Poll: Difficulty. Why?

[Lt. Sera]

It depends heavily on the genre of game, but i do like a certain challenge to my games. But not Ninja Gaiden 2 kind of challenging, frustration is not something i want out of a game

 

[shatnershaman]

Something difficult. Here's an extreme example; If you became the CEO of a company after starting as a poor farmboy (no, that's not my screenplay I'm trying to get made) as opposed to inheriting it from your father , wouldn't that make you feel a little prouder?

Nope all I care about is the final result.

well if you only care about the final result, why do you play games? which will eventually end with nothing more than you switch the box off. achieving nothing tangible.

End result of fun (I have nothing better to do(I get my work done before gaming and I have no good books))

 

[Squarewave]

I like games that are challenging in a way in which if I die its my own fault and not because the game cheats or require me to be psychic. For example the final part of HL ep2 ware you have to toss the bombs on to the strider things was challenging in a good way even if it was beyond frustrating. Challenging in a bad way is for example is the snipers in Perfect dark zero, ware they can kill you in a few hits but you have no idea what direction the shot came from or can even see them w/o a zooming scope, forcing a replay of the full level dozens of times till the AI misses you enough for you to find the shooters

 

[Kovash86]

I want a game that will kick my ass sometimes, one I will really have to work for to beat, but the quality has to be good because if it isn't then I won't play because it isn't worth my time.

 

[Stella Q]

What's the point of playing if you accomplish nothing?

My logic is inescapable.

Something difficult. Here's an extreme example; If you became the CEO of a company after starting as a poor farmboy (no, that's not my screenplay I'm trying to get made) as opposed to inheriting it from your father , wouldn't that make you feel a little prouder?

Lol I don't post often but this guy's posts crack me up. These quotes are too ridiculous...he has to be kidding, right?

 

[The Wooster]

The game must require at least some learning on my part to win. It's why I tend to stay away from rpg's these days (particularly the Japanese kind) because your progress is directly tied to how long you've spent on the game? Can't beat that boss? Grind more. I like to come away from a game knowing I've improved myself even if it's in a small and relatively pointless way.

 

[Copter400]

Hmm.

I want a challenge. I want to be pushed. But this shouldn't really involve dieing more than a couple of times. No exceptions.

 

[Dommyboy]

Pushing your limits is always good, makes you feel like you actually accomplished something in the world of gaming. But if a game is at the point where you just stop playing because its so annoyingly difficult, I despise them.

 

[Regga_Overallt]

I always play games on "normal" difficulty level first. I do that because I think that´s how developers imagined their game to be played. Also, games have become easier to complete nowadays (especially when it comes to FPS:s, almost impossible to die, all we are required to do is to hide and wait. That is rather pointless!

 

[Break]

Something difficult. Here's an extreme example; If you became the CEO of a company after starting as a poor farmboy (no, that's not my screenplay I'm trying to get made) as opposed to inheriting it from your father , wouldn't that make you feel a little prouder?

Nope all I care about is the final result.

well if you only care about the final result, why do you play games? which will eventually end with nothing more than you switch the box off. achieving nothing tangible.

You achieve nothing tangible either way. The "final result" he was talking about in this case was having fun for a while. The only reason to play games is to have fun in some way. The "sense of achievement" you talk about is the game tricking you into thinking you accomplished something, and for a lot of people, the feeling of beating a difficult game is a lot less important than having fun with the game itself.

I don't really care if the best part of playing a game for you, is when you sit back, put the controller down, and watch the credits scroll. But really, to think that by playing on hard mode, you inherently accomplished anything greater than if you had played on easy, is just plain silly. How much fun you had from the whole experience is the only thing that actually matters.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I don't mind difficult games so long as the difficulty feels "fair". If a puzzle is tough but the clues are there, then I'll keep plugging away; if a puzzle is tough because the game holds back a crucial piece, then stuff it. If NPCs are tougher than me in a shooter, I'll keep finding ways to get those crucial extra rounds into 'em without taking so much fire in return; if NPCs can see through walls and across continents to snipe me at ranges that render them as single pixels, then I'll let the robots kill each other and get back to games humans can play.

