Poll: Dark Souls: Time to Put Up or Shut Up.

[Filiecs]

Here's a good test for anyone in this thread who is adamantly against the idea of an "easy mode" but swears up and down that they are not elitist.

Would you support an "easy mode" for Dark Souls if you were guaranteed that normal "hard mode" would not be affected in any way? The same experience you had would be 100% intact, only now there would be tiers of difficulty, offering easier versions of the same experience. Lowly casual gamers would be able to play the game, and put their hands all over the same content you did. Fight the same foes, get the same loot, see the same places, celebrate the same accomplishments...only easier. Would that bother you?

If the answer is "No, of course not", you are not elitist. At least not in this circumstance. You're probably just worried that too much tampering with difficulty levels will compromise the existing game.

If the answer is "Strangely, yes", congratulations, you are a big fat elitist. That sense of defensiveness you feel when someone calls you out on it is probably latent shame.

May the first person to respond to this post with "Yes but implementing an easy mode without damaging the game is impossible because of (bullshit reasons)" be buggered by clowns.

In order for there to be an easy mode like you described, the game would have to be radically redesigned so that the same experiences from normal mode would be replicated to the easy mode. Otherwise, just straight out making you harder to kill and making the monsters easier to kill would actually drastically and negatively change the way that a player experiences Dark Souls. Many people have already stated the reasons as to why this is true.

Most people against an easy mode in DS are perfectly fine with difficulty modes in other game. This is because the core experience of those games does NOT revolve around the difficulty. With Dark Souls, challenge IS the core part of the experience and changing it would affect many other parts of the game. Dark souls with simple difficulty modifiers at the start screen would not be Dark Souls any more because it would not deliver the same Dark Souls experience.

For most people, it has nothing to do with elitism.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

In order for there to be an easy mode like you described, the game would have to be radically redesigned...

No, it wouldn't.

May the first person to respond to this post with "Yes but implementing an easy mode without damaging the game is impossible because of (bullshit reasons)" be buggered by clowns.

Beware of clowns.

With Dark Souls, challenge IS the core part of the experience and changing it would affect many other parts of the game.

If I have to say "difficulty is relative" one more time I'm going to stab myself in the face. I don't want to stab myself in the face. Therefore it's going to be left to you guys to figure out that fucking difficulty is fucking relative all on your own. It shouldn't take long. Go try out for the NBA or something. That should drive the point home pretty quick.

For most people, it has nothing to do with elitism.

A great many of the comments in these threads suggests otherwise.

Oh, and there's also the bit where people don't just jump to the bacon option, but out of some odd perception of injustice and lack of inclusiveness for the masses go for the YES vote, spicing things up with plenty of hatred, expressing how much they think little or downright despise people that like the game as is, calling them names and suggesting there is something wrong with their attitudes or brains. I think that's one of my main gripes with the more vocal proponents of 'easy mode'.

Chicken and the egg. Put down the myside bias for 5 minutes and go look at some of what the "fans" have had to say. Moochers, lazy, unable to "grasp" the mechanics, greedy, entitled, wanting to "bend the game to their will", stupid, "green eyed monsters"...I could go on and on and on.

You know how that kind of behavior gets characterized?

It gets characterized as elitist.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

EDIT: It just came to me that this discussion brought up by ignorant journalists is going to lose any value whatsoever once Namco start their marketing campaign:"Prepare...for the hardest game this decade!" since subtlety will be mostly thrown out the window,because the brand has too much popularity now,and subtlety doesn't do well for hype marketing according to the common marketing businessman.

"Prepare...for the hardest game this decade!"[footnote]Now also featuring an easy mode![/footnote]

You know, you described yourself as 'just an outside viewer' - and yet you brought quite a lot of common sense and logic to the round table of this one square forum thread.

