A Skip Button for Boss Fights

[Erttheking]

What I don't understand is the whole "every game should be for everybody" argument. Right?

Wrong. I don't see people in this thread arguing EVERY game should be for everybody. The article argues that, but I see no one here arguing it should be mandatory.

But if, say, Dark Souls is going to put in an easy mode, that won't lessen the sense of euphoria I get when (ok that's a lie, the sense of euphoria I get if I ever) beat Smough and Ornstein without summoning help. Also if you think Dark Souls has a policy of Git Gud or Get Out...no. Not really. Not at all. That's the toxic section of the fanbase, not the game itself. Dark Souls actually has quite a bit to allow you to adjust your difficulty. The ability to summon two helpers does that.

 

[CritialGaming]

What I don't understand is the whole "every game should be for everybody" argument. Right?

Wrong. I don't see people in this thread arguing EVERY game should be for everybody. The article argues that, but I see no one here arguing it should be mandatory.

But if, say, Dark Souls is going to put in an easy mode, that won't lessen the sense of euphoria I get when (ok that's a lie, the sense of euphoria I get if I ever) beat Smough and Ornstein without summoning help. Also if you think Dark Souls has a policy of Git Gud or Get Out...no. Not really. Not at all. That's the toxic section of the fanbase, not the game itself. Dark Souls actually has quite a bit to allow you to adjust your difficulty. The ability to summon two helpers does that.

The game does promote that though, by being utterly unforgiving regardless of things you can do to make the game "easier" on yourself. The game will still absolutely punish you, it doesn't lighten up, it doesn't give you extra help, it does the same thing to everybody.

Would an outright easy mode in DS affect me? No probably not, except the temptation to drop the difficulty when shit gets too hard. It is easy to say, "Oh just let them have an easy mode because it wont effect you." But that's not true. Because the temptation of having that mode available to you is always there. Not to mention it adds a whole level of balancing work for the developers to put in.

Now I'm not opposed to easy modes if the developers want to put on it. But I'm also not going to be that dipshit who demands that every game have some sort of easy option, that every game has to cater to my tastes. Because that is what these articles always boil down to, "I didn't like this game, therefore it should change to fit me." That is a horse shit opinion and you know it.

 

[Erttheking]

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Not the exact same thing to everyone. It doesn't do the same thing to the people who use the optional items that make the game harder.

...I'm sorry, you're tempted to drop to easy mode? Uh...if part of you wants to drop to easy mode...then drop to flipping easy mode. If the higher difficulty is getting to the point where it's so hard that it's getting in the way of you having fun, stop playing on that difficulty. Good Christ, you talk about easier difficulty modes the way most people talk about microtransactions. You don't lose money if you drop down to an easier difficulty. Balancing work? Yeah, that's in every game with difficulty modes. It seems to be manageable. I mean you brought up Cuphead as an example of a super hard game. You do know that it has an easy mode right? It asks you which difficulty you want to play before every boss fight. I pick the harder one, but that's because I find it manageable. If I didn't, I'd get fed up and pick the easy mode.

"I didn't like this game," ok, you seem to be misunderstanding the core concept of the argument. Has it ever occurred to you that a lot of people are really interested in Dark Souls but are put off by the high difficulty? I know my friend is. She has a great time when I play with her and I'm able to help her out via summons, but when we can't arrange that, she just can't make it through.

Also "dipshits", Christ, you're talking about any easier difficulty mode in gaming. Any reason the idea of someone being able to get into a game that was formerly "hardcore only" makes you so irate? I love Dark Souls and Bloodborne, some of my favorite games in recent memory. And if they get an easy mode or skipable boss in future installments, it's optional and it lets other people play? Great! The more the merrier!

 

[CritialGaming]

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Not the exact same thing to everyone. It doesn't do the same thing to the people who use the optional items that make the game harder.

...I'm sorry, you're tempted to drop to easy mode? Uh...if part of you wants to drop to easy mode...then drop to flipping easy mode. If the higher difficulty is getting to the point where it's so hard that it's getting in the way of you having fun, stop playing on that difficulty. Good Christ, you talk about easier difficulty modes the way most people talk about microtransactions. You don't lose money if you drop down to an easier difficulty. Balancing work? Yeah, that's in every game with difficulty modes. It seems to be manageable. I mean you brought up Cuphead as an example of a super hard game. You do know that it has an easy mode right? It asks you which difficulty you want to play before every boss fight. I pick the harder one, but that's because I find it manageable. If I didn't, I'd get fed up and pick the easy mode.

