I am slowly recognizing what I don’t like about modern gaming.
Anon fixes Super Mario Bros
Submitted 4 weeks ago by Early_To_Risa@sh.itjust.works to greentext@sh.itjust.works
https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/129daf24-1ad5-49bb-90df-69654c1cefe6.jpeg
Comments
KomfortablesKissen@discuss.tchncs.de 4 weeks ago
Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Is it the lack of people recognizing how great you are and how much money you have to spend?
How about every dollar you spend a twitch stream will be forced to say your name?
You good now?
KomfortablesKissen@discuss.tchncs.de 4 weeks ago
Okay? I was before, but I am now, too, thanks.
TachyonTele@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Nintendo is way ahead of these guys. The last few mario games let you pick a character that can’t be hurt or killed. And if that’s too hard for you, they’ll even show you exactly how to play the level.
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I can at least support baby mode for, like, extremely small kids and maybe co-op with that one person who’s never touched a video game in their life but wants to play along with the other three. You know, the kids are over at grandpa’s, and he wants to feel like he’s playing and having fun with them instead of just setting and forgetting them on the magic dopamine box, but he’s no good at it, so he takes the invincible character. I think that’s reasonable, inclusive game design.
What I take issue with is when baby mode drags down the difficulty of the rest of the game modes. For example, you as a game designer benchmark “normal mode” against “being literally invulnerable”, and so you now have to play hard mode to even vaguely feel any sort of tension.
TachyonTele@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
I agree completely. Idk why they do it. They got filthy rich off kids 5-10 playing the shit out of NES games.
Jiggle_Physics@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
That is just bad game design, and nothing inherently to do with having easier modes. There is a long, long, history of games having easy modes, and still being some of the most challenging games made, when you select the harder ones.
WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Mario Wonder both had a “baby mode” mechanic and yet also had some genuinely interesting and challenging levels.
Celeste is extremely difficult yet also has a baby mode feature.
Many games have a “tell me a story” difficulty level which is more or less the same idea.
Games having an easy difficulty without detracting from the game’s main challenge and balance is not a problem IMO.
Jesus_666@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
The real problem with the “improved” SMB from the post is not that it has ways of making the game easier, it’s that the “fixes” amount to a microtransaction hellhole, complete with intrusive prompts.
I’m all for games with configurable difficulty. Nobody thinks less of Doom for having difficulty settings. But everybody does think less of games that pair frustrating mechanics (like difficulty spikes or countdown timers) with bypass MTX.
To use the default controversial genre, I think that a soulslike with difficulty settings would work just fine. But a soulslike where your healing flask only restores one charge every ten minutes unless you buy more charges from the store (but store-bought ones can exceed the normal maximum) or where game-breakingly OP equipment is available as MTX would not go over well.
samus12345@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Don’t tell Soulslike players that. They think that even the slightest concession to accessibility makes the game unplayable garbage, even if you choose not to use it.
Empricorn@feddit.nl 4 weeks ago
My nephew picks that up in 3D world and it drives me crazy! What’s the point of playing if you’re immune to everything and can’t be damaged!? I should point out, we were playing cooperatively, so it wasn’t like he was just messing around by himself. And he’s 11 and can definitely play it normally…
TachyonTele@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Co-op might be a little different. I could see having fun not needing to worry about enemies in that. You should pick the same guy, if it lets you.
lukewarm_ozone@lemmy.today 4 weeks ago
Difficulty is hardly the point of the post.
TachyonTele@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
OMG I added to the conversation, how horrible of me!
gratux@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 weeks ago
streamlining
you mean instead of playing the game, i could pay you to not play the game i’m playing instead?
sign me up
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I have this same mindset and it’s great because it results in 0 temptation to spend money on game progression or items. If I’m playing a game where it feels like spending money like that is the only way to have fun with it, I just drop the game.
Actually, I don’t even really bother with any games that I understand to have p2w aspects or any mtx that aren’t just cosmetic.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
If I’m playing a game where it feels like spending money like that is the only way to have fun with it, I just drop the game.
A big part of the “hook” in GACHA and other whale-hunting games is the initial hook of a fun and engaging setup. Genshin Impact and Sword of Convallaria both stick out to me as initially very fun and captivating games. They draw you in with the cut scenes and ramp up the curve like a normal open world JRPG.