Yes, I am very much looking forward to Dark Souls 2, even though I don't even like the title. I just want more of what Demon's Souls and Dark Souls gave me - true gaming bliss. Great visuals. Scary stuff. Awesome creature design. A self-service lore that I could dig into at my own leisure. The sunset in Anor Londo. The white sands of Ash Lake. Just give me more of that and not break the game or the lore and see me giddy giddy happy one more time. Doesn't seem to be rocket science to me. It worked for two or three Resident Evil games. It worked for two or three Silent Hill games. Why should it not work for D* Souls?

 

[Vegosiux]

Don't get me wrong, I really try to use truckloads of logic to bury my own emotions under. But, alas, so far, logic seems to be rare in this thread, and thoughts are imperfect, unfinished, not worked out and more of a, let's say, trigger-response fashion, mostly just rallying against the perceived 'elitism' of individuals that do, actually, enjoy the game as is.

Actually, no, "enjoying the game as is" isn't elitist. "Insisting that this is the only way anyone should ever enjoy the game", that's elitist.

Nobody's dissing you for enjoying the game the way it is. Nobody says you shouldn't enjoy the game the way it is. People just take issue with the "This is the one and only way to enjoy the game, and if you don't agree, you're WROOOOONG" attitude.

 

[Filiecs]

In order for there to be an easy mode like you described, the game would have to be radically redesigned...

No, it wouldn't.

May the first person to respond to this post with "Yes but implementing an easy mode without damaging the game is impossible because of (bullshit reasons)" be buggered by clowns.

Beware of clowns.

With Dark Souls, challenge IS the core part of the experience and changing it would affect many other parts of the game.

If I have to say "difficulty is relative" one more time I'm going to stab myself in the face. I don't want to stab myself in the face. Therefore it's going to be left to you guys to figure out that fucking difficulty is fucking relative all on your own. It shouldn't take long. Go try out for the NBA or something. That should drive the point home pretty quick.

For most people, it has nothing to do with elitism.

You keep saying "No it wouldn't" but fail to even provide reasons as to why it wouldn't. Furthermore, you seem to flat out ignore our reasons.

Also, to address "difficulty is relative" I say "yes it is, to a point."
What is that point?
I believe the point that decides when game is objectively difficult is when a player who knows everything about the game can still fail if he fails to pay attention or takes an unnecessary risk.
I believe in this definition because attention is always something someone has the choice give a game at all times, but is hard to actually do. Just like taking unnecessary risks: It's easy for someone who knows everything about the game to identify them, but hard not to take them.

Under this definition dark souls would be considered mildly difficult.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

You keep saying "No it wouldn't" but fail to even provide reasons as to why it wouldn't. Furthermore, you seem to flat out ignore our reasons.

I have on multiple occasions explained how easy it would be to jack the stats of the main character, or simply add save functionality to an offline mode in order to create an easier, more user friendly and accessible experience. It routinely gets hand waved as "Well then it wouldn't even be Dark Souls any more!" or "I wouldn't want to play that, therefore it does not qualify". And then, 3 posts later, someone returns to "It would be impossible to add an easy mode without ravaging the mechanics". You guys have created a false dilemma where any easier mode is impossible in an attempt to justify your FEAR that adding an easy mode will compromise the normal mode. And that's all it is. Speculative fear. I'd be a lot more sympathetic towards it if it was presented as such, instead of these bullshit doomsday scenarios where tweaking a number for an easy mode causes the hard mode to collapse.

Under this definition dark souls would be considered mildly difficult.

We can ponce and peen all day long about whether or not Dark Souls is "truly difficult". I don't think I'm necessarily in a good position to judge. I've been playing CRPGs since Ultima II was new on shelves. It's like a veteran doctor describing the ease of a particular surgery. If I'm attempting to be objective, I can most certainly detail many ways in which DS is a "difficult" game. Opacity of information is a huge and persistent problem. The controls are fussy. The margin for error is extremely low. The level designers delight in creating situations where first-time-through failure is almost guaranteed, and it might take many repetitions to figure out what is going on...repetitions that ensure plenty of backtracking through respawning foes...an activity that swiftly becomes tedious and punitive. There are a few reflex tests, mostly in the form of timing challenges, which would daunt aging gamers, people with illnesses, or just people with shitty reaction times.

