BloatedGuppy said:
thethird0611 said:
There really is no way to effectively incorporate an easy mode without ruining the game, not just for those who play on hard, but also for the new players who want an easy mode.
Just add an offline mode with save/load enabled. And puff up the main character's stats a little to allow for a larger margin of error in combat. Poof. Easy mode.
I totally understand the arguments against an "easy mode" in Dark Souls, and I even agree with a couple of them (although I'm ambivalent about the subject in the entire), but this persistent fantasy that adding an easy mode would be "impossible", or "would destroy the mechanics of the game" or "would drain developer resources" is just silly. It would be so, so, so easy to add an easy mode, if adding an easy mode was indeed something they wanted to do. Whether that mode would be particularly rewarding to people who are accustomed to playing on normal is utterly irrelevant, since they wouldn't use it.
Mind summing up the ENB video for me? I went to check it out but at 40 minutes it's way past my threshold.
See, but that fix is already almost fully implemented in the game. Like on the xbox, you can get into offline mode just by starting an xbox live party. Buffing up the players stats also wouldn't do to much either, because if you dont know how to fight the enemies, your going to die anyway. Also, you have plenty of souls that you can spend on your character/equipment before the first boss fight. Heck, after you get used to the mechanics, you dont even have to level up health or endurance. Im playing a mage right now who only has intelligence for spells and faith for miracles, and im doing just fine, and its my second play through.
Now the whole save/load thing, I just dont agree with, from the actual game design perspective. You take all consequence out of the persons actions with it, and it can also hurt game mechanics. Say an easy mode is running through Sen's Fortress, and comes across the small walkway with the mage shooting at them. All the easy mode person has to do is save, then can die as many times as they want. Death has -no- consequence, when in DaS, its meant to be a consequence for not doing something right. Also, if invasions were still enabled, they could get invaded, the invader kill them, and then just reload. Again, no consequence, and it also takes the fear away from invasions, when they are supposed to have fear and suspense.
Though maybe you have something to counter those to, so ill gladly listen
Anyway, yeah, ill sum up a few points from his vid. the 40 minutes is understandable, heh.
-The very first point is the 'Why do you care' argument. Well, we care because we love this game, we love how the difficulty is intertwined with the game in a spectacular fashion, and many of use dont want the game to be lessened by adding an easy mode. (When I say lessen, I mean the games impact, not cus 'NOOBS SUCK LOL')
-Making an easy mode would take away from the sense of acheivement of beating a boss, finding an awesome item in a difficult place, or just finding an awesome shortcut.
-On the box it says 'Prepare to Die'. When it says that, it doesnt mean 'Prepare to fail'. Dieing in DaS is not failure, giving up is. Removing that pressure to succeed would lessen the game, and lessens the achievement. With easy mode present, you -can- succeed. You -know- your going to succeed. It cheapens the game. Without an easy mode option, you have to find a way to succeed, to proceed, to overcome. This game provides the risk of failure, which barely any other games do. Also, if you want to put an easy way out in the game, you put it in -everyones- game.
-Even though you may difficulty sliders would make the game better, the dev's may be showing you how difficulty can be fun. A game not having difficulty sliders is a design choice, its something different from mainstream games. Its different like reading books from different authors, watch different movies with different writers, etc. This is a game that is not like mainstream games, it strays away from it, and it is there because of the dev's.
-Most of the elitism is not, especially if you think challenge runs are trying to be that. People who know DaS, want those breakthroughs, those achievements again, because the longer you play, the less fun it is because it gets extremely easy.
Now here comes the mechanics
-Making the game easier would make the game very, -very-, short. This game doesnt has 10 minute long cut scenes, and doesn't have long walks to get you 'immersed'. An experienced player could speed through half the game in half an hour.
-The only way to make the enemies easier would to change the stats of the enemies. This takes a crucial part of the game away, and it would make the game -way- to easy. The game is about discovery, learning how to work the mechanics of the game, learning the moves of the enemies, learning to take this slow, methodical way through the game. Lowering the stats of the enemies loses that whole aspect, and would make combat nothing, as well as shortening the game to -extreme- levels.
-Addressing the issue of 'Wouldn't playing a lesser version be better than not playing at all". No. If you take out the part of the game that makes it difficult, the trial and error process, you are left with a short game, minimal narrative, none of the major features of a mediocre RPG game. No one will drop 50 bucks on that and be satisfied.
-With how short it would be, you would totally miss the narrative of the game, because you would blow through it. The narrative does not lend itself to moving fast through it, and no one would stop and see the story.
-Adding an easy mode is targeting an audience that the game wasnt meant for, the players who dont have the patience to endure the trial and error process, or even look up a solution online, and you think they will appreciate the minimalist story? Nope. If you change the difficulty, you have to change how the narrative is presented, which is telling the dev's to change another MAJOR part of the game.
-Addressing the 'Selling to more people makes money is better'. Throwing more money at the games would make it better, especially if your asking the game dev's to change the whole game design to make it more accessible to the mainstream. Awesome example. "Dark souls is chocolate Ice cream. From Soft are chocolate lovers and make the -best- chocolate ice cream in the worlds. DaS fans are the chocolate ice cream, and freakin love it. Then others come along and say "You need to make this shit in vanilla". Nah, there are already dozens of places that you can buy some stank ass vanilla ice cream. "Nah, but they can make more cash by stopping thinking about chocolate ice cream and making vanilla ice cream, they can make a better chocolate ice cream". Nope."
-This game is -easy-, especially if you get in the online community of DaS. There are -thousands- of people who would love to help you.
There ya go. Sorry it took to long, I went to his video for the points. I really wanted to use something close to his words, because he explains it awesomely.