But the longer you play, the more you start tripping over resource requirements and timers on abilities and the need to do “daily” activities that involve logging on every day. All of this is fun in the early cycles but feels more and more like work by the later stages of the game. Dungeons start looking more and more basic - big empty rooms with a bunch of respawns in the center. Fights feel more contingent on having a bigger number than any kind of strategy or skill.
If you’ve played older traditional JRPGs before, it’ll start feeling weird because you know you should be expecting the game to pick up towards a dramatic conclusion after 100 hours of play. But these games just… go on forever. There’s no payoff. You get tired and bored and you leave.
But if you haven’t played older traditional JRPGs, you’re just falling into this skinner box of induced anxiety. The game becomes habit-forming. The induced reflex to trigger a feature or use a power that’s increasingly paywalled encourages you to open your (parent’s) wallet.
Actually, I don’t even really bother with any games that I understand to have p2w aspects or any mtx that aren’t just cosmetic.
There’s a networking effect to a lot of these games. Up front, you’re strongly encouraged to get your friends to join in. And friends playing a game together can have enormous staying power. I know people who have been running the same D&D game for 20 years (literally the same characters and world, going on into the level 200+ range as they just crank those numbers higher). I know a couple that’s been doing WoW for their entire relationship - they started playing when they started dating and now they’ve got their ten-year-old son along for the ride.
I think part of what gives these games staying power is that they don’t require you to empty your savings account to participate. But I think its naive to discount the addictive power of a community space you’re comfortable socializing in.
These places are predatory. I can’t discount them just because I’m not one of the ones that got eaten.
spongeborgcubepants@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
That would certainly give me a sense of pride and accomplishment.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 4 weeks ago
[deleted]beastlykings@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
It’s a joke, because EA added crap to their games and defended it with those exact words.
That’s why you’re being downvoted by everyone.
58008@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I know OP is joking (at least I hope he is), but it reminded me of this thread about Soulslikes:
old.reddit.com/…/separating_difficulty_from_drudg…
Time-wasting respawns/progress loss seems like a very blunt tool with which to motivate the player to keep playing. It’s some 1988 arcade coin-op shit that we really ought to leave in the past.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Time-wasting respawns/progress loss seems like a very blunt tool with which to motivate the player to keep playing.
Tried playing a game of tennis with my friends. 0, 15, 30, 40, Point. Then if you’re two scores ahead the game resets. Wtf! Why did the game reset? I was 30-40 and now I’m back to 0? I should be allowed to keep my 30 into the next game.
Now I’m being induced into playing more tennis! I hate this.
And tennis has so few maps! Almost everywhere I go is concrete. Very luck to find a clay court anywhere. You need to buy the DLC to find grass, and only if you’re really lucky.
Its repetitive. Its exhausting. The rules barely make sense. And the match-making is completely fucked. I’m either playing people I trounce or getting my ass handed to me almost every time I go to a court.
I think I’m going to try and pick up chess instead. Does anyone know where I can go to upgrade my pawns to queens, though?
frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe 4 weeks ago
So your claim is souls likes are more like tennis than say, Fortnite is.
starman2112@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
It’s a very funny comment but also tennis is the gameplay of tennis. People don’t play tennis because they Iike the story so much lmao
solarvector@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 weeks ago
My favorite part of playing tennis is the commute back to the court after every time my opponent scores. I really get to savor and look forward to the next time I’ll get to swing my racket. It also makes victory that much more meaningful knowing that not only am I an expert at swinging the racket, reading my opponents moves, and responding, I’ve also memorized every crack, crevice, and nuance of conversation along the route to the court. That meaningless repetition of unrelated action is what makes games fun!
tetris11@lemmy.ml 4 weeks ago
It’s not quite the same though, souls still keeps the items you dropped, its just up to you to retrieve them.
You can’t claim you climbed a mountain, if each time you fell you just resumed from where you lost grip. Falling and reclimbing with renewed tenacity means that when you finally conquer the mountain, the view is all the more sweeter for the huge experience you’ve gained along the way.
gedhrel@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
You can’t claim you climbed a mountain, if each time you fell you just resumed from where you lost grip.
Sure you can; it’s called redpointing.
Honytawk@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
You can’t claim you climbed a mountain, if each time you fell you just resumed from where you lost grip.
Well, good thing games are better than real life. Or they would be worthless.
filcuk@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
It can be the only way to punish people in certain games.
If there’s no punishment for failure, there’s no reason to respect any dangers the game presents.