Do I think it's the most devastatingly hard game ever? Of course not. Do I think it's way too hard/tedious for a great many people? I sure do. Do those people NEED to play the game? Of course not! Is it alright for those people to say "We sure would like an easier version of this game, since we're curious about it, but we find it too hard/tedious as it is"? Of course it is.

I straddle the fence on this issue, because I'm one of the people who would tell you that if Dark Souls isn't making you feel scared and lonely, you're not getting the best of Dark Souls. You're getting a watered down experience. But it's not FOR me to decide what the appropriate level of difficulty is for the rest of the world. I've seen enough gamers play enough games, on all different difficulty levels, to know that it's completely relative. I've had people come and say XCOM destroyed them on Normal, when I found Normal to be comically easy to the point of being deeply insulting. Does that mean Normal needs to be removed, so those people are forced to play on Classic or Impossible to get the REAL XCOM I deem worthwhile? What if I demanded that it be so, and claimed that if it wasn't made so, I would feel "alienated", and wouldn't buy future XCOMs, and went on long tirades about unified experiences and how all games don't need to be made for all people. What would I sound like, if I did that?

 

[Vegosiux]

I believe the point that decides when game is objectively difficult is when a player who knows everything about the game can still fail if he fails to pay attention or takes an unnecessary risk.

But there is no such game then, at all. "Perfect play" assumes you don't fail to pay attention, and you do not take unnecessary risks, and you do know everything you need to know to deal with the situation, and always make the decision that advances your long-term goal. Or in other words, in chess, assuming perfect play, white always wins.

I would reword that if I were you, because I think you know what you're trying to say, it's just a bit awkward; I suppose what you mean is that a game can be said to be "objectively" the more difficult the closer to "perfect play" you have to get in order to beat it. Of course, a game that cannot be beaten even with perfect play is unbeatable by definition.

I believe in this definition because attention is always something someone has the choice give a game at all times, but is hard to actually do. Just like taking unnecessary risks: It's easy for someone who knows everything about the game to identify them, but hard not to take them.

If they are "unnecessary", and the person knows they are unnecessary; assuming perfect play, a person will simply not take such risks.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

So the development of said game wont change at all to incorporate said cheese mode the game will be exactly the same? You mean it wont get dumbed down so much that all those hard to understand mechanics wont get removed? Hey most of these "gamers" can't even work out how to use those stats lets make it easy for them and just give them no choice in how their stats develop. They get 200 souls for sl2 and we boost up their vitality and endurance and now that part of the game is forever gone. Wow that's not changed hard mode at all has it nope...That's not what happened to tes look at resident evil it's got way more fans now and re6 was amazing right? silent hill 3 the best ever right!?.....Yep keep on piling the gruel all over my steak it's still steak right just has a horrible stench and lingering putrid taste slavered all over it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

The world is full of games with varying difficulty levels. Many of them are excellent. Because you are afraid something will happen does not make it fait d'accompli that it will.

 

[Filiecs]

You keep saying "No it wouldn't" but fail to even provide reasons as to why it wouldn't. Furthermore, you seem to flat out ignore our reasons.

I have on multiple occasions explained how easy it would be to jack the stats of the main character, or simply add save functionality to an offline mode in order to create an easier, more user friendly and accessible experience. It routinely gets hand waved as "Well then it wouldn't even be Dark Souls any more!" or "I wouldn't want to play that, therefore it does not qualify". And then, 3 posts later, someone returns to "It would be impossible to add an easy mode without ravaging the mechanics". You guys have created a false dilemma where any easier mode is impossible in an attempt to justify your FEAR that adding an easy mode will compromise the normal mode. And that's all it is. Speculative fear. I'd be a lot more sympathetic towards it if it was presented as such, instead of these bullshit doomsday scenarios where tweaking a number for an easy mode causes the hard mode to collapse.

