Poll: Easy Mode

[Wackymon]

So, my question's simple: What do you think of Easy Mode? What do you think of the players who play on Easy Mode.

 

[Sassafrass]

It's a good addition to have, as not everything has to be played on the hardest difficulty and I don't care about those who play on it as they play how they want too.

 

[tippy2k2]

Uh....whatever?

Easy mode is easy. I generally play on Hard since I've been gaming for most of my life but I see absolutely no reason why you would look down upon anyone that plays on easy mode...

 

[Vegosiux]

More options is always a good thing. I'll play on whatever mode I want to play on depending on what I'm after. Sometimes when I come home from a hard shift, I prefer to spend my precious little free time just cracking skulls without thinking too hard, to unwind. Sometimes, I up the ante to a more difficult challenge.

I do usually start on "medium" or higher though, just to see what's the worst the game can throw at me.

 

[LaMer]

My first playthrough is usually on easy, to take in things like the story and to adjust to gameplay and what have you. If the game proves fun enough, I'll replay on higher difficulties.
Easy mode is good.

 

[RewardMe]

I always pop it on easy. Most games I play, I'm just in it for the story. If the game has a secondary multiplayer option that I'm likely to play, then I'll pop it on normal or hard in single player.

Saying that, though, I hardly play multiplayer.

 

[TrevHead]

It depends on the game and if it's detrimental to other players. (in most cases easy modeis OK)

We all have different abilities and mindsets and its nigh on imposible to make games that cater to everybody. Many AAA devs go the easy route and make their games for casual gamers (ie many normal modes are easy compared to what they were like over a decade ago).

Personally i'm not against easy mode but I would like to see more single player games that are aimed for more serious players who are feeling rather left out by modern game design doctrine that considers it a sin for even one person to hit a brick wall and never experience all the content.

The main thing that spoils challenge gaming is that many games have a easy way out. Be it easy mode, even worse that you change without restarting the game, save scumming and checkpoints every 30 seconds, pre-order and dlc weapons that are unbalanced and OP, linear corridors with minimaps and every little thing signposted, Half the campaign a tutorial mode rather than its own separate thing like in the past. Long unnecessary stories with lots of cutscenes in hardcore action games.

While all these are great for casual players its ruins it for challenge gamers they want a game to punish them since its their own little mountain to climb.

Thats not to say games aimed for those players can't have easy modes and good difficulty scaling. Arcade genres have had them for years but those are still aimed for challenge gamers not so much casuals.

For example the shmup Jamestown is aimed at noob players with 5 modes of difficulty but the last 2 stages are locked for very easy mode, and the final stage is locked for easy aswell. This forces players try harder and improve to beat the game. Most players really liked this feature because it gave them a feeling of accomplishment, while ppl who hated its spent more effort ranting at steam forums than playing the game calling the devs cheap and elitist.

I think the biggest problem when it comes to difficulty is that very little is said about it. Reviewers and game sites usually ignore it because they are too focused in getting it written asap, low skilled casuals themselves or only consider value for money in a game, where easy games with lots of content is a good thing compared to something like a short game that's well balanced, hard and not everybody can beat.

I feel that if more reviewers did their jobs better casuals wouldn't feel ripped off with Dark Souls and Hardcore gamers would feel the same when they buy a hyped game that sucks for their playstyle.

TLDR more games that are aimed at different players with different abilities and not half arsed games that are aimed for everyone.

I usually play on Normal Mode, even if it's too easy, I want to experience the game as the developer intended, if I play it again i'll bump up the difficulty.

 

[Ljs1121]

I normally play on easy the first time around, then gradually bump it up to harder difficulties on subsequent playthroughs.

I find it harder to enjoy the game for what it is when I'm constantly dying every five seconds.

 

[Smooth Operator]

It should always be there for those who want to use it, simple as that.

Just for those that do please understand that you are probably glancing over most of the gameplay features when you aren't being pushed to use all resources.
It's important to mention this because we often get a wave of people who got nothing more then "meh" to say on a game but they never really sunk their teeth in.