In Minecraft, what should happen if you walk north for an hour and die? If you respawn with your inventory, why not just do that again and die as a quick way to get back? Why even bother with equipment or food at that point? Suddenly, half the game mechanics have lost their meaning, and there’s a lot less to do for the player.Honytawk@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
If the punishment for failure is wasting time, then I’m just going to play something else.
LaLuzDelSol@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I think soulslikes are appealing to a certain type of player. Personally I love Dark Souls it’s my favorite game.
But I like playing with stakes. I remember stumbling around in the forest, down to my last scrap of health, with no more heals, desperately trying to reach the next bonfire. That for me is fun. Is it frustrating to lose your progress? Sure. But the only “penalty” is you have to try again or change your approach and try something else. And really, is being forced to replay a section inherently punishing? If the game itself is fun, you should still be having fun fighting and exploring even if you aren’t progressing.
abbadon420@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Green Mario and Metroid
I’m triggered!!
refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org 4 weeks ago
I’m just imagining a metroid coming down to suck the life out of Bowser
lIlIllIlIIIllIlIlII@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
But no Zelda with Epona.
Kolanaki@yiffit.net 4 weeks ago
Back in the day games were hard to stretch out the game, because there was only like 4 levels and if it was easy you’d be finished in a single afternoon.
Now games are thousands of hours long and they hold your hand every step of the way to make sure you actually see all that content; and then the majority of players quit after completing only about 1/4th of the total game.
PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
I’d agree with you mostly except that nobody out there making a “soulslike” actually seems to understand what makes Dark Souls so good. There are so, so many garbage soulslikes out there, and exceptionally few good ones.
Kolanaki@yiffit.net 4 weeks ago
To be fair, there are also a ton of games using the term “souls like” just because they have a respawn system and checkpoints.
Some of the good ones not made by From soft, IMO, include Lies of P which is probably the closest to form, and The Surge, but 1 over 2 for level design, and 2 over 1 for boss design.
Mortal Shell could be good if it wasn’t so buggy that enemies only actually appear once they’re in your face. It’s got atmosphere and the weighty combat part pretty good.
I haven’t tried Entoria, but the reviews don’t look good. I was hoping it would be at least to the level of Lies.
HawlSera@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
This is why I want a remaster of Space Channel 5, the timing is impossibly difficult (ESPECIALLY when emulated as video and audio isn’t synced), but it’s on purpose because if you aren’t stonewalled the game will only take one hour.
Freefall@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
A game is something that has a goal within certain bounds/rules. You accept that when you play and tedium isn’t relivent except as maybe a thing you don’t like, just like you might not like how a piece feels or character looks or a particular rule.
A toy is something you play with for “fun”.
I think people that want a toy accidentally start playing a game then get upset that it isnt a toy.
Ajen@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Why can’t/shouldn’t a game be both? Plenty of games have easy modes and cheat CONSOLES.
Freefall@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
They CAN be, but they are not obligated to be.
BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Recently I re-played Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 on an emulator and did not feel ashamed by making save points everywhere to avoid re-playing the levels, I had time for that as a kid.
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 weeks ago
I get the urge, but I wouldn’t reccomend doing that on any of the later Wario Land games. They’re puzzle platformers, so (especially in 2 and 3) the punishment for messing up is the short window of time it takes to get back to the start of the puzzle.
BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
I used save states on them also, I can’t remember if there were any problems with the puzzles.
hmmm@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
I use save function though but differently instead of saving everytime I breath I just save once at start of Level then everytime even if I take a single hit or Fall somewhere. I load my last start save no matter progress. That’s why it take me around 1 week just beat one game.
son_named_bort@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Kids have it too easy. Back in my day we did it the hard way! (using Game Genie)
Jax@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Gr8 b8 m8
Randelung@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Please. Please please please please PLEASE be satire.
lime@feddit.nu 4 weeks ago
dark souls would still benefit from difficulty settings
Adm_Drummer@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
The difficulty settings are your stats. Literally.
Depending on your build and your personal skill level the game becomes easy or hard. The souls games are notoriously difficult because people don’t have the attention span to learn boss patterns and want to kill every other enemy they see. The game punishes arrogance and forces you to figure out the mechanics yourself.
Once you get a hang of it the games become really easy. Not even joking. I have a harder time playing Space Marine 2 than I do Dark Souls.
lime@feddit.nu 4 weeks ago
sure but you won’t know that as a new player unless you go outside the actual game for info.
Honytawk@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
So what, I have to dive in deep just to get the correct stats to have the difficulty that I want?
