I ALWAYS play games on the 'easy' setting.....

[Coldie]

I'd like to add that it's not just Stealth games where you aren't supposed to get shot as generally in all games the aim is not to get shot. Flank, snipe, bombard with grenades, shoot them before they shoot you, dodge and move like crazy to avoid getting hit (too much).

Really it isn't a handicap to only be able to survive a couple shots to the body, it's an ADVANTAGE to survive any at all. Or similar grievous wounds.

Depends on the genre, really. Becoming dead after taking a couple bullets works in stealth games, where the combat ineptitude of the player is an incentive to actually use stealth. It works in the modern "realistic action" subgenre of FPSs, where it is one of the two genre-defining features (1. Realistic! 2. Brown!). Survival Horror thrives on it. It might work in some tactical games, like X-COM - Ufo Defense or Jagged Alliance. It works in many, many arcade games (I Wanna Be The Guy, obviously). It works because it's part of that genre. It's why you're playing this game in the first place - and it will not go away on the lower difficulty settings.

If applied to any other game, it's jarring. It turns a fun and relaxing game, one you can play for the story/setting/characters/puzzles/environments/humor/graphics/music/whatever, into something of a job. Or a game-long Quick Time Event. Tedious, repetitive, punishing (also, the punishment involves repetition, except more tedious). It's not a gratifying achievement to beat such a game on a high difficulty setting, it's being released from a surprisingly boring nightmare. Not all genres remain fun when an enemy can suddenly destroy you/your vessel/your party/your army with a couple cheap shots the moment you make a mistake. If a boss does it, then maybe you've missed something or it's a That One Boss. Ordinary mook does it? Fake Difficulty.

There are ways of making the game more challenging without killing the player or making him otherwise fail. Puzzles, for instance. Solving a good puzzle is always gratifying. Achievements can be used as an incentive for trying a more challenging playstyle. Painkiller is pretty good in this regard with the Black Tarot card requirements.

P.S. Please note that Towers of Hanoi and Quick Time Events are not, in fact, puzzles.

 

[DueAccident]

I went through that phase back when i was 10 up till about 14 but eventually i got tired of games that don't give you the real ending or end early if you don't play on at least normal mode so i stepped up my game and now it seems that their isn't force in the verce that can put me down.

I don't know when you got into gaming but games as a whole are alot easier now then they were when i was a kid. theres a lot more going on yes, but they just don't have the hard as ball feel of nintendo games.

Battletoads for the lose.
So freaking hard...


Anyway, I generally play through on somewhere between normal and hard. If the game has 3 difficulties, I play on 2-3/3. If there are 4, then 3/4, if 5 then 4/5. I guess I haven't even really thought of playing on easy.
I really like the challenge of beating the best a game has to offer me, and I find easy is literally no fun, it actually has a huge negative impact on a game for me when I can just plow through without dying.
I've completed most of MW on veteran, such as one shot, one kill, Mile High Club, etc. It was really though, with the ridiculous nade spam, but it meant I had to devise new strategies, and just get better. I just remember sitting down and working away at it until I beat each level.
I also loved beating Mass Effect 2 on Insanity, and getting all the achievements. It's the only game I have got them all for, and insanity was a nice challenge.

However, more and more, I find that whether I decide to beat a game on the hardest difficulty depends on if there is an achievement or at least SOMETHING to show that I did it.

 

[Vet2501]

I don't usually play on easy unless I get really stuck. Normally I'll play on normal for first playthrough then kick it up to hard for future plays.

 

[Broken Orange]

If the game is too easy, I get bored. If it is too hard, I get frustrated. I play it on the medium setting, and if I liked it enough to play it again, I'll step up the difficulty.

 

[DarkHourPrince]

Hello! I'm the opposite, I always play on the hard settings. I like the challenge, and the way it makes the game seem longer, more value for money.

Agreed. Then my fiance just shakes her head when she's levels ahead of me because she's an easy setting player.

 

[Kroker]

I tend to play games on their hardest difficulty settings. It's a desire to always face a challenge and a matter of pride amongst friends more than anything. If I still find the challenge of the game underwhelming I've been known to take measures to further increase the difficulty artificially.

 

[Faulty Turmoil]

I always start a new game on normal, and if it's too hard then I change it to easy.

 

[Super Toast]

The only game I play on easy is Dragon Age. Goddamn Archdemon mother%!*@#$

 

[Treblaine]

I'd like to add that it's not just Stealth games where you aren't supposed to get shot as generally in all games the aim is not to get shot. Flank, snipe, bombard with grenades, shoot them before they shoot you, dodge and move like crazy to avoid getting hit (too much).

Really it isn't a handicap to only be able to survive a couple shots to the body, it's an ADVANTAGE to survive any at all. Or similar grievous wounds.

Depends on the genre, really. Becoming dead after taking a couple bullets works in stealth games, where the combat ineptitude of the player is an incentive to actually use stealth. It works in the modern "realistic action" subgenre of FPSs, where it is one of the two genre-defining features (1. Realistic! 2. Brown!). Survival Horror thrives on it. It might work in some tactical games, like X-COM - Ufo Defense or Jagged Alliance. It works in many, many arcade games (I Wanna Be The Guy, obviously). It works because it's part of that genre. It's why you're playing this game in the first place - and it will not go away on the lower difficulty settings.

