Windcaler said:
Here we have yet another post that seems well thought out and thought provoking but fails to realize what the community has really been saying. Please tell me how many times I have to make the real arguments before it catches on?
Oh, for god's sake...
The main argument I make against an easy mode being implimented is it screws with the art. Games are art, both legally and socially accepted as such by people, by artists, and even by museums. Dark souls is one such piece of art and the primary artistic method the developers used to convey their expression of discovery and achievement was difficulty. They are quoted as saying "The difficulty is an important tool to create a sense of accomplishment and discovery". These were words that came out of their mouths before Dark souls was released and it shows us, fans and non-fans alike, what their artistic method was and what kind of expression they were trying to give
The problem with this is, considering this all started because the developers were supposedly discussing the addition of an easy mode, is that it's very dependent on the developers actions - if they add in an easy mode, everyone's complaints about it are immediately nullified. Granted, everyone who complained about easy mode can just see it as an artist smearing red paint across his work, but it's more along the lines of an artist lowering the cost of admission into his gallery to look at his pretty paintings.
Now I believe that artistic method is sacrosanct. Unless you were promised something (i.e if you commissioned a work of art and arent happy with the end product) you have no right to demand change. That said, I feel it is also fair to criticize art. If a person can create an "easy" mode in such a way that it provides an equal or greater sense of accomplishment and discovery this argument will not hold any weight. The issue with that is, I see it as an impossible feat. Easy mode has been defined as a difficulty level in which any person can complete it since the early days of the NES and perhaps even before that. However to have a sense of accomplishment there must be a chance for failure. Failure is not dying in the game, failure is putting the game down forever. Walking away and never picking it up again. The chance to fail is part of the difficulty and helps further build a foundation for accomplishment for those that succeed.
Now, I've bolded 'Demand' in here for a reason - I have, reading through all of the threads this silly, silly issue has been kicking around, not come across a single argument 'demanding' From Soft add an easy mode/make Dark Souls 2 easier. I've seen 'I'd play it if it was easier', 'It would be nice if it was easier but I'm not fussed' and 'I like the idea of them adding an easy mode and it's quite plausible to add one, but it's not a deal breaker if they don't'. However, I keep seeing anti-easy (urgh...) arguments claiming that people are 'demanding' an easy mode, despite there being no evidence (or poorly made evidence, as I tended to skim over the shitty arguments) to support this.
Let me talk a little more about what is difficulty. Many people make the argument that reducing damage will be fine for an easy mode but this fails in reality. For us verterns, the people who are really good at the game (and make no mistake there are people that are far more adept at the game then me) we've often used the calamity ring which doubles all damage we recieve. The problem is this doesnt actually make the game harder, its the same dodging, its the same blocking, its the same tactics working for the same bosses. The difference is one screw up usually gets you killed and that isnt increased difficulty. Neither can lesser damage be less difficulty. Less difficulty can only come from redesigning the game. Changing attacks so they're easier to read, taking out unblockable attacks despite their obvious tells, removing enemies despite the world already feeling quite empty. These are the only ways one could make a truely easier dark souls and to do it you would have to rip its guts out and make it a shadow of itself. How can an easy mode provide and equal or greater sense of accomplishment and discovery if an easy mode removes the chance for failure in the process?
Actually, there are quite a few ways to make the Souls games easier -
-Less enemies. While enemies aren't numerous in the game, they can still pose a challenge in large groups or ambushes - so, to make it easier, reducing the number of enemies the player faces is a good start (think classic Doom - on normal there's 2 Cacodaemons, on Easy there's 1). Likewise with cutting out ambushes - while normal mode players have to deal with 'Suddenly Archers' after climbing that ladder, Easy-moders don't. This can also be extended to cutting out specific enemy types (i.e. Black Knights), so easy-mode players don't face the more challenging enemies while also giving them something new to learn if they move up to Normal Mode.
-Reduced penalty for death. Instead of losing everything from death, only a percentage of souls (50-75%) is lost on death and a few humanity (or it's equivalent) - plus, possessing the ability to have multiple blood-stains out instead of just the one can also lighten the pressure on easy-moders. Also, since dying isn't as crippling a blow to you, enemy damage doesn't need to change - basically think of giving easy-moders more chances at the same enemy without penalty, instead of losing everything if they fuck up a second time.
-boosting easy-moders starting stats, like weight-limit and gifts. While this doesn't seem like much, it means that Easy-moders aren't as harshly penalized for experimenting with gear sets and learning what works best - since avoiding attacks is a key part of the game, they can equip things like two-handed swords and heavier armour without being forced to fat-roll. This also translates into a good difficulty shift and tactical change with transitioning into normal mode - suddenly you can't just equip that big-ass axe and be able to dodge so easily; you got to start thinking about your gear and whether that power-boost is worth moving slower.
The cool thing about all these options? They're all after-project additions; after building and finishing the base game, the programmers can just go back through and make the changes needed for easy mode. By running for after-project additions, if they happen to run out of cash or time they can just drop easy mode completely without any fuss. Simple, easy, efficient. Hardly as impossible as everyone keeps banging on about.
Now lets talk about this fallacy that keeps getting thrown around about more accessiblity equals more sales. On paper this makes sense but gaming history has shown it to be completely false. Anytime a game has redesigned itself to target people outside its core audience three problems have occured. 1. The core audience it was targeting becomes disatisfied and leaves. 2. The reinvention never really targets new people, giving a mediocre experience to them and translates into less sales. 3. The franchises are quickly forgotten or slowly die out. How does that saying go? Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it? The argument is just a massive assumption that history has proven wrong
Wait... what? I'm pretty sure making a good game and having a decent marketing department means more sales, not accessibility. Hell, even if an easy mode was added, they could keep with their usual marketing of 'Prepare to Die!' while downplaying the easy mode via blog-posts or community word-of-mouth (which you'd be surprised at how effective it is for getting more sales). And, unless they're rendering the game completely differently instead of just adding something optional on, I highly doubt Dark Souls 2 will do 1, 2 or 3 of what your saying there.
Also, though I hate to say it... any evidence of these games that failed horribly by becoming more accessible? Kinda just making a claim in the dark there.
At the end of the day, the problem with this whole debate is the vitriol surrounding the two diametrically opposed philosophies on how games should be done. I personally feel like the majority of posters are just labling the dark souls community as elistist snobs and not listening to the actual arguments were making (exactly what Jim Sterling did). Its also getting to the point where I can just copy and paste the same argument from 10 different threads to say the same thing and quite frankly Im getting tired of saying it but I keep expressing my side of the argument in the vain hope that people will listen to reason
I know your pain - I've seen a bunch of people claim that the pro-easy mode people (urgh...) are 'demanding' that easy mode is added, all the while their arguments are either ignored or mis-interpreted. At this point, I could probably copy-paste my arguments from all the other threads, despite knowing full well that the anti-easy moders (urgh...) won't listen to reason.