 

[Catfood220]

Easy mode doesn't really bother me as I usually start a game on Normal to get used to it before bumping up the difficulty. I have a friend who only plays on easy mode, which to be fair I think he is cheating himself but whatever makes him happy, I'm not going to start dictating what difficulty he plays his games on.

 

[StriderShinryu]

It depends on whether the difficulty exists in such a way that it's a core of the experience. Something like Dark Souls, for example, wouldn't exist as complete satisfying experiences if the difficulty were removed. The same goes for fighting games. With games like that it's less about giving everyone a difficulty that they can play on and more about breaking the game into a bland lifeless experience.

If the difficulty is separate from what the cort of the game is, however, I don't see anything wrong with both easier and harder modes being included.

 

[-Seraph-]

I really don't care about easy mode, let people choose their frustration levels as they see fit. I pretty much never touch any difficulty lesser than normal...hell aside from a few exceptions, I always cranks it up to max difficulty. I can be a bit of a masochist, so I'm always playing on the hardest or second hardest difficulty because I'm just used to that stuff now.

Well Unless the game is just broken or bullshit as hardest difficulty, then I'll play "normal" or whatever. Artificial difficulty is far more annoying than any implementation of any "easy" mode.

 

[krazykidd]

Onbjectively having an easy mode is good for new players and terrible players to get into a game .

Subjectively , i think people that play on easy are lazy . Play a game how it's meant to be played , pussies .

 

[Vegosiux]

Subjectively , i think people that play on easy are lazy . Play a game how it's meant to be played , pussies .

Tell you what.

You can do one Sunday afternoon shift of mine, after which I'm stressed out enough to just go for some easy unwinding for 2-3 hours, and then you get to talk about how lazy I am.

 

[370999]

Onbjectively having an easy mode is good for new players and terrible players to get into a game .

Subjectively , i think people that play on easy are lazy . Play a game how it's meant to be played , pussies .

Surely if it includs an "easy" mode that is just as valid as the "normal" and "hard" difficultues? How, exactly do you determine on what difficulty the game is "meant" to be played?


I usually play on easy. Games are to relax. If I want more of a challenge the game difficulty goes up.

 

[dessertmonkeyjk]

The only points I would use Easy is when I'm constantly being welted to death by a mob. I don't think I ever resorted to Easy on any Halo game so there's that.

Captcha: learn from mistakes

Way to make me feel bad. :/

 

[DoPo]

Subjectively , i think people that play on easy are lazy . Play a game how it's meant to be played , pussies .

Yes, please tell me more on how games are "meant to be played" I love to know how people are wrong with no indication that what they are doing is wrong aside from some random guy shouting it.

I actually wander, do you regard people playing on hard to be "no lifers" (or whatever)? Since they too don't seem to play the game "how it's meant to be played".

OT: Meh, whatever. If an easy setting is there in a game, it doesn't bother me, if it's gone, I probably wouldn't mourn it. Although, I did play Torchlight 2 on Normal (which should be regarded as the Easy setting) and it was actually quite relaxing to just go and kill lots of things with little effort. However, when I played TL1 and it was too easy, it just bored me. So I dunno, maybe it also depends on the mood.

 

[krazykidd]

Subjectively , i think people that play on easy are lazy . Play a game how it's meant to be played , pussies .

Tell you what.

You can do one Sunday afternoon shift of mine, after which I'm stressed out enough to just go for some easy unwinding for 2-3 hours, and then you get to talk about how lazy I am.

As if i didn't work .Did you read the first half of my post or did you ignore that completly .

Onbjectively having an easy mode is good for new players and terrible players to get into a game .

Subjectively , i think people that play on easy are lazy . Play a game how it's meant to be played , pussies .

Surely if it includs an "easy" mode that is just as valid as the "normal" and "hard" difficultues? How, exactly do you determine on what difficulty the game is "meant" to be played?


I usually play on easy. Games are to relax. If I want more of a challenge the game difficulty goes up.

What does the word "normal" mean . Again that is just my opinion which isn't worth two squirts of piss . I left an "objective" reasoning for this exact reason.