How about my old retired dad, is he not allowed to play dark souls because he doesn’t have the same reflexes he did 40 years ago? Because it would otherwise invalidate your sense of pride for being able to beat it?
Dark Souls should have a story mode difficulty. Every game should.
Claiming it shouldn’t is selfish.
Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
Aye. Unpopular but…that’s a reason I haven’t touched any of those yet. Fucking respawn. Stop wasting my time. We had that enough back in the days when there only was 1 game a month (if at all). But they must exclude us with not having a difficulty setting. Cheating also doesn’t help in this case.
JokeDeity@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
I tried to pay DS1 about 6 times now, hated it every single time. Played ER, fucking loved it. DS1 is just horrible game design.
Kitathalla@lemy.lol 4 weeks ago
Setting aside the graphics, the map/open world, and magic becoming mana based rather than vancian, they really feel like the same gameplay to me. I think the bosses were actually easier in DS1. Honestly. Fighting the final boss, or say that capybara demon, really felt more like I was being a badass, learning the mechanics and being better than the boss, than the utterly annoying final few bosses in ER, where it was all about getting my stats high enough.
PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
That’s because Elden Ring is Dark Souls for noobs. You just weren’t able to git gud. It’s okay. Not everyone can. Saying a game that literally spawned an entire genre has “horrible design” is pretty ridiculous though, don’t you think?
AeonFelis@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
“Green Mario” because the kind of people who have these ideas should fear his true name.
Makeshift@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Thanks I hate it
tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
other characters… Metroid
renzev@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I’d go as far as to even implement a 1-Up mushroom cash-shop, $1 for five 1-Ups
Anon invents arcade cabinets
driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 4 weeks ago
It would be like 1us for 500 coins, and a pack of 5 life-up mushrooms for 450 coins.
intensely_human@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
I think it was 1up for 100 coins
SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 4 weeks ago
It’s okay not to like Super Mario. You don’t need to try and “fix” it.
twice_hatch@midwest.social 4 weeks ago
I think it was a joke
alekwithak@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
During COVID I beat smb1 for the first time. On Switch. Where you could rewind 😓
TastyWheat@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I beat this game back in the 80’s and I still don’t know how
ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 weeks ago
In the 90s I beat smw so hard, all the dragon coins, all the secret exits, tubular, the palette change, etc. it took years. I was convinced there was still more to find in that game even when the gba version came out and I finally had access to walkthroughs. I’m pretty sure I consulted Nintendo power on a few things though
I recently watched a guy play through the nes Bart vs the space mutants though and that was legitimately a like “no kid ever beat this”
proctor1432@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
So many comments about how it is meant to artificially extend gameplay, or motivate the player to continue.
Could it not be as simple as the game cartridge only holds 1MB of game data max, and restarting the level from 0 when you die uses less valuable storage space?
psmgx@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
ITT we don’t to know to program
Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
*enshittifies
echodot@feddit.uk 4 weeks ago
I used to play this game when I was like 10 I don’t remember it being particularly frustrating it wasn’t easy but I don’t remember it being impossibly difficult.
Freefall@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Don’t forget to add mounts and pets.
Hupf@feddit.org 4 weeks ago
Some kind of plucky green dinosaur would fit in well.
Googlyman64@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 weeks ago
we need that Yoshi armor dlc
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Do we at least get a participation medal, or can we buy one?
What other costly mistakes can we buy ourselves out of?
qyron@sopuli.xyz 4 weeks ago
Is this for real or am I too tired to understand the point of the text?
loaExMachina@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
I’m genuinely not sure wether or not the first text is sarcastic, but I’m certain the reply is.
paultimate14@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I know this is a sarcastic troll post but some QoL improvements can actually help old bad games.
And yes, Super Mario Bros was always bad. I never understood how it got so popular, even when I was a kid in the early 90’s.
kipo@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
I don’t think it’s fair to say Super Mario Bros. was always bad. People played the heck out of it when it released. One could argue that’s because it was bundled with the system, but I believe the consensus is that it is considered one of the best games of its time. It’s probably one of the top 3 NES games still played today. It is legendary.
nikaaa@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I never realized Mario is a metaphor for real life.
buzz86us@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I use save states fuck that paywall BS
twice_hatch@midwest.social 4 weeks ago
No it should have 10-year-olds with huge tits /jk
And009@lemmynsfw.com 4 weeks ago
For the love of God Gen Z is gonna kill us with sighs