Under this definition dark souls would be considered mildly difficult.

We can ponce and peen all day long about whether or not Dark Souls is "truly difficult". I don't think I'm necessarily in a good position to judge. I've been playing CRPGs since Ultima II was new on shelves. It's like a veteran doctor describing the ease of a particular surgery. If I'm attempting to be objective, I can most certainly detail many ways in which DS is a "difficult" game. Opacity of information is a huge and persistent problem. The controls are fussy. The margin for error is extremely low. The level designers delight in creating situations where first-time-through failure is almost guaranteed, and it might take many repetitions to figure out what is going on...repetitions that ensure plenty of backtracking through respawning foes...an activity that swiftly becomes tedious and punitive. There are a few reflex tests, mostly in the form of timing challenges, which would daunt aging gamers, people with illnesses, or just people with shitty reaction times.

Do I think it's the most devastatingly hard game ever? Of course not. Do I think it's way too hard/tedious for a great many people? I sure do. Do those people NEED to play the game? Of course not! Is it alright for those people to say "We sure would like an easier version of this game, since we're curious about it, but we find it too hard/tedious as it is"? Of course it is.

I straddle the fence on this issue, because I'm one of the people who would tell you that if Dark Souls isn't making you feel scared and lonely, you're not getting the best of Dark Souls. You're getting a watered down experience. But it's not FOR me to decide what the appropriate level of difficulty is for the rest of the world. I've seen enough gamers play enough games, on all different difficulty levels, to know that it's completely relative. I've had people come and say XCOM destroyed them on Normal, when I found Normal to be comically easy to the point of being deeply insulting. Does that mean Normal needs to be removed, so those people are forced to play on Classic or Impossible to get the REAL XCOM I deem worthwhile? What if I demanded that it be so, and claimed that if it wasn't made so, I would feel "alienated", and wouldn't buy future XCOMs, and went on long tirades about unified experiences and how all games don't need to be made for all people. What would I sound like, if I did that?

This I can agree with you with. You are right that it is all speculative fear (based on anecdotal evidence as well) because an easy mode has not been added yet. However, the idea that it wouldn't ruin the game is also speculation.
It's just that finding out whether the speculation is valid would require resources.
You are also right that it is not IMPOSSIBLE for a Dark Souls easy mode to be implemented correctly, it's just that it seems like a very difficult thing to do. To me, at least.

However, with your XCOM example I would have to say that, while both games are difficult, XCOM is fundamentally about minimizing all possible risks while Dark Souls is fundamentally about being observant, learning, and overcoming challenges. Also, XCOM is meant to be initially played on lower difficulties before trying, say, impossible.
I can see your point, though.

The protection of Dark Souls probably has a lot to do with the fact that, unlike most games now days, it feels like and was designed around being one complete world and all modifiers of difficulty are implemented directly into the game.

I am very much reminded of Ulduar from WoW, actually. Its design shares a lot of similarities with the design of Dark Souls now that I think about it.
Hell, this whole argument reminds me of arguments about gradually lowering the difficulty of raids in WoW over time and the whole "dumbing down" of raids issue. In my opinion it actually ruined the game so I am cautious about making things that weren't originally designed to be easy, easier.

Then there is also the issue of the developers initial vision, which is what I believe should actually be the deciding factor in a choice like this.

Edit:

But there is no such game then, at all. "Perfect play" assumes you don't fail to pay attention, and you do not take unnecessary risks, and you do know everything you need to know to deal with the situation, and always make the decision that advances your long-term goal. Or in other words, in chess, assuming perfect play, white always wins.

I would reword that if I were you, because I think you know what you're trying to say, it's just a bit awkward; I suppose what you mean is that a game can be said to be "objectively" the more difficult the closer to "perfect play" you have to get in order to beat it. Of course, a game that cannot be beaten even with perfect play is unbeatable by definition.