"I didn't like this game," ok, you seem to be misunderstanding the core concept of the argument. Has it ever occurred to you that a lot of people are really interested in Dark Souls but are put off by the high difficulty? I know my friend is. She has a great time when I play with her and I'm able to help her out via summons, but when we can't arrange that, she just can't make it through.

Also "dipshits", Christ, you're talking about any easier difficulty mode in gaming. Any reason the idea of someone being able to get into a game that was formerly "hardcore only" makes you so irate? I love Dark Souls and Bloodborne, some of my favorite games in recent memory. And if they get an easy mode or skipable boss in future installments, it's optional and it lets other people play? Great! The more the merrier!

But how are you playing anything is you are skipping? You aren't playing at that point.

As usual you put extra meaning into what I said what isn't there. The point was that even if you think the "easy-mode" doesn't affect you, the fact is that it does. Because when shit gets too hard, the player is aware and tempted by just dropping it to easy.

And that's fine. I think you are missing the point of my discussion by focusing on me using Dark Souls as an example. So I'll use a different game.

Let's talk a generic JRPG okay? Lets say the player gets to the end of a dungeon and get wrecked over and over. Should the game be easier, or is the player just missing something about the fight? What can be done to fix the player getting stuck here? Well maybe they just need to level up some, a couple of levels and maybe the fight wont be so bad. Maybe they are using the wrong magics against the boss and if they merely use a different spell, the boss would die much easier.

Why should it ever be remotely considered, that the player should just outright be able to skip the boss without fighting it? That takes away the very essence of playing a game. If you want to skip through everything or not overcome the challenge yourself, then go watch a youtube video of someone else playing the game because that is basically the experience you are asking for in that regard.

As for your friend and the souls series. She is put of by the "rumors" of how hard the game is, and is basically talking herself out of being able to play. She can play with you there, but I would suspect that you do most of, if not all, of the work in those sessions and she enjoys the show for the most part. That's fine! But if she is unwilling to sit through the practice and failure of trying to get through a game designed to make you retry pieces over and over again, how is that the fault of the game? Why should the developers put something in the game that goes against their vision of how the game is to be played?

That's like saying that Horror films should have a non-scary version of the film for those people who don't like to get scared. Does that really make any sense to you?

If you can't play Basketball, is it the fault of the sport, or of you? Should basketball change so that you can play?

I mean come on here man. You saw the point I made about the dude who plays WoW with is tongue right? Or the kid who plays video games with one hand? Or the blind dude who plays fighting games competitively?

No video game is out of reach of anyone who wants to get through it bad enough. NONE of them.

 

[Erttheking]

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Hey, I'd skip some parts of Dark Souls if I could. Blight town? GOODBYE!

And I repeat myself. If you want to drop to an easier mode, do it. Seriously, what's so terrible about playing on an easier difficulty mode?

I really don't think so but ok.

Whole lot of maybes in this situation. And JRPGs are a really bad example, because those games can easily be broken by grinding. Even SMT and Persona can easily be broken if you're five levels higher than the game thinks you're supposed to be. They don't rely on high speed "think fast," reflexes the way Dark Souls does.

But if you really want to go with JRPGs, let me tell you about something. Fire Emblem is a JRPG. Fire Emblem a classic mode, where your units don't suffer perma death if they die. I had heard all sorts of terrible things about the final boss of Fire Emblem Conquest, so I turned out classic mode before I fought it. You know how it negatively impacted my experience? It didn't. It was a long grueling slog of a fight, with another fight right before it that you couldn't save in-between. If I didn't have an easy mode but the ability to skip that fight, you bet your rear I would've taken it.

No rumors, she's played it herself, she genuinely struggles with it. She mainly plays turn based games and struggles with the reflex times and awareness the game takes. Don't tell me what my friend's problem with the game, I've known her for six years, you don't even know what her name is. Their vision? You do know that Miazaki was the one who thought that the easy mode was a good idea, right? It's a little rich that you act like this is some kind of betrayal when the game devs themselves don't seem think it's that big of a deal. And "put the time in practicing?" I'm sorry, are we talking about relaxing playing games or doing our freaking chores?