If applied to any other game, it's jarring. It turns a fun and relaxing game, one you can play for the story/setting/characters/puzzles/environments/humor/graphics/music/whatever, into something of a job. Or a game-long Quick Time Event. Tedious, repetitive, punishing (also, the punishment involves repetition, except more tedious). It's not a gratifying achievement to beat such a game on a high difficulty setting, it's being released from a surprisingly boring nightmare. Not all genres remain fun when an enemy can suddenly destroy you/your vessel/your party/your army with a couple cheap shots the moment you make a mistake. If a boss does it, then maybe you've missed something or it's a That One Boss. Ordinary mook does it? Fake Difficulty.

There are ways of making the game more challenging without killing the player or making him otherwise fail. Puzzles, for instance. Solving a good puzzle is always gratifying. Achievements can be used as an incentive for trying a more challenging playstyle. Painkiller is pretty good in this regard with the Black Tarot card requirements.

P.S. Please note that Towers of Hanoi and Quick Time Events are not, in fact, puzzles.

Dying isn't a big deal if there are plenty of save points (or even better, quicksave option if on PC), really it's just a minor setback. It's not a job if you enjoy shooting bad guys in the face which is all the more satisfying if you have to work a bit for it. On easy settings it just feels cruel shooting the dopey AI... especially when they retreat after killing a few only of them.

Then again, I do play quite a bit of online multiplayer where generally each user's weapons and HP mean each has the chance to kill the other in about a second. So with that in mind it becomes an intellectual challenge to see them before they see you when they expect, position yourself to attack by surprise and bring your weapons to bear accurately and quickly. But death is not a big deal, you re-spawn in 30 seconds to be back in the fight.

I should state, even on COD Veteran you can often survive getting hit a bit... you do have SOME leeway and can make a few minor mistakes but ONLY if you correct for them quickly by getting into cover, get out of range or quickly killing them before they can take a second shot to finish you off. It's just on a high enough difficulty to match your skill level the enemies actually are a threat rather than mere obstructions.

I wouldn't call deadly mooks "fake difficulty"

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FakeDifficulty

It's just difficult. A challenge. Often it just requires the right approach, the right strategy and technique.

 

[Dedtoo]

I usually play through games on easy the first time.
Then i
A)play it on normal.
B)play it again, but doing stuff differently, if possible.
C)Play again on easy.
I usually play my games many times.

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

I play on normal, and if I like it I'll replay on hard.

 

[Dango]

I did that up until a few years ago, but now I usually play games on the hardest or second hardest difficulty.

 

[Jark212]

I always play on easy, makes me feel baddass when mowing through hordes of my enemies...

 

[Lionsfan]

I start off on Normal to hard depending on the game. Once I beat the game most of the time I'll set everything to easy so I can just dick around and have fun. Like in Oblivion I ran around naked killing everything with Wizards Fury, and my guy was a Level 21, once you get past a certain level on normal in Oblivion the game becomes almost unbeatable. But for a game I really like, I'll swap over to the hardest setting to give myself a challenge (and get new achievements)

 

[Valkyrie101]

I agree with the OP's philosophy of gaining enjoyment through watching the game progress, but I prefer to play on normal. It's not too hard, but it provides some challenge, and I feel like a noob playing on easy. In later playthroughs, I often switch up the difficulty.

 

[Teshi]

I mostly play RPGs and strategy games, and I always play the RPGs on easy unless easy is ABSURDLY easy. I'm playing for the story, not to see how good I am at clicking on stuff. Strategy games, if I'm playing against the computer I'll usually play on a middle setting - easy is no challenge, but I don't really have the calculating chess master sort of mind to do well against a computer on the higher settings.

 

[IamQ]

I always start on normal. I don't enjoy challenges that much.

 

[Iwata]

I usualy start the games on the hard setting. I enjoy the challenge.

 

[sketch_zeppelin]

I went through that phase back when i was 10 up till about 14 but eventually i got tired of games that don't give you the real ending or end early if you don't play on at least normal mode so i stepped up my game and now it seems that their isn't force in the verce that can put me down.

I don't know when you got into gaming but games as a whole are alot easier now then they were when i was a kid. theres a lot more going on yes, but they just don't have the hard as ball feel of nintendo games.

Battletoads for the lose.
So freaking hard...


Anyway, I generally play through on somewhere between normal and hard. If the game has 3 difficulties, I play on 2-3/3. If there are 4, then 3/4, if 5 then 4/5. I guess I haven't even really thought of playing on easy.
I really like the challenge of beating the best a game has to offer me, and I find easy is literally no fun, it actually has a huge negative impact on a game for me when I can just plow through without dying.
I've completed most of MW on veteran, such as one shot, one kill, Mile High Club, etc. It was really though, with the ridiculous nade spam, but it meant I had to devise new strategies, and just get better. I just remember sitting down and working away at it until I beat each level.
I also loved beating Mass Effect 2 on Insanity, and getting all the achievements. It's the only game I have got them all for, and insanity was a nice challenge.

However, more and more, I find that whether I decide to beat a game on the hardest difficulty depends on if there is an achievement or at least SOMETHING to show that I did it.

Achivments are nice but i'm mostly motivated by ture endings or unlockables.

 

[Carnagath]

If the higher difficulty changes critical gameplay mechanics and makes the game deeper and more exciting, then I play on hard (i.e. Dragon Age). If it just adds hit points to the enemies and the game is the same but more tedious, then I play on easy or normal (i.e. Fallout 3). If a game forces a hard mode on me without an option to change it, I'll usually quit unless the game seriously kicks ass (i.e. Demon's Souls).