If they are "unnecessary", and the person knows they are unnecessary; assuming perfect play, a person will simply not take such risks.

I didn't say a "perfect player" playing the game. I meant a human player with perfect physical coordination. Whether or not you pay attention to something or take a risk is completely mental and visual.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

So the development of said game wont change at all to incorporate said cheese mode the game will be exactly the same? You mean it wont get dumbed down so much that all those hard to understand mechanics wont get removed? Hey most of these "gamers" can't even work out how to use those stats lets make it easy for them and just give them no choice in how their stats develop. They get 200 souls for sl2 and we boost up their vitality and endurance and now that part of the game is forever gone. Wow that's not changed hard mode at all has it nope...That's not what happened to tes look at resident evil it's got way more fans now and re6 was amazing right? silent hill 3 the best ever right!?.....Yep keep on piling the gruel all over my steak it's still steak right just has a horrible stench and lingering putrid taste slavered all over it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

The world is full of games with varying difficulty levels. Many of them are excellent. Because you are afraid something will happen does not make it fait d'accompli that it will.

Dear Guppy, Bloated, Esq.

I've been watching you do your thing for a little while now, and while I generally consider you to be an above-average intelligent and caring person, in this thread you've degenerated and deformed yourself into quite a bully; please don't jump to conclusions just now. Look at how you present your point. Your reasoning is pretty perfect for either a hypothesis or a crusade of the will where no other opinion matters, because, alas, it seems like you already know that your point of view, your opinion is really the only one that matters. When applied to a very specific case, subject or scenario, your approach might fall apart. Case in point: Dark Souls. You seem to skim over or just plain ignore each and every argument made against 'easy mode'. You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist, and one cannot whistle with a Colombian tie of false accusations, no matter how loose fitting it may be.

You make each and every one of us that does not agree with you look like a selfish bastard, an uebermensch antisocial nazi or a plain idiot that's sick in the head.

I think that's sub par. Not for everyone, not for everyone on this forum, but for you - it's one hell of a let down. You wouldn't believe how sad that makes me right now.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

The protection of Dark Souls probably has a lot to do with the fact that, unlike most games now days, it feels like and was designed around being one complete world and all modifiers of difficulty are implemented directly into the game.

I am very much reminded of Ulduar from WoW, actually. Its design shares a lot of similarities with the design of Dark Souls now that I think about it.

Hell, this whole argument reminds me of arguments about gradually lowering the difficulty of raids in WoW over time and the whole "dumbing down" of raids issue. In my opinion it actually ruined the game so I am cautious about making things that weren't originally designed to be easy, easier.

This is probably the strongest argument against tinkering with Dark Souls at all, the fact that the game is something of an MMO lite. WoW is indeed an analogue, but a better one is Everquest. You've got the same user-hostile interface, the same forbidding world, the same ugly death penalties, the same deadly creatures wandering seemingly "safe areas", etc, etc. It's Classic EQ right to the core. And that MP functionality does add something to the experience. You have your phantoms, you have your orange chalk, you have your invasions. All of it is part of the texture of the game. And when you have everyone sharing a multiplayer space, everyone is tied to the same set of rules, the same difficulty. Which is why discussions over MMO changes tend to be...uh...fiery.

I think an offline mode for DS would work, but it would definitely be a somewhat diluted experience. Is that better than no experience at all? That would be for the players to decide.

You make each and every one of us that does not agree with you look like a selfish bastard, an uebermensch antisocial nazi or a plain idiot that's sick in the head.

I think that's sub par. Not for everyone, not for everyone on this forum, but for you - it's one hell of a let down. You wouldn't believe how sad that makes me right now.

