31, 2017 4:32 am

Nintendo hard games on easy mode.
Also, easy whenever facing Kett Ascendents. Those things are a bitch to fight.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby octoberpumpkin » Wed May 31, 2017 6:15 am

I prefer easy games but I think the best thing is adjustable difficulty so everyone can enjoy it regardless of their skill level and how much of a challenge they want.

Personally I play to unwind and relax and if it's too challenging it just feels frustrating and overwhelming, like another thing for me to fail at that I have to put work in to and I have enough stuff in my real life like that, I don't want it in my vidya
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby KleinerKiller » Wed May 31, 2017 6:27 am

DIfferent games should be different difficulties, depending on what the intent of the game is. I can step right out of enjoying a challenging gunfight or a mind-bending puzzle one minute and immerse myself in a challenge-free environmental narrative game like Gone Home or What Remains of Edith Finch the next. We're spoiled for choice on the variety of gaming experiences available, and insisting that a game has to be challenging to be worth something is begging for homogeny.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby Tuli » Wed May 31, 2017 6:45 am

Easy but also not too easy - when it starts to feel like I'm just going through the motions I get bored (unless the game is compelling enough on other grounds). I guess I like some mild challenge. Like If I'm playing an adventure game, it's good to have puzzles I have to think about but not so hard I have to google them. When it comes to citybuilders and 4x games, I guess I prefer it quite easy though. What I primarily love about those games is building up my cities/empires and exploring, combat is just a sometimes necessary means to an end. In Stellaris for example, IDGAF about different ship designs or optimal fleet compositions, I just hit auto-complete on all that stuff. :lol: But I love scouting the galaxy for new anomalies and planets to colonize.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby Doodle Dee. Snickers » Wed May 31, 2017 8:10 am

It depends on the kind of game, I think. On most of my RPGs, I prefer an easier level simply so I can enjoy fucking around and relish the story instead of getting frustrated. With strategy games, I prefer to go difficult (I typically play "Emperor" on Civ). Shooters, I land somewhere in the middle unless it's Doom 2, and I just go normal on action games. I like to feel accomplished, but I hate being frustrated, which might be why I'm not a huge fan of Dark Souls or Bloodborne.

I really liked the FE:A approach. I play it easy all the time, but I also did Lunatic+ with Classic Mode on (I only lost Frederick, and he technically can't die). Its' like "Yo, either way you want it, we won't judge"
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby IamNotCreepy » Wed May 31, 2017 2:13 pm

I definitely prefer to challenge myself. I will typically play a game the first time on medium-hard (a step above normal) and then harder difficulties on subsequent playthroughs.

I do enjoy the occasional easy game, but it would be the exception.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby ghijkmnop » Wed May 31, 2017 2:40 pm

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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby Absentia » Wed May 31, 2017 9:23 pm

Having some of both is good. Having said that, I'm more often annoyed by a game being too easy than too hard. Some of my favorite games are old-school roguelikes, which are famous for being brutally difficult.

I want a challenge, but the key is that it has to be a fair challenge: I want to lose because I screwed up, so I can learn and get better. Fake Difficulty is not welcome.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby iMURDAu » Wed May 31, 2017 9:26 pm

Yoshi's Island and the DS sequel have the best difficulty imo. It's all in the game design. You can play it as a light breezy platformer and get from the left side of the screen to the right and rarely encounter anything difficult. But. If you go for higher scores and collect all the red coins, flowers, and keep your health full there are extra levels to unlock. Getting 95 out of 100 on every level is definitely a challenge and some of the YI:DS bonus levels are insanely difficult but still kind of manageable for someone who has gotten that far.

I like adjustable though. Put me down for that. To each their own and it also brings new players in. Just look at Fire Emblem sales prior to Awakening. The removal of permadeath imo is stupid because it basically means you no longer have to use any strategy in a strategy game but hey whatever I'm not forced to play that way.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby Arkyle » Thu Jun 01, 2017 6:56 am

For me it's all down to mood. There are times when I want a game that is pure "disengage game, play on autopilot" distraction ala Candy Crush. When I'm not quite so tired from work I like a challenge :)
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby Matthew Notch » Fri Jun 02, 2017 12:49 pm

A central principle in game design is that you want to actively frustrate your players, but not disorient them. A game is best when it gratifies the player for expending a little extra effort. Games that play themselves are typically annoying as heck to me (counterpoint: idle clickers) but if you can't even get started then that's no good. Being a little older, I find myself annoyed often at younger players who complain a game is "too hard", when I've been sailing along through games like that since the beginning of time, but I also have to recognize that, quite literally, the game has changed. The skills I have in a video game are different from the skills most games ask for anymore, which is part of why I stick with older ones or mobile games, though I have other good reasons for that as well.

However, I always thought there was this unspoken pact in the world that you never came right out and said you preferred the "easy" mode of a game, lest you should be reviled before your peers upon discovery of this shame. Is that not a thing anymore?
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby Windy » Fri Jun 02, 2017 2:11 pm

I usually go with hard difficulty most of the time unless it's ridiculous. If I just wanted the story I'd watch a walkthrough on the internet.
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Re: Is it better for games to be hard or easy?

Postby Marcuse » Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:07 pm

I think one problem I have with high difficulty games is that most games do difficulty badly. Instead of making the AI use tactics and behave in ways that make it hard for the player, they just slap a production/damage/health etc bonus on them and call it quits. My least favourite ones for this is strategy games, where the AI will magic impossible armies from nowhere just to make your life really difficult, with no purpose other than to frustrate the player. This sometimes happens to the point where units will be auto-spawned that couldn't legitimately have been produced by the ai player because it doesn't have the appropriate upgrade/building necessary.

So while I enjoy a challenge, I prefer ones that don't just exist to piss off the player. I found the survival mode for Fallout 4 to be engaging because it boosts everyone's damage, not just the enemies. This makes every fight a risk, but you're about as able to kill as the enemies are so it's not unfair, just riskier.

However, when I'm looking to relax, I often don't want to play something on a really hard difficulty. I'll usually pick the normal or average mode when I'm playing something to relax, because games are usually balanced best for that, and not worry too much about the challenge. That works best on games like action-adventure ones, and platformers because they tend to require less in the way of thinking in the first place, so I can just switch off my mind and enjoy them.
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