Poll: Should every game have difficulty setting?

[krazykidd]

Simple enough question. Do you think ever game should have difficulty setting? And i don't mean beat the game once and harder setting is unlocked . I mean you have the option of easy , normal and hard, from go, with every game .

The reason i thought up this question is from FFXII-2 . The game has and easy and normal settig but no hard . I mean really if they bothered to put and easy mode why not bother to add an hard? My original question was should every game have a hard mode , but then i realised that i would get flooded by people saying " i don't care i play on easy because it's more fun". And although people have the right to play games on easy and some , if not most, people don't like challenge ( which i find completly bullshit , but thats just me ) there are other that do . There are people that like their games hard to get a feeling of accomplishment when they gain victory , there are people that like to play games on hard , hell i start more of my games on hard ( yes i am THAT guy) c and because there cannot only be one, i am sure there are others like me that like a challenge .

Therefore i think that every game should have difficulty options , for those that want to play on easy , normal or hard . That way everyone is happy and the game is accessible and interesting for everyone . Even games like mario and zelda should have difficulty setting and shouldn't rely on plays to add their own personal handicap to get the challenge they want .

So in your opinion escapists , should every game have difficulty settings?

 

[StBishop]

No, I don't think that every game needs a difficulty setting.

I, like you, play almost every single game I get on hard straight off the bat. My most recent exception was Dirt 3 which I am fucking horrible at (which is weird because I am a beast at every other racing game I've ever played) but I put that down to having no knowledge of rally racing and the game being realistic, ie. if you don't know how to rally race, you won't win any rally races.

But I think that some games are fine without difficulty settings, Nintendo games are a great example. They're easy to learn and hard to beat. Other games are hard to learn and easy to beat (pretty much any game out these days). I think it's fine having both options about.

 

[Zhukov]

Personally, I was downright annoyed by Dear Esther not having three difficulty settings.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Fully agree. It's one of the easiest ways to add replay value yet so many games fail to do it or fail to make the settings appreciably different. Final Fantasy hasn't ever really done difficulty settings before now hence all the 'solo this class only' challenges floating around for the older games. But I'd say any game can benefit from it, allowing easy access to the newbies and 'fulfillment' to the hardcore crowd.

 

[BENZOOKA]

Dirt 3

Yeah you actually have to have the right car with good settings and have quite a few practice rounds to know the track in question pretty much by heart. I had to decrease force feedback on my wheel because it was taking it's toll in response times. A great game nonetheless. Dirt 1 was way too boaty and 2 also left room for improvement. Too bad my current table, where I've moved is a bit too flimsy to hold the wheel and the force used on it in addition to all the other stuff.

OT: I can say a couple of games that don't have difficulty setting nor would have any use for them, right off the bat, so the answer is no:
Elasto Mania
Solar 2
Magicka
The couple dozen games I can remember from Amiga.

 

[kyogen]

No, I don't think every game needs multiple difficulty settings. I often play rpgs on easy because I don't really care about the combat, but I would hate for games like Demon's Souls or Dark Souls to have difficulty settings because difficulty is a central element of the design.

 

[skywolfblue]

There are some games where the design makes it a bit difficult to create a "hard" mode for it. Assassin's Creed for example wouldn't work if they upped health/lowered damage because if you can't one-hit assassinate people it creates all sorts of problems. They managed to create a little of a hard mode with "100% sync", but that's not really a toggle-able style difficulty and some are really easy while others are really hard.

But everywhere possible, yes, I do think games should have multiple difficulties. It adds replayability and allows both hardcore and casuals to enjoy the game.

 

[lacktheknack]

Personally, I was downright annoyed by Dear Esther not having three difficulty settings.

Touche.

Should games like "The Incredible Machine" or "Portal" or even "Dear Esther", games that have carefully designed puzzles and/or are art-house games, have difficulty settings? No. Should games like "Call of Duty" or "X-Com" or "Civilization", games that have a simple premise that rely on variation/new features throughout to remain entertaining, have difficulty settings? Yes.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Sometimes Hard mode is reserved for replay value for good reason. Take Dark Souls, for example. New Game+ is reserved for people who beat the game once, and actually have the stats/equipment/skill to survive it. You have to EARN your right to play it, this coming from a game that already avoids any sort of hand holding should spell out what you're in for.