Head, you are throwing a strop. Take a deep breath. I am not "making" you look like anything. The worst I've done is hold up a mirror and invite people to consider the fact they may be a wee bit elitist, and how insulting you find that is entirely dependent on how devastating you find that charge. I've also said elsewhere that there are worse things to be than elitist about a video game. I have certainly never used any of the terms you are attempting to paraphrase, nor said anything that would directly imply them.

And you need to find a new metaphor. "Shake hands with a clenched fist" has already been used. It's old hat, my friend! Old hat!

 

[fatmrbunko]

if its bragging rights you want, turn off achievements for easy mode or reduce the amount you can get, everyone kinda wins in that respect

of course the game wouldnt be much without its difficulty and you could blow through it in like 2 hours so itd have to be bigger and have much more substance elsewhere making it a completely different game

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I voted yes because sometimes I like to watch the world burn in a fiery inferno.

And I'll continue to watch this thread as two sides of the spectrum will never meet one another the more the anti anything goes on.

 

[Vegosiux]

Whether or not you pay attention to something or take a risk is completely mental and visual.

And thus...relative.

So that kind of doesn't support any point about "objective difficulty".

 

[ClockWyze]

Well it looks like, just based on the interviews that they will only have a less challenging beginning area with maybe an optional tutorial in there somewhere to ease players into the game and get them "hooked".

So I would just stick with that because one of the main selling points is the "aura" of difficulty for the Souls games which might be seriously diminished with easy-mode boss battles and playthroughs on the interwebz.

 

[Master_Fubar23]

You are calling me an Hardcore exclusionary Elitist Nazi that only wants games I like to be made witch is total bullshit
I want games to be made for people to enjoy. But we don't all like the same things you keep on eating your tripe and enjoy it and leave me the fuck alone and i'l keep on enjoying my juicy prime rib steak.

But no you want my steak to be taken away and replaced with the shitty gruel that you enjoy!?

And that?s where people who know how to use their brain come up with a solution. You know, speaking of food? Outback knows people like prime rib and steak but want both so they offer a platter that gives a portion of each. This way people who only like the prime rib can get it, he ones who just want steak can indulge themselves, and lastly, the ones who want both CAN ALSO FUCKING ENJOY THIER MEAL. No one is taking your "hard" or "difficult" mode away by simply having an easy mode. The ONLY person that could would be YOURSELF if you choose to play easy (giving yourself ?gruel?). Unintelligent elitists are only going make the DS series into a one trick pony and last time I checked... one trick pony businesses go under. Heck, didn?t the lead person of the DS series already leave or is set to leave? *sigh* so many elitists, so many to educate, so many fucks being wasted... -_-

So the development of said game wont change at all to incorporate said cheese mode the game will be exactly the same? You mean it wont get dumbed down so much that all those hard to understand mechanics wont get removed? Hey most of these "gamers" can't even work out how to use those stats lets make it easy for them and just give them no choice in how their stats develop. They get 200 souls for sl2 and we boost up their vitality and endurance and now that part of the game is forever gone. Wow that's not changed hard mode at all has it nope...That's not what happened to tes look at resident evil it's got way more fans now and re6 was amazing right? silent hill 3 the best ever right!?.....Yep keep on piling the gruel all over my steak it's still steak right just has a horrible stench and lingering putrid taste slavered all over it.

You talk about choice you have the choice not to buy the game Fromsoft have the choice not to sell out, and the producer of Demons souls and Dark souls was forced to take a back seat because he didn't want to compromise his idea for the masses.....

Try reading other posts before you keep talking nonsense. I already stated in a previous post that there is no need to compromise the original experience while adding in an easy mode. I already wrote walls of text explaining this so go read the other 3 pages. Oh and enjoy your gruel since that?s what you rather have apparently.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

So, it's that time of the month again.

PMS? I'd have never thought to use Dark Souls as a treatment for menstrual cramps!

