AnimeSuki Forums

Cub-Sama · 2009-12-22, 15:24

Am I the only one that when I get a new game when I play it for the first time I pick the highest possible difficulty and then complete it after a few days and realize that is not hard in the least. Not like the old games where completing the games means sacrificing your social life to the gaming gods where upon they will bestow upon you strategy guides or VERY vague hints to solve they're ridiculously hard puzzles despite the game being for 7+

I mean the difficulty levels seem to be decreasing with every next gen consoles to the point completing a game is no longer a challenge to prove your worth because everyone else did it the day it came out, under the influence of alcohol and or recreational drugs with one hand whilst paying they're bills. (Over exaggeration I know)

I miss games where I was required to think a little bit instead of the only challenge being get from Point A to Point B and surviving the 10000 hordes of monsters we will throw at you to make up for the lack of general thought.

But I hate RTS games which are some of the only games which require brain power so I've settled for shooters where blowing peoples heads off is almost as satisfying as completing a complicated puzzle by yourself on game.

Any thoughts, comments or whatever you have to say on game difficulty etc....

DragoonKain3 · 2009-12-22, 15:56

I only really play RPGs, but there, I always pick the hardest difficulty every time. I'm always looking for a challenge, in order so that there would be a a use to min/maxing stats and devising sound strategies to defeat your foes. Powergaming is only really fun when there's a big possibility that you can fail; no sense doing it for easier games because it will just turn the game from cakewalk to overkill.

Metaler · 2009-12-22, 17:08

I usually start in normal difficulties. I refuse to choose easy difficulties. ._.'
Pretty much the only games I've played through on the highest difficulty are some of the mods for Doom, although I play on Ultra-violence and the highest difficulty level is Nightmare (some mods such as Deus Vult are almost impossible to complete on this difficulty).

Kyero Fox · 2009-12-22, 17:55

depends if i buy it or not, when I rent a game I play it on Normal or easy, if I buy it then I play on hard.

games like Oblivion and fallout 3 I play on max difficulty.

Cub-Sama · 2009-12-22, 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyero Fox

depends if i buy it or not, when I rent a game I play it on Normal or easy, if I buy it then I play on hard.

games like Oblivion and fallout 3 I play on max difficulty.

Fallout 3 Im doing on max difficulty and it doesnt seem that hard, only bad part is the extremely strong Yao Guai (or whatever it is called) killing me easily and the lack of ammo and caps.

I tried Ninja Gaiden 2 out, what some people call the hardest game on Xbox 360 on the highest possible difficulty first time and got through like 4 chapters in a few days but now I'm stuck on a part with near no health where you have to kill dragons, a boss and a whole horde and if you die you start from the dragons again with the near no health. And there is no where to get health

Benoit · 2009-12-22, 19:14

I always pick Normal difficulty at first, and if I replay it then I pick Hard.

But I've got a couple friends who always pick the hardest difficulty because games have gotten too easy for them, and they want a challenge.

By the way, Normal is the new Easy. Most people are too smug to pick Easy, so they pick Normal. And then the problem was that a lot of them started to complain that the game was too hard. Like I said, they're too smug to pick Easy, so they keep complaining. So nowadays many developers design Normal as Easy to appease that crowd. Sad, really.

Kaioshin Sama · 2009-12-22, 19:19

I usually end up picking whatever is the second highest difficulty in a game, but depending on the game it can obviously vary. For example Kingdom Hearts II had me playing proud mode whereas with Gihren's Greed I prefer to pick the easy setting for the extra cash it provides.

Tiberium Wolf · 2009-12-22, 19:42

It depends if the game allows you change difficulty whenever you want without actually restarting the game from 0. It's a pain in the ass you start from 0 again if you get stuck somewhere in hardest difficulty.

Cub-Sama · 2009-12-22, 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiberium Wolf

It depends if the game allows you change difficulty whenever you want without actually restarting the game from 0. It's a pain in the ass you start from 0 again if you get stuck somewhere in hardest difficulty.

