Have we gone soft? And is this good or bad?

[The Doctor]

I want you to think back to ye olden days, where the NES saved the world from the demise of videogames. Back then, games were hard. No, I mean they were HARD.

Seriously, in games like Battletoads, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, and more, you were lucky if you got past the fourth level. It's games like those that gave rise to the phrase "Nintendo Hard". They were infamous for being damn difficult.

And yet, they weren't SO difficult as to be unplayable. Many gamers persevered, and played until they finally cleared the game. Their reward was satisfaction of a job well done, and many wasted hours in front of the television set.

Games nowadays are easy. If they're not easy, they certainly aren't as hard as games were back then. That's not to say they aren't fun and great. Things just aren't the same as they were.

However, is this such a bad thing? In a day where everyone wants instant gratification, would making a game that difficult just discourage players instead of stimulating them?

That question makes me realize: We've gone soft. We don't want to set goals and spend a ton of time learning the ins and outs. We want a game we can play and continue playing to get forward to the next area or the next level of the story. We get discouraged if we continue to lose against a particular boss. Sure, we may still feel some satisfaction when we defeat one, but it's just not the same as it was back then.

However, dumbing down difficulty makes it easier for gamers to continue with the story. They can still have a fun game without having to lose fifty times just to find out what happens to the main character in his quest. This keeps the story going, and keeps the game going...which leads to shorter play times unless it's a longer game.

I think game developers need to find the golden difficulty, one that when you fail makes you think "Well, that's a shame, but I bet I can do it next time!". A game that is too hard is discouraging. A game too easy can be boring, or over too soon.

So what do you think? Have we gone soft? Is the dialing down of videogame difficulty a reflection on the human race? Is there a "golden difficulty"? How hard or easy SHOULD a game be?

 

[ABMorales787]

Gaming back then wasn't as diverse as it is now. Back then there wasn't much of a plot. However gameplay was what made games succesful. If it was different, it was good. The difficulty came with the territory. It needed a hook. There are still some games that come out with a good level of difficulty. But nowadays, people care more about graphics and story than the gameplay. Don't get me wrong. I love a game with a great story. But what you these days is just a game of "can you top these graphics?". And if that's not the case, the game's that come out have some convoluted, over-the-top gimmick. A game's difficulty is very important but developers focus more on looks, completely ignoring this detail and leaving the game at an easy standard so people can enjoy the visuals.

 

[Dagger Dias]

So what do you think? Have we gone soft? Is the dialing down of videogame difficulty a reflection on the human race? Is there a "golden difficulty"? How hard or easy SHOULD a game be?

I enjoy a good challenge from classic games.... (The original FF3 on NES and Mother 1 both were just plain unfair in terms of difficulty at some points)

However, I think games as a whole were toned down and made less hardcore so they could appeal to more groups of people. I have mixed feelings about it honestly. It's good that games are more mainstream now, but there aren't nearly as many that appeal to some of us oldschool gamers. Yet, the good side of it is that there are more people who are willing to play games nowadays. So I'd say it's more of wanting to appeal to other crowds rather than going soft.

As for how difficult a game should be? There is no right or wrong answer because it depends on the game itself. Every single game has a different answer for the question "how difficult does it need to be?". Does the team of developers want it to be user-friendly? Hardcore? Fun? Challenging? Any mixture of the above? They also have to ask themselves who their target market for the game is, that in turn helps determine how difficult the game needs to be.