People want to change Dark Souls. I say NAY! NEVER! and I don't intend to go for any elitism or any such thing.
However, once I started playing and experiencing and learning, I couldn't stop. To be honest, Dark Souls is the one game I still play pretty much whenever I feel like it. I find it to be fun, zen and there's still new stuff to figure out. At the moment, I am working on perfecting my parrying skills with Queelag's Furysword in my left hand. It's just too sexy to not give it a spin... and a whirl... and a neat little shoulder with some attitude.
And yet - people think just plain enjoying the game is 'elitism'.

....

You realize that if there was an easy mode, you'd still have to play the game, right? The only thing you're holding on to is a feature that locks out players from enjoying the game. You'd still have your normal and hard modes. You entire argument is "I had to deal with it, and doing so made me proud, so shut up and suffer!" That is the definition of Elitism.

You only want people who can accomplish the parry skill to be able to play the game. If you can't parry, you can't play. Only the Elite (who can parry) can play.

It is arguments like yours that have caused people to level the Elitism criticism. If you want to claim you aren't elitist, stop using elitism as your argument.

OT: Yes, Dark Souls should change. All games should have an Easy Mode. And a Hard mode. And an Extra Hard mode. Not everyone plays the same, and some people want more challenge than others.

You can still brag about how you beat Dark Souls on Hard, the same way people brag about beating that Dragonforce song on Expert. You just have to add two extra words (on Hard) and everyone will know what you mean.

 

[Master_Fubar23]

snip.

snip

Edit:
Also, the argument that adding options so that more people can play the game IS a good argument. For almost any OTHER game.
Dark souls in not like other games and adding an easy mode WOULD affect the game drastically, especially in the multiplayer which hasn't even been brought up yet.

First of all, I didn?t say "some people won't get better no matter how hard or smart they try" so for you to spout that is quite frankly stupid. Also, you go on to talk about most gamers, which just goes to show you didn?t even bother reading the other three pages of posts that have been typed because if you did you would be able to comprehend why I used a training wheels analogy. Some players are bad and the price of entry for them to get hooked into DS is a bit too high for them which is a waste. While you are right that Dark Souls isn?t a good game to start a new player on, that fact doesn?t matter. If someone chooses to get into gaming because they like the idea of doing something with the game or accomplishing something in that game, then what else is there for them to do? Try to play and then become disappointed? That is unaccpectable for someone that can?t get past the easy first boss whose entry level is too high for that player. Which is amusing because you say they just need to keep trying but for how long? An hour? Two hours? Four? See if it was that simple then there wouldn?t be such a large group of people who want an easy mode. Also, you shot yourself in the foot with this statement.

?If the game suddenly became easier for them, then when presented with the next obstacle the jump in difficulty would be even greater.?

Your right again. However, this is already present in Dark Souls which is a problem. If easiness was consistent then it would be fine like in an easy mode but since there is no easy mode let?s talk about gifts. As anyone who plays DS knows you start off by building your character where you can choose a gift. As I stated before my wife can?t beat the Asylum Demon who is so easy you can kill him with your fists in the first encounter (takes 20-30 minutes but it?s do able) but with the black fire bomb gift, she can kill it with about 3 to 5 bombs. So because she has to use that tactic to beat that demon it sets her up for failure later when simply throwing bombs at a boss just doesn?t cut it. So as such instead of learning how to fight she just learns use items and that only goes so far. So as you said ?As such, your skills at the game don't increase as much as they should have? which if there was an easy mode that allowed her to take more hits before dying or being able to recover faster after being knocked down she could learn the bosses moves better since she wouldn?t get as frustrated having to constantly open the door back to the demon after dying. So this leads to her not being able to beat the demon by normal means that would help her later in game. Lastly, you?re taking an analogy literally which is fail though you almost grasped what the point of the analogy. Oh, and take a psychology class if you want to talk about physical pain because ultimately anything can cause physical pain even a game but that?s not for this thread. You can learn that on your own or not.

p.s. edit. actually I have already addressed mutiplayer in previous posts. Try reading the entire thread and then posting instead of just reading one post.