More like it's acting like you're watching a movie wrong if you skip through scenes you don't like with scene select. Which I do. Frequently.

Can Basketball get a software patch to balance it out? No, it can't. Because basketball is not a video game and the comparison doesn't work at all.

Good for them. I'm not them. There's a man who deals cards blind too, good for him, I'm going to be using my eyeballs thank you very much. Yeah, I suppose I could learn how to play WoW with my tongue. But you know what? I don't fucking want to.

You make games sound like a fucking chore when put that way. I don't care for that mindset about games.

 

[CritialGaming]

There's a man who deals cards blind too, good for him, I'm going to be using my eyeballs thank you very much. Yeah, I suppose I could learn how to play WoW with my tongue. But you know what? I don't fucking want to.

You make games sound like a fucking chore when put that way. I don't care for that mindset about games.

You keep missing the point. It isn't about WANT, it's about doing what you need to do in order to experience the things you love. You think the dude who is fully paralyzed WANTS to play with the tongue? NO! He can't move any other part of his body, so he has found a away to play his favorite game with what he has to work with.

That's the point.

I get it, play on easy if you want, don't play on easy if you don't. That's all fine.

On topic, we are talking about outright SKIPPING things. That is just ridiculous right? I mean how can you justify that in any sense? It actively encourages less interaction in an interactive media. At some point we have to step up to this "all-inculsive" culture and say enough is enough because it is just getting absurd. It's almost to the point of being a parody of itself.

The very nature of a game, is you present your player with a fun challenge to overcome. The opportune word there being CHALLENGE. Even the very earliest of children's games had CHALLENGE, little math puzzles or color matching tiles or typing basic words, the one constant is EVERY game is there is a challenge of one form or another. Even games that require no skill to directly play require a challenge of time, Cookie Clicker for example is a game like this.

But a skip button requires nothing from the player. There is nothing to overcome, nothing to stimulate, nothing at all.

Easy modes are fine, ultimately. Skips are not.

(FYI: you can mostly skip a lot in dark souls by simply running past everything. There are very few moments where you are actively forced to deal is non-boss sections of the game. Although even skipping Dark Souls requires a level of skill sometimes higher than just playing through the game)

 

[Erttheking]

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And I fail to see how that's relevant, unless you're implying that reworking a game to either be easier or make it possible to skip sections is just as hard as repairing that man's nerve damage.

Is skipping things ridiculous? Not really. I can think of quite a few levels I'd skip, even in my favorite games. Blight town? Yeah, it can piss off. Actually, every person level From Software made can go to hell. And you keep going on about "all inclusive" as if it'll erode away the uber hardcore games. Clearly it won't.

I'm sorry, you're saying challenge is the fun people have in game? No. It's the fun you personally have in a game. Other people have fun in different ways in games. Plenty of people enjoy Dark Souls for its unique world and subliminal storytelling. Not just how it proves how badass they are. There's a challenge in every game? Yeah, but there would still be a challenge. No one with skip is going to sit down and skip over literally the entire game. Please don't tell other people how they enjoy a game.

Who cares? You act like people are going to sit down for five minutes, skip everything and then declare they're the best gamer ever. I see very few people paying hard earned money for that.

 

[CritialGaming]

Who cares? You act like people are going to sit down for five minutes, skip everything and then declare they're the best gamer ever. I see very few people paying hard earned money for that.

That isn't at all what I am saying.

I'm saying, if you can skip the game, what was the point in "playing" in the first place.

Every game doesn't have to be for everybody. Games should NOT have to accommodate everyone.

At the end of the day, technically nothing would happen if there was a skip function in every game ever. But that doesn't make it a good thing.

I'm fine with easy modes, hell I am fine with cheats. I used God Mode to play through Starcraft 2 because I wanted to see the story. I literally could NOT loose. But I still had to take on and get through every single mission in the game. I had to build units, capture points, rescue folks, I still had to go through the gameplay. If I wanted to just skip the game, I could have saved 100 bucks and just watched it all on Youtube. Despite there being no risk and no challenge, the point is that I still PLAYED the game. You understand the difference right?