This, stuck on Ninja Gaiden, no other save points and so my only option is to start again on the hardest difficulty

Sides · 2009-12-22, 19:48

God Hand was great, it even mocks people when they picked easy.
Normally i don't bother going through the option to select hard or v.hard. If a game lets me to pick a difficulty just before starting the game, like after pushing start button, i do pick hard. But if i have to go through menus, i don't bother, becasue i want to play the new game.

Renya · 2009-12-22, 19:50

Most rts games i always choose normal to start off with to get used to the controls. Kinda hard to jump into the game in expert/hard without getting use to the macro buttons.

Fps i usually start with the hardest, if its too hard then i go 1 step down until i feel i can beat it. After i go back to expert and have a crack at beating it.

RPG games i usually go with expert, from what i learnt expert always holds some extra routes, scenes, items, etc.

Daniel E. · 2009-12-22, 21:15

I always start from normal difficulty and then move on to harder settings.

If there's something to unlock, I could be tempted to pick easy mode as well for completions sake.

Vexx · 2009-12-22, 21:25

Two possibilities for this phenomenom:
1) You're getting better in a meta-sense at gameplaying, able to spot patterns, yada yada.
2) They're dumbing down the games each cycle of generation because the whiners are winning. We see this is MMO development all the time. Anyone who has been playing an MMO more than 5-8 years remembers when it was actually *dangerous* to leave your hometown and take on those rats in the forest. When exp loss and item loss was to be expected

There used to be more puzzle solving -- I recall a few RPGs from the 90s that required some actual thinking to solve (was delighted to see a few in the recent DDO MMO and man was there whining from players about it - I loved it).

The reality is some mix of the two....

There's a little RPG Steam sells called Torchlight -- one of the things I like it about it is that you can set it to PermaDeath. You die once... your character is dead and you start over. You can also tune it from Bunnies and Lolipops to Nightmare

Kudryavka · 2009-12-23, 01:20

I think that a reason behind this "dumbing down" of games is because nowadays the game makers are trying to reach out past the hardcores and serious gamers to the casuals and those who've been scared of video games for the same things the OP pointed out made old games fun. Nintendo's the prime example of this right now; in my opinion, there're many instances where they ignore what dedicated gamers want to give the newbies (<-lack o/better word here) what they want.

As for me, I choose the Normal difficulty. I usually try Expert after getting a feel for the game in Normal.

Zekori · 2009-12-23, 01:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vexx

Two possibilities for this phenomenom:
1) You're getting better in a meta-sense at gameplaying, able to spot patterns, yada yada.
2) They're dumbing down the games each cycle of generation because the whiners are winning. We see this is MMO development all the time. Anyone who has been playing an MMO more than 5-8 years remembers when it was actually *dangerous* to leave your hometown and take on those rats in the forest. When exp loss and item loss was to be expected

There used to be more puzzle solving -- I recall a few RPGs from the 90s that required some actual thinking to solve (was delighted to see a few in the recent DDO MMO and man was there whining from players about it - I loved it).

This pretty much, to be fair gotta blame blizzard and its afflictions that made the whole nerf-bat re-balancing deal quite trendy in the MMO-Scene; they did that crap way back in WC3/SC iirc. Other older MMO games (and some online games) were pretty much set in stone, unless it was a really major fubar game mechanic (like the AWP Shotgun of some odd version of Counter-Strike before 1.2 iirc, as an example). There's a whole psychological factor to why the constant nerfs and balances are effective for a game, but enough of that.

Getting back On-Topic... As for personal preference, I usually always start on normal or the second to last hardest difficulty depending on the genre of the game (and if the hardest difficulty is already unlocked or not). If an RPG/Action-RPG gives me difficulty options, I most certainly just play normal just to enjoy the game and getting accustomed to it; and usually save the the hardest difficulty for 100% (or achievements recently). Usually if a game can't keep me interested (storywise, characterwise, gameplay wise) on normal and it's a hassle to complete it the first time around then I usually ignore achievements, 100% Completion, and the hard mode.

