Playing on easy does it make the game worse?

[The Knightly Gamer]

Hello to all,

This is my first post on the forum so please excuse me if this was covered somewhere else. I serched but did not find what i was looking for.

Now on to the topic. I know everyone plays games at the difficulty of there choosing. I have no problem with that. I choose to play games on the easy setting. I view a game as a story that unfolds as you play not as a challenge that needs to be beaten. My friend on the other hand says that all games must be played on hard and to play on any other setting is a waste. We have gotten into arguments over this. I believe that just because I deal less damage/take more damage from enemies does not make a game better. But I ask the forum for their opinion. Does playing on easy make a game worse?

Thank you for you time,
The Knightly Gamer

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Play whatever difficulty setting you get the most enjoyment from. That is, you know, sort of the whole fucking point of playing games.

 

[Emz]

I agree with what you're saying. If the game is something with a lot of story I will go for easy. I always do this with my JRPG's in particular. I will then later re-play the game on normal just because now I know what happens I do not mind a little extra challenge.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Always play on normal on my first playthrough. If I think I need a bit more of a challenge then I'll play the higher difficulties on my next run.

 

[Bobic]

I play mount and blade: warband with the damage to player set to its lowest value so I can run in like a badass and stab lot'sa people. Being careful is for pussies

So is playing in easy mode

Shut up you!

 

[GWarface]

I have begun playing on easy, just for the reason that now, only a few games can hold my attention long enough to get through it on normal/hard... So to have a chance to complete the game before i get bored by it, easy difficulty is a natural choice for me...

Guess im just getting old...

 

[StraightToHeck]

in my opinion: no

most of the time I play on easy, then sometimes when I get the feel for it I switch to a harder difficulty

I have no problem with a challenge from time to time but most of the time I just wanna get stuff done and preferably not waste all my stimpacks in the process

 

[Vhite]

Play whatever difficulty setting you get the most enjoyment from. That is, you know, sort of the whole fucking point of playing games.

/thread

Although I always prefer hardest possible or at least hardest that I can beat because I like challenge.

 

[BlastedTheWorm]

Generally, I just use normal. I don't want it to be too difficult, but then again, I don't want it to be too easy.

 

[qwertyzxy27]

i play on easy for few reasons the first i want to play a game to feel like a god among men (unless thats not what the game is about). i change difficulty for RP reasons and change it as the game moves on. in fallout and oblivion ill start it on high and make it lower as i become a "better" character. and finally im not a fan of the way difficulty is handled in games. if i had my way gunshots and sword slashes would always be one hit kills on enemies the only thing difficulty would change is the enemys effect on you (i.e. on highest difficulty one shot one kill for them too) and of course things like foot shots would kill people thats just stupid lol

 

[Kyogissun]

Hello to all,

This is my first post on the forum so please excuse me if this was covered somewhere else. I serched but did not find what i was looking for.

Now on to the topic. I know everyone plays games at the difficulty of there choosing. I have no problem with that. I choose to play games on the easy setting. I view a game as a story that unfolds as you play not as a challenge that needs to be beaten. My friend on the other hand says that all games must be played on hard and to play on any other setting is a waste. We have gotten into arguments over this. I believe that just because I deal less damage/take more damage from enemies does not make a game better. But I ask the forum for their opinion. Does playing on easy make a game worse?

Thank you for you time,
The Knightly Gamer

Your 'friend' is being a douchebag. He needs to grasp that people are allowed to play on WHATEVER difficulty they want and that in the end, there are only two things people gain out of playing harder difficulties:
-A higher challenge
and
-A reason to stroke your e-peen

And that's 'all' he's doing when he says 'Playing a game on anything besides hard is a waste'. He's taking his virtual dick like ego and waving it in your face.

 

[Sixcess]

If I'm playing an FPS and find I'm never running out of ammo for my most used weapon, or I rarely have to pick up med kits, extra ammo etc... then I'll kick it up a notch from medium to hard. Usually though I stick to medium. Unless the game is frustratingly difficult and I'm playing mostly for the story I'll never play on Easy, because it takes any challenge away and if there's no risk of defeat, however slim, then I'll lose interest quite quickly.