-- Steve

 

[Drakstern]

I hate games that are too easy. There's no sense of accomplishment when the game holds your hand all the way through. If I wanted to be entertained by something I didn't have to think about, I'd watch a movie.

I want CHALLENGE.

Nothing gives me more joy than beating something that requires skill to get through. Whether it's a rough pattern in a bullet-hell shmup or a fight in an FPS that pushes me to the edge of my health, ammo, and wits, I want the game to push me to the edges of my skill. If that means I die a few times and have to replay a level a few times, so be it.

Easy games are boring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib8MPhzMxlw <- This is a real game.

 

[laikenf]

I'm sorry but I'm one of those who likes 'em hard and dirty. There is nothing like getting really good at really hard games (especially hack 'n slash games like God of War, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry; where getting good means pulling off insane combo chains against the most rock hard and unforgiving enemies you can think of), it's a feeling you will never understand as for you don't enjoy difficult games.

 

[AlphaWolf13]

I honestly don't see the point in games being challenging/difficult. Why do developers make games difficult?
Some people say that difficult games are more rewarding and satisfying which is something I personally don't get. It may be more satisfying but that definitely does not make up for the amount of persistence and frustration that went into doing what ever the game asked you to do and the reward is usually another rock hard battle. Something like the first few missions in Mercenaries is just as satisfying as something like Ninja Gaiden Sigma simply because of how fun it is to blow stuff up in that game.
Also, the harder the game, the less I tend to enjoy it. I don't know about you but I certainly don't like being frustrated and prefer to be having fun. I've never found replaying the same bit over and over again fun. I personally found Ratchet and Clank, Tools of Destruction one of the most fun and memorable games of 2007 despite its (lack of) difficulty.
So what do you think, why do some people like games to be difficult/challenging and do you like challenging/difficult games?

The harder it is the more I enjoy it... Could you imagine an RTS game, where you're AI enemies don't even bother to BUILD an army??

Wow, that would be sooooooooooo....... fun...

I can't play an "easy" game. Seeing my enemies run into walls for six hours on an FPS, or just simply WALKING through a level on a game, really doesn't seem like fun. What's the point of playing then?

Unless you talk about story. That's the only time, I could come close to doing it on easy, if I couldn't beat a certain boss.

 

[barryween]

I like games that are easy enough on lower diffuculties but can be super hard on higher diffuculties (Guitar Hero, CoD 4, ETC.)

 

[EvolutionKills]

I like challenging games, as long as they're challenging for the right reasons.

For me, a good challenge comes from...
-Difficult odds
-Good enemy AI
-Ingenious puzzles
-Interesting choices


Bad challenges come from...
-Retarded AI, both enemies and allies
-Ridiculously hard puzzles (obscure knowledge out-of game knowledge, no in game hints, randomness)
-Impossible odds (i.e. FarCry on any almost any setting, guys see you from half a mile away and shoot you with near perfect accuracy, real nasty when used with Rocket Mercs)
-Bland choices or lack thereof
-Bad controls or poor camera work

 

[Liam Wolfy]

If it's painfully difficult with sections that require tactially figuring out... AKA COD4 on extreme, then I love them, or if they'r just stupidly hard, like Ninja Gaiden Sigma

 

[Break]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib8MPhzMxlw <- This is a real game.

Ah, Touhou. It's games like this that make me want to get good at scrolling shooters.

 

[SecretTacoNinja]

I like a challenge if it's not ridiculous, I don't like it when I
have to throw my controller across the room in frustrastion.
My most recent one is Metal Ice Climbers on Hard mode in SSBM, ;_; They just knock you around and there's nothing you can do about it.

 

[Drakstern]

Ah, Touhou. It's games like this that make me want to get good at scrolling shooters.

Not too hard. Just have to keep practicing.

Though I can't beat that particular stage yet, I can do Hard Mode on most of the Windows games.

And it feels damned good the first time you punch through the final boss on a one credit clear.