Cub-Sama · 2009-12-23, 06:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Komari

I think that a reason behind this "dumbing down" of games is because nowadays the game makers are trying to reach out past the hardcores and serious gamers to the casuals and those who've been scared of video games for the same things the OP pointed out made old games fun. Nintendo's the prime example of this right now; in my opinion, there're many instances where they ignore what dedicated gamers want to give the newbies (<-lack o/better word here) what they want.

This, but it is unfair to ignore the existing demographic just to reach out to new ones, if it wasnt for us the company wouldn't be as successful as it was, if they made games for both demographics fine but what I have noticed is there is a whole flux of party games which is fine I like party games as well just not as much as I like going through the dungeon fighting the miniboss, boss and whatever they throw at me, solving the puzzle and saving the princess (as you can see I am talking about Zelda).

I mean I know I may just be getting used to the patterns and find the games easier but that cant be it because I have played OoT again almost every year and I still takes me quite some time to beat it.

I was born during the N64 era but Banjo-Kazooie was hard to complete with all the puzzles and I loved that game, I had to come back 3 years later as an older child to complete that game but I still didnt mind, same with Jet Force Gemini, beating Mizar was some of the hardest shit you can ever go through in a shooter even till this day. It literally took more than an hour to bring this boss down and I loved every second of frustration I got from coming close to beating him and dying myself.

Also I hate games where you unlock hard mode but hard mode doesnt bring anything else to the table other than harder gameplay, Im not bothered to sit through the exact same story played out in the exact same way for some achievement.

Keroko · 2009-12-23, 07:09

Well, I'm more of an RPG player, but even there I prefer the puzzles and story over the battles. I just love sitting down in front of a locked door, with the only way to open it a complicated puzzle next to it. Sitting down and trying to solve it, failing, trying again, failing again until the door opens and I can walk to the next room with a huge grin.

Unfortunately, even those puzzles have suffered from severe dumbing down lately.

In terms of battles, I rarely pick the hard option, though I don't see why they should make that easier... doesn't that defy the point of even having a 'hard' option? If players want to beat the game without much trouble, that's what the easy option is for, right? Why dumb down the hard option.

Cub-Sama · 2009-12-23, 07:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keroko

Well, I'm more of an RPG player, but even there I prefer the puzzles and story over the battles. I just love sitting down in front of a locked door, with the only way to open it a complicated puzzle next to it. Sitting down and trying to solve it, failing, trying again, failing again until the door opens and I can walk to the next room with a huge grin.

I have considered suicide to be much more merciful when trying to figure out puzzles on some games but I love it anyway, the trivia thing on Banjo Kazooie was lethal

2H-Dragon · 2009-12-23, 07:58

For me depends on the game. Rpg's I tend to play on normal, since I play for story, characters, etc. and easy tends to be just a joke. For the rest Hard(one above normal), the first time.

SaintessHeart · 2009-12-23, 10:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vexx

2) They're dumbing down the games each cycle of generation because the whiners are winning. We see this is MMO development all the time. Anyone who has been playing an MMO more than 5-8 years remembers when it was actually *dangerous* to leave your hometown and take on those rats in the forest. When exp loss and item loss was to be expected

There used to be more puzzle solving -- I recall a few RPGs from the 90s that required some actual thinking to solve (was delighted to see a few in the recent DDO MMO and man was there whining from players about it - I loved it).

I loved the puzzle solving elements of games, especially those like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Remember RE1 in which you have to replace the shotgun on the painting with the broken shotgun? There is nothing more irritating than having to replay the whole game just for THAT.

Of course, the next most annoying puzzles will be in RE3. The first one being the clock tower : in which you have to place the ball on the trays to sound the clock tower. There are a total of 3! x 2! x 1! combinations, so much for having fun. And the next being the vaccine synthesis in the hospital afterwards at the basement. To add to the agony, you have to face 2 hunters in the room, and 2 more once you come out. These things take out a chunk of health with each strike, so 2-4 and you are dead.