 

[Matt_LRR]

Hello to all,

This is my first post on the forum so please excuse me if this was covered somewhere else. I serched but did not find what i was looking for.

Now on to the topic. I know everyone plays games at the difficulty of there choosing. I have no problem with that. I choose to play games on the easy setting. I view a game as a story that unfolds as you play not as a challenge that needs to be beaten. My friend on the other hand says that all games must be played on hard and to play on any other setting is a waste. We have gotten into arguments over this. I believe that just because I deal less damage/take more damage from enemies does not make a game better. But I ask the forum for their opinion. Does playing on easy make a game worse?

Thank you for you time,
The Knightly Gamer

I think there's a reasonable case for easy mode making games worse, but it really only applies in certain cases.

Two spring immediately to mind: Call of duty (the older ones, at least), and Halo (whole series). And both for different reasons.

In the case of Call of Duty, (1,2 esp.) the fundamental appeal of the games was the frenetic intensity and immersiveness of the battles. These games were designed to be played in a way that made you feel most like you were actually in the war. The knowledge that the Russian Officers were not only ordered to cut you down if you turned around was intended to force you into the meat grinder - you were up against a hailstorm of bullets, and you needed to find a way to move forward - retreat was not an option. MG42's were intended to be terrifying. Engaging a tank should leave you frantically hanging on, and praying. a grenade was intended to force a frantic throwback or mean instant death.

Playing these games on easy breaks that immersion - if you're a walking supersoldier, these events lose their impact.

In the case of the Halo games - much of the intricacy of the gameplay is built around weapon matching mechaincs - you can only have two guns, so you need to be pairing them in ways that allow you to be most effective as you progress, and each gun has decided strengths and weaknesses. On easy, this gameplay mechanic is totally lost. You can walk through the game with the assault rifle and nothing else, with little trouble, and in so doing, you miss out on one of the fundamental gameplay elements that make the Halo games as engaging as they are.

In the end, it comes down to what you want to get out of a game - but I think that there's little question that *something* is lost on easier difficulties in many cases.

-m

 

[Mikodite]

This does depend on the gaem genre and how good it is. I know a friend of mine whose in software engineering says he plays games on the hard difficulty settings as the programmers put a lot of effort into making the AI smarter at the harder settings than the easier ones, to which I replied "But there are games that increase difficulty simply by giving monsters more health points or making your weapons weaker, not because the AI is smarter."

This is a personal thing, but I am one of those players who only plays a campaign of a game onces and never touches it again, so yeah.

 

[nohorsetown]

Just do whatever you're comfortable with. Your viewpoint is valid.

Still, you should beat these games on "hard" or "ultimate" or whatever, just to prove to your friend that you can. And then go right back to easy mode and tell him to shut the fuck up about it, forever. (Or you might find that you start to enjoy the challenge, and that it doesn't detract from the story or whatever, and you'll end up thanking your friend.)

 

[hottsaucekid]

I think normal is always the way to go. easy is just running through the game and it won't feel as much of an accomplishment when its over. hard is just frustrating and if you can't beat it you're missing out on the story

 

[chaos order]

i only play the game on "normal"(or any other variation of that) difficulty i just feel that its the best way to go. i mean easy is well easy and hard is uh hard.

 

[badgersprite]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. In a sense, playing on easy reduces the threat of encounters, making fights feel like less of a threat and less tense, which can make the game less engaging. In a game where the fights are inconsequential and the narrative or flow of the game is more important, then no.

For example, I don't think I ever set Oblivion on the hardest setting. I kept it on normal because that game was really about the open world and a feeling of freedom, escapism and fantasy, so getting bogged down in pointless fights didn't contribute anything but frustration. In Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, however, I always played on the hardest setting and never lowered it, because the entire world and wasteland is supposed to be hostile and threatening. Those game environments were built on a sense of crushing loneliness and utter brutality, where every day was a struggle to survive. So, yes, in that case playing on the hardest setting made the game better for me personally.