 

[Kerg3927]

The point was that even if you think the "easy-mode" doesn't affect you, the fact is that it does. Because when shit gets too hard, the player is aware and tempted by just dropping it to easy.

Yep, the skip button would be sitting there like an evil snake with an apple. Some would have the discipline to keep trying until they persevere, some wouldn't, and many of those who gave up and skipped it would feel shitty afterward and regret it. Like a turd.

Overcoming adversity and being rewarded is a great lesson for anyone of any age. Because of this skip function, many would get a different lesson... give up at the first sign of adversity. Yeah, overall it's not that big of a deal, but it's certainly a step in the wrong direction and sends a horrible message.

Both sides have what they think are valid opinions on this matter, and "Git gud or gtfo!" is certainly as valid as "But I'm terrible and lazy and I deserve to be able to press a button and win!"

At the end of the day, there are other games that you can play if you don't like a particular one, and the developers don't have to cater to everyone. And that's not opinion, it's fact.

 

[CritialGaming]

The point was that even if you think the "easy-mode" doesn't affect you, the fact is that it does. Because when shit gets too hard, the player is aware and tempted by just dropping it to easy.

Yep, the skip button would be sitting there like an evil snake with an apple. Some would have the discipline to keep trying until they persevere, some wouldn't, and many of those who gave up and skipped it would feel shitty afterward and regret it. Like a turd.

Overcoming adversity and being rewarded is a great lesson for anyone of any age. Because of this skip function, many would get a different lesson... give up at the first sign of adversity. Yeah, overall it's not that big of a deal, but it's certainly a step in the wrong direction and sends a horrible message.

Both sides have what they think are valid opinions on this matter, and "Git gud or gtfo!" is certainly as valid as "But I'm terrible and lazy and I deserve to be able to press a button and win!"

At the end of the day, there are other games that you can play if you don't like a particular one, and the developers don't have to cater to everyone. And that's not opinion, it's fact.

Fucking Christ! Thank you! Exactly this, this is exact the whole point.

 

[Erttheking]

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Skip "the game?" I'm sorry, when you work it like it, it really does sound like you're expecting them to skip over the entire game. When frankly no one seems to be arguing that. It just seems like a good way to get through a section that's too frustrating.

"Every game doesn't have to be for everyone." Uh. Ok. I wasn't aware that I hadn't argued that. Because I didn't.

Still waiting for a reason why a skip function would be so terrible. Elitism is the only reason I can come up with at this point.

No. Though I think I finally get your problem. You keep saying what YOU had to do. You keep bringing it back to YOUR experience. More or less, you seem to be saying that people have to enjoy their media in the same way that you do. And if you're not saying that, then I really don't get what your problem is.

Snip

You are honestly comparing a skip button to being tempted by Satan. And you also assume everyone who ever skipped through a section feels bad about it. Well, I doubt I would. And I have this to say people who feel so terrible about skipping through a level. It's a freaking game. Lighten up. And if a section of game made you want to skip it, frankly, it didn't sound like it was worth playing. God. I wish you two got this mad about microtransactions.

Lesson? I'm sorry, games have to teach a lesson? You are honestly saying this shouldn't be done because it might send a bad message to children? The same logic used by censorship in cartoons? Should cheats not be allowed because they may send the message of "dishonesty is the way to success?"

Not really. "Git gud or gtfo" is arrogant elitism and "I'm terrible and I deserve to be able to press a button and win" is a strawman because no one has been arguing that point. No one who skips anything claims that they won anything, they just want to be able to move on and continue having fun. The fact that everyone keeps turning this into some kind of zero sum game says a lot about the attitudes behind the scenes.

You say that like you've made some kind of devastating point.

 

[CritialGaming]

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Skip "the game?" I'm sorry, when you work it like it, it really does sound like you're expecting them to skip over the entire game. When frankly no one seems to be arguing that. It just seems like a good way to get through a section that's too frustrating.

"Every game doesn't have to be for everyone." Uh. Ok. I wasn't aware that I hadn't argued that. Because I didn't.

You actually did argue that by bring up your girlfriend. She isn't good an reflex based action games, yet she has interest in Bloodborne. So you directly paired up a game with a person who the game just isn't for. Rather than just saying, "Hey Bloodborne isn't for her. It's a shame but that's the way it is." So you are effectively saying that the game should be for everyone. Now whether you mean adding a skip, or an easy function doesn't really matter because the basis of the point is there.

