Poll: Easy vs. Hard games.

[Azaraxzealot]

I was taking a survey on VG Market surveys when i was asked a question that actually made me think for a bit:

Please select which of the two statements you agree most strongly with. *This question is required

* A Law & Order game should be very challenging to play, with lots of reward for winning.
* A Law & Order game should be somewhat easy to play, with an emphasis on good storytelling.

I thought to myself: "Is this really how developers think? That they have to make games either hard with a focus on gameplay or easy with the focus on the story? Isn't there a happy medium?"
Apparently not. So with those two choices in mind, what would you choose? because personally, i just said "Easy, with emphasis on good storytelling."

 

[Weaver]

I don't get why it can't be hard with a good story.

 

[Elamdri]

I don't get why it can't be hard with a good story.

Because they don't want to put the work into crafting a story that most people won't finish.

 

[thiosk]

Wait.

A law and order game?

I would like to play as the witnesses. The goal is to never ever stop menial labor for even five minutes while being questioned by the police about murder suspects.

[New Yorker Accent]Dat guy was murdered? Well, thats too bad. I know a lot about this situation and could reveal significant plot information, but these nondesript boxes won't load themselves onto this here truck.[/accent]

 

[ZehMadScientist]

Hmmm I don't know. Depends what game it is really. Bayonetta for example is purely for the challenge and just ridiculous to play on easy (I actually tried following the story but it is pretty close to impossible IMO), while a game like Bioshock was all about the story and is still enjoyable even on lower difficulties.

 

[Wayneguard]

I think they should be... good?

 

[Ghaleon640]

I like hard games. I really hate blowing through a level no sweat. Its personal taste, sure, but I like the risk. I really disliked my first playthrough in borderlands because as much as I wanted to like the game, I just found it too easy.

Hint, if you have to try to force yourself to enjoy a visually pleasing boss so badly that you pick some of your weakest weapons and avoid attempting any critical hits, and still have no problem beating it incredibly quickly... you have a problem. Rakk Hive, I'm sorry.

But if its going to be hard, please have a good story. It makes the strive to get deeper more meaningful.

 

[Popadoo]

Demon's Souls was fun.
Black Ops was boring.
I rest my case.

 

[Proteus214]

I like games where the main story can be easy or difficult depending on your path. Starfox 64 (Lylatt Wars) is a perfect example of this.

 

[Rayne870]

I like my games like my sex, I like it rough and I want to be punished. And sometimes I want it to have meaning.

 

[Stammer]

I don't like games that are so easy that I feel unaccomplished, but I also hate games that are punishing and unforgiving.

My favourites are the kind that have a really well-made difficulty curve that start off letting you figure stuff out but by the end not letting you off easily. I don't mind failing a couple missions/quests and learning from my mistakes, but I don't like failing every single mission 10 times because they're so hard that I can't even ever figure out what I'm doing wrong.

 

[JaymesFogarty]

Demon's Souls was fun.
Black Ops was boring.
I rest my case.

Demon's Souls was easy. Ninja Gaiden 2 was not. I rest my case.
_______

Can you see why a blanket statement is more than a little unhelpful? Could you possibly elaborate?

OT: There's no reason why a game with an interesting story, (not forgetting original characters, and subtle overarching themes) could not also be difficult. It's ironic that people would even think that a game with a deep story would have to be 'dumbed' down, for gamers!

 

[gardyna]

what i like most is changeable dificulties (easy, normal, hard, suicide) and the settings should be like this in my opinion

Easy: for people new to video games not too dificult but enough to punish bad play and reward good play

Normal: for people who are "adept" at games and know the way around a controler without problems (for those new to the genre(FPS's and RTS's for example)

Hard: for experience players who are familiar with the genre and have played similar games before

Suicide: those looking for a chalange will find one in this mode

my thought is of a dificulty curve where if you beat easy mode you're ready for normal and when you beat normal you're ready to take on hard

but the overall thing I want in the area of dificulty is to make the game just chalenging enough that i can beat it but feel that I acomplished something when i deafeated it (Half Life 2 is a great example of this)

 

[Popadoo]

Demon's Souls was fun.
Black Ops was boring.
I rest my case.

Demon's Souls was easy. Ninja Gaiden 2 was not. I rest my case.

My case is cooler than your case.
And elaboration is not my strong point.

 

[minisham]

[quote="Black Ops was boring.[/quote]
amen to that
anyway i find games with a wide selection of difficulties to be great as it gives a middle ground to easy,normal and hard unfortunately they never come with a good story which is a problem that must be solved!

 

[Azure Knight-Zeo]

I don't care one way or the other so long as I'm having fun. For one example: I really enjoy the Klonoa games for their story and puzzles, however they aren't that hard and I can beat them in a few weeks (which is a shame because they're released at a snail's pace). As an opposite example the Ninja Gaiden games are the ur-example of difficulty in games, and yet it feels rewarding to chop off the heads of guys who can take most your health bar away in one hit.

 

[timeadept]

Well in the case of a law and order game, making the game difficult could make the story much more compelling. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive though, it's entirely possible to have a hard game with a good story or an easy one with a bad story. In fact, there really isn't any connection between difficulty and the story. After all, once you have the mechanics in place, you can easily make the game more or less difficult by making the game more or less forgiving. Like if mario could still only take one hit then he dies, even in super mario galaxy. It would make the game much more difficult.

I thought to myself: "Is this really how developers think? That they have to make games either hard with a focus on gameplay or easy with the focus on the story? Isn't there a happy medium?"
Apparently not. So with those two choices in mind, what would you choose? because personally, i just said "Easy, with emphasis on good storytelling."

I forgot my main point... These guys don't seem to understand what they're designing at all if they believe that story takes place at the cost of gameplay or vice versa. After all, it takes a different set of skills to write a good story than it does to design a good mechanic. Though you need both if you want to melt those two things together and create a truly great game... not really my point but i felt that it needed saying.