Of course, I am glad they phased out linear puzzles like those in King Quest and Monkey Island. They sucked.

View Poll Results: Do you pick the highest possible difficulty on first play through
Yeah all the time	4	13.79%
Sometimes unless I want to skip through it quick	12	41.38%
Never	13	44.83%
Voters: 29. You may not vote on this poll

2009-12-22, 15:24	Link #1
Cub-Sama Member of DOLLARS Artist Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: In the magical land of Moonswell pass Age: 28	Hardest Difficulty...Or is it? Am I the only one that when I get a new game when I play it for the first time I pick the highest possible difficulty and then complete it after a few days and realize that is not hard in the least. Not like the old games where completing the games means sacrificing your social life to the gaming gods where upon they will bestow upon you strategy guides or VERY vague hints to solve they're ridiculously hard puzzles despite the game being for 7+ I mean the difficulty levels seem to be decreasing with every next gen consoles to the point completing a game is no longer a challenge to prove your worth because everyone else did it the day it came out, under the influence of alcohol and or recreational drugs with one hand whilst paying they're bills. (Over exaggeration I know) I miss games where I was required to think a little bit instead of the only challenge being get from Point A to Point B and surviving the 10000 hordes of monsters we will throw at you to make up for the lack of general thought. But I hate RTS games which are some of the only games which require brain power so I've settled for shooters where blowing peoples heads off is almost as satisfying as completing a complicated puzzle by yourself on game. Any thoughts, comments or whatever you have to say on game difficulty etc.... __________________ We are DOLLARS, credit for sig goes to CMHerrera-chan

2009-12-22, 15:56	Link #2
DragoonKain3 Osana-Najimi Shipper Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Mt. Ordeals	I only really play RPGs, but there, I always pick the hardest difficulty every time. I'm always looking for a challenge, in order so that there would be a a use to min/maxing stats and devising sound strategies to defeat your foes. Powergaming is only really fun when there's a big possibility that you can fail; no sense doing it for easier games because it will just turn the game from cakewalk to overkill. __________________ Yes its YOU childhood friend - source of BERZERKER RAGE since forever Childhood Friend couple STATISTICS(spoilers abound though)

2009-12-22, 17:55	Link #4
Kyero Fox Tastes Cloudy Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Snake Way Age: 35	depends if i buy it or not, when I rent a game I play it on Normal or easy, if I buy it then I play on hard. games like Oblivion and fallout 3 I play on max difficulty. __________________

2009-12-22, 19:14	Link #6
Benoit Bishoujo Game Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Belgium Age: 38	I always pick Normal difficulty at first, and if I replay it then I pick Hard. But I've got a couple friends who always pick the hardest difficulty because games have gotten too easy for them, and they want a challenge. By the way, Normal is the new Easy. Most people are too smug to pick Easy, so they pick Normal. And then the problem was that a lot of them started to complain that the game was too hard. Like I said, they're too smug to pick Easy, so they keep complaining. So nowadays many developers design Normal as Easy to appease that crowd. Sad, really. __________________ SeaMonkey - surfing the net has never been so suite

2009-12-22, 17:08	Link #3
Metaler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Brazil - São Paulo Age: 31	I usually start in normal difficulties. I refuse to choose easy difficulties. ._.' Pretty much the only games I've played through on the highest difficulty are some of the mods for Doom, although I play on Ultra-violence and the highest difficulty level is Nightmare (some mods such as Deus Vult are almost impossible to complete on this difficulty).

2009-12-22, 19:19	Link #7
Kaioshin Sama Banned Join Date: May 2004 Location: Neither Here nor There Age: 39	I usually end up picking whatever is the second highest difficulty in a game, but depending on the game it can obviously vary. For example Kingdom Hearts II had me playing proud mode whereas with Gihren's Greed I prefer to pick the easy setting for the extra cash it provides.