Not really. " "I'm terrible and I deserve to be able to press a button and win" is a strawman because no one has been arguing that point.

No one has been arguing that point? Really? Then why the fuck are we talking about a skip button. It's entire function is to dismiss a portion of the game to win because the person playing can't be bothered with trying legitimately.

It is okay for games to be hard!

It is okay for someone to not be able to beat a game!

It is NOT okay for anyone and everyone to have a simple "I win" button out of that.

 

[Erttheking]

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...Friend. Not girlfriend. Read my posts before you reply to me. If you're getting basic info like that wrong, you're not reading them properly. Now please go back and point out where I was talking about how and said "and therefore, every game should appeal to everyone." You can't. Because I wasn't. I was just pointing out the potential positives of skipping. Stop relying so much on strawman arguments.

You miss my point. No one is saying "I'm terrible and deserve to press a button and win," because that's a all stuff you and the other guy are stuffing into the conversation because, for some godforsaken reason, the concept seems to piss you off. No one is saying they're terrible, that's other people insulting them, and no one is bringing up anything about "winning" you're injecting that into the conversation too. It's not ok. Why? Tell me something. Why do you see someone skipping over something that's too much for them as them saying "I win?" Because you seem to be assuming an awful lot. And it's making me think of a certain word that starts with the letter E.

Now I'm going to give you some advice and I hope you listen to it. People enjoy games in a different way than you that doesn't prove how uber good they are. It doesn't affect your life or enjoyment of the game. Stop getting so worked up over it. Good god, you're acting like Mr. Incredible, as if this is somehow "celebrating mediocrity" or whatever it is you're so upset about.

 

[CritialGaming]

...Friend. Not girlfriend. Read my posts before you reply to me.

Friend who is a girl then. I should have added a space. Girl friend. Female Friend.

People enjoy games in a different way than you that doesn't prove how uber good they are. It doesn't affect your life or enjoyment of the game. Stop getting so worked up over it.

What are you enjoying by skipping? If you want to just see the story of a game, or certain parts or whatever, but don't want to actually put effort into the game, then why don't you just watch it on Youtube? What part of not playing a game provides enjoyment. That is the part I am missing.

Give me one example of how not-playing a game is more fun than playing a game, and I'll simply ask you why you are forcing yourself to play something that is un-fun?

I'm not worked up about it. You should know when I am worked up about something because I'll use WAY more swears.

What I am, though, is trying to explain why a skip button is not a good thing for gaming in anyway. Because it absolutely rewards players for not accomplishing shit.

In one of my previous posts I told you about how I used God-mode to get through starcraft 2? You read that part right? You didn't mention it, or offer a counter as to why a cheat code wasn't a good alternative to a skip button. So if a section sucks, Blight-town for example because you love Blight Town.

Blight Town and poison area's in the Dark Souls games are the best!

Would you not just be happy with a toggle-able god-mode? I mean you couldn't die, and there is no risk to anything happening to you, but you would STILL have to PLAY through those sections. You could still hunt the items, laugh as you overpower all the shitty bugs, and you'd get through that portion of the game without the stress of doing it for "real".

Is that not a fair solution? Doesn't it sound better than a skip?

 

[Erttheking]

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Friend will do.

The rest of the game.

The strawman argument here, as well as the thing you seem to struggle with, is that they're not skipping over the entire game. Just certain sections that are too much.

You said "fuck" four times in the first post I replied to, and in the second post you called people who want this "dipshit." I'm just saying.

And what is so terrible about this? Because, to be frank, you sound like you're talking about the effing evils of Communism for the love of god, and how everyone will be lazy because of it. It rewards people for doing nothing. Well, that's one way of putting "I can't beat this level, can I actually play the rest of the game?"

No, I responded to it. You asked if I saw the difference, and I said no. Just a flat out no. Because I don't and I still do. And then I talked about how you were making the situation about how you played the games and how people had to play the games the same way that you did, according to you.

