Comment on What games would you recommend others to just play on easy difficulty
thingsiplay@beehaw.org 2 months ago
I think easy game modes take away what a great game makes a great game. I’m not sure if I can explain this with words, but if you are going to play on easy, then it means you don’t want to play. At that point, its probably not a game for you. I’m talking across all kind of genres and type of games. However, if a game is unfair or badly designed, that is the moment when I would recommend using easy mode. And it depends on how the difficulty scaling is implemented. Some easy modes are really dumb and take away the core principles of the game, while others are very intelligently realized.
Your example is a great example of what I meant by that. You are not interested into the combat, therefore made it easy so it does not get in your way. You didn’t turn it down because its unfair. What happens is, you are actively playing a game, which you don’t want to. I don’t know what exactly scales in that game, so maybe its not a bad easy mode at all, but can’t judge the game.
I’m currently playing Metal Gear Solid 5 for the first time (just played a few hours on launch and now I’m back to it) on normal difficulty. The game can be brutal at times and there were multiple moments when I almost quit the game. Yet I did not turn easy mode, and now I’m happy that I overcome the challenge naturally. And that’s what I mean. I you turn the game to easy mode, then you get into these habits of not solving the challenges.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
But a lot of people are coming to gaming from traditional media where there is no interaction. A lot of those people like the narratives in games, but don’t love beating a challenge. A lot of those people are tired from long days at work and do not get joy from eking out a win. To them, it feels like a chore, and they didn’t get into this to do chores. They got into it to get away from the stress of the world.
If you get enjoyment from great game mechanics, more power to you. However, that doesn’t mean those game mechanics are less impactful in story driven games where the gaming is “easier.”
My partner didn’t play games at all until those old Walking Dead games by Telltale came out. They were like a TV show, and she started playing them… because it was like “playing” one of her favorite shows at the time. I literally chose them to introduce her to gaming because it was more like a TV show than a game.
She recently finished Baldur’s Gate 3 on normal and its her favorite game now.
thingsiplay@beehaw.org 2 months ago
That’s exactly what I’m saying. People like you describe don’t want to play the game. There is nothing wrong with that, i just explained when easy mode makes sense or when I recommend it. In this case, people who don’t want to play the game (as intended), can use easy mode.
As I said, it depends on the implementation of an easy mode. Some easy modes are bad and ruin the actual gaming experience. In some other cases its actually very well thought out and the game mechanics are supportive in such an easy mode.
In general a situation like with your partner to introduce into gaming is a special case. There are lot of games designed to be easy or adaptive. But the OP here isn’t new to gaming, its a different situation. I was looking from a perspective who plays games.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
I think this is part of the problem I have.
Are they still pressing buttons and making input? Yes.
Thus, they’re still playing the game.
If you want to sound less judgmental, stop saying they’re not “playing” it or that “they don’t want to play it” just because they’re not “playing it the way I think is right.”
If you really think its okay, accept that when they are still pressing buttons and interacting with the game, they are still functionally playing the game. Not playing the game is watching a Let’s Play.
It’s a pointless distinction rooted in treating people who want an easy mode as “lesser” because “they don’t want to actually play the game.” Sorry, sick of hearing it worded this way.