2009-12-22, 19:42	Link #8
Tiberium Wolf Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Age: 44	It depends if the game allows you change difficulty whenever you want without actually restarting the game from 0. It's a pain in the ass you start from 0 again if you get stuck somewhere in hardest difficulty. __________________

2009-12-22, 19:48	Link #10
Sides Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Edinburgh Age: 42	God Hand was great, it even mocks people when they picked easy. Normally i don't bother going through the option to select hard or v.hard. If a game lets me to pick a difficulty just before starting the game, like after pushing start button, i do pick hard. But if i have to go through menus, i don't bother, becasue i want to play the new game.

2009-12-22, 19:50	Link #11
Renya Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Age: 34	Most rts games i always choose normal to start off with to get used to the controls. Kinda hard to jump into the game in expert/hard without getting use to the macro buttons. Fps i usually start with the hardest, if its too hard then i go 1 step down until i feel i can beat it. After i go back to expert and have a crack at beating it. RPG games i usually go with expert, from what i learnt expert always holds some extra routes, scenes, items, etc.

2009-12-22, 21:15	Link #12
Daniel E. AniMexican! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Monterrey N.L. Mexico	I always start from normal difficulty and then move on to harder settings. If there's something to unlock, I could be tempted to pick easy mode as well for completions sake. __________________

2009-12-22, 21:25	Link #13
Vexx Obey the Darkly Cute ... Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ... Age: 66	Two possibilities for this phenomenom: 1) You're getting better in a meta-sense at gameplaying, able to spot patterns, yada yada. 2) They're dumbing down the games each cycle of generation because the whiners are winning. We see this is MMO development all the time. Anyone who has been playing an MMO more than 5-8 years remembers when it was actually dangerous to leave your hometown and take on those rats in the forest. When exp loss and item loss was to be expected There used to be more puzzle solving -- I recall a few RPGs from the 90s that required some actual thinking to solve (was delighted to see a few in the recent DDO MMO and man was there whining from players about it - I loved it). The reality is some mix of the two.... There's a little RPG Steam sells called Torchlight -- one of the things I like it about it is that you can set it to PermaDeath. You die once... your character is dead and you start over. You can also tune it from Bunnies and Lolipops to Nightmare __________________ "It Really IS Rocket Science", Novel series rough drafts; vol. 1 thru vol. 3 complete Volume 4 in work, Visit the thread for short stories!

2009-12-23, 01:20	Link #14
Kudryavka Senior Member Join Date: May 2009	I think that a reason behind this "dumbing down" of games is because nowadays the game makers are trying to reach out past the hardcores and serious gamers to the casuals and those who've been scared of video games for the same things the OP pointed out made old games fun. Nintendo's the prime example of this right now; in my opinion, there're many instances where they ignore what dedicated gamers want to give the newbies (<-lack o/better word here) what they want. As for me, I choose the Normal difficulty. I usually try Expert after getting a feel for the game in Normal.

2009-12-23, 07:09	Link #17
Keroko Adeptus Animus Author Join Date: Jan 2007 Age: 36	Well, I'm more of an RPG player, but even there I prefer the puzzles and story over the battles. I just love sitting down in front of a locked door, with the only way to open it a complicated puzzle next to it. Sitting down and trying to solve it, failing, trying again, failing again until the door opens and I can walk to the next room with a huge grin. Unfortunately, even those puzzles have suffered from severe dumbing down lately. In terms of battles, I rarely pick the hard option, though I don't see why they should make that easier... doesn't that defy the point of even having a 'hard' option? If players want to beat the game without much trouble, that's what the easy option is for, right? Why dumb down the hard option.

2009-12-23, 07:58	Link #19
2H-Dragon Silent Warrior Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Netherlands Age: 38	For me depends on the game. Rpg's I tend to play on normal, since I play for story, characters, etc. and easy tends to be just a joke. For the rest Hard(one above normal), the first time.