Besides, what would things like Dear Esther and The Stanley Parable do with difficulty settings anyway? What, if you set it to hard would the game spawn Headcrabs in the next room in TSP if you took too long to blindly follow the narrator's instructions?

 

[lacktheknack]

I would hate for games like Demon's Souls or Dark Souls to have difficulty settings because difficulty is a central element of the design.

What about "Hard, Harder, and Murder" as your options.?

 

[Omnific One]

In particular, this would make driving games more fun for me.

 

[Kriptonite]

I think it works on some games, but I like the 'multiplayer' aspect. I say this because, theoretically, people playing multiplayer are all playing on an 'even field'. So, I think that games should allow that same 'even field' play. Sure, some games, like now, should have difficulty settings, but I do not think that all games should. I hope people are able to understand what I'm trying to say...

 

[The Shadowlord]

I think it's up to the game itself. My reason for saying this, is when you have games like Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, where the point is it's inescapable, relentless difficulty. If there's was an easy mode, that's just cheating. The game should decide whether it can have difficulty settings, it shouldn't be mandatory. If I'm sucking at a game and there's no way to change difficulty, I can either ragequit or man up and improve my skills. I usually do the former.

 

[Zen Toombs]

No, not every game - sometimes the difficulty/lack of difficulty is a part of the game. But most should have several settings, and for most the classic "easy, normal, hard" modes should suffice.

 

[Tazzy da Devil]

I think most games should, yes. Even though I love playing games, I'm not very good at them. Easy difficulty let's me have a fair chance at beating a game. I don't like when I buy a game, only to get stuck and never complete it.

 

[Agow95]

I one of those people who like to just play through a game on the low difficulty, then if I liked it, play again, but harder, My friend does this, but goes straight to the highest difficulty, unless it's one of those games where you unlock higher difficulties, I hate those.

 

[josemlopes]

Sometimes Hard mode is reserved for replay value for good reason. Take Dark Souls, for example. New Game+ is reserved for people who beat the game once, and actually have the stats/equipment/skill to survive it. You have to EARN your right to play it, this coming from a game that already avoids any sort of hand holding should spell out what you're in for.

Besides, what would things like Dear Esther and The Stanley Parable do with difficulty settings anyway? What, if you set it to hard would the game spawn Headcrabs in the next room in TSP if you took too long to blindly follow the narrator's instructions?

But the thing with Dark Souls is that the game (at least for me) was a LOT easier on NG+ because of the gear that I had, and most of the difficulty came from learning the game.

Dark Souls could had 3 difficulties and still offer the same experience. The normal difficulty exists to give the player the difficulty that was intended for the game. If the player chooses easy then thats his fault. Ninja Gaiden has multiple difficulties and it manages to be a hard game.

Also Dear Esther and The Stanley Parable dont have any kind of challenge, those games aren't even part of the question.

People should understand that the easy difficulty isnt for the average player, its for the casual player (that's why some games even replaced the name "easy" with "casual"), its for the player that can make a character move straight and get confused with the control, it's for the people that usually don't play games. Being a skilled player and playing on the easy difficulty is like using a wheelchair to walk, or making a painting (image) of someone using a camera.

 

[krazykidd]

I think it's up to the game itself. My reason for saying this, is when you have games like Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, where the point is it's inescapable, relentless difficulty. If there's was an easy mode, that's just cheating. The game should decide whether it can have difficulty settings, it shouldn't be mandatory. If I'm sucking at a game and there's no way to change difficulty, I can either ragequit or man up and improve my skills. I usually do the former.

No, I don't think every game needs multiple difficulty settings. I often play rpgs on easy because I don't really care about the combat, but I would hate for games like Demon's Souls or Dark Souls to have difficulty settings because difficulty is a central element of the design.

Okay BUT, imagine, that the initial difficulty of dark souls was the easy mode . Because thats basically what it was the game got harder with each ng+ ,therefor you theoretically start the game on easy