No. Because I don't want to have anything to do with Blightown if I can. The slug through the marsh at the bottom is a pain in the ass, regardless of whether or not it poisons me. Sure, plenty of people would prefer the god mode over skipping, I get that. I'm not one of them. And you preferring it over the skip is fine, but it's kind of eyebrow raising that you want other people to take the path you find preferable, even though it doesn't affect you in any way.

 

[CritialGaming]

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Friend will do.

The rest of the game.

The strawman argument here, as well as the thing you seem to struggle with, is that they're not skipping over the entire game. Just certain sections that are too much.

You said "fuck" four times in the first post I replied to, and in the second post you called people who want this "dipshit." I'm just saying.

And what is so terrible about this? Because, to be frank, you sound like you're talking about the effing evils of Communism for the love of god, and how everyone will be lazy because of it. It rewards people for doing nothing. Well, that's one way of putting "I can't beat this level, can I actually play the rest of the game?"

No, I responded to it. You asked if I saw the difference, and I said no. Just a flat out no. Because I don't and I still do. And then I talked about how you were making the situation about how you played the games and how people had to play the games the same way that you did, according to you.

No. Because I don't want to have anything to do with Blightown if I can. The slug through the marsh at the bottom is a pain in the ass, regardless of whether or not it poisons me. Sure, plenty of people would prefer the god mode over skipping, I get that. I'm not one of them. And you preferring it over the skip is fine, but it's kind of eyebrow raising that you want other people to take the path you find preferable, even though it doesn't affect you in any way.

Then it's clear that we are just butting heads and continuing to talk is pointless.

For the record the "dipshits" I was referring too were the people writing these frankly pandery and whiny articles, most of which I think they post to stir up shit....thus "dipshits".

4 fucks is no where near upset. That's under my quota for a normal conversation bro.

 

[Erttheking]

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I think there's some very serious misunderstanding going on here, deliberate or otherwise, I can't tell. But whatever. Your call.

 

[Kerg3927]

You are honestly comparing a skip button to being tempted by Satan.

It was a metaphor for temptation that leads to regret. Could have just as easily used "cake for a fat person trying to lose weight" or something similar.

And you also assume everyone who ever skipped through a section feels bad about it. Well, I doubt I would.

I said "many people" not everyone.

And I have this to say people who feel so terrible about skipping through a level. It's a freaking game. Lighten up.

Your opinion. You don't feel any guilt for giving up easily when facing a challenge. Other people certainly do.

And if a section of game made you want to skip it, frankly, it didn't sound like it was worth playing. God. I wish you two got this mad about microtransactions.

Ever heard the phrase "no pain, no gain?"

Lesson? I'm sorry, games have to teach a lesson?

Never said they have to teach a lesson. But if they are going to teach one, a good lesson is better than a bad one.

You are honestly saying this shouldn't be done because it might send a bad message to children? The same logic used by censorship in cartoons? Should cheats not be allowed because they may send the message of "dishonesty is the way to success?"

Didn't say children, either. Lessons can be learned by adults, too. Just something to be considered, that's all. IF a lesson is being taught, then teaching people the value of overcoming adversity is better than teaching people that it's okay to give up easily.

And you don't think developers consider whether they are sending right or wrong messages in games? I'm pretty sure that they do. Moral lessons are incorporated into games all the time.

Not really. "Git gud or gtfo" is arrogant elitism...

You say that like it's a bad thing. If a game is designed for and marketed toward good players or players who want to work to become good, is that bad? Are good players or players who want to work to become good a bad thing? If not, then why is it bad if they tell people who complain about the game difficulty to simply put in some effort to get better or go play something else?

... and "I'm terrible and I deserve to be able to press a button and win" is a strawman because no one has been arguing that point. No one who skips anything claims that they won anything, they just want to be able to move on and continue having fun. The fact that everyone keeps turning this into some kind of zero sum game says a lot about the attitudes behind the scenes.

You can't win if you can't progress in the game. We're talking about a function that allows you to instantly progress and eventually win by pressing a button at every major obstacle. So yes, it is the proverbial "I win" button.

 

[Kerg3927]

... I don't want to have anything to do with Blightown if I can. The slug through the marsh at the bottom is a pain in the ass, regardless of whether or not it poisons me.

Arrogant Elitist Tip: There is a ring you can get that allows you to run fast in the marsh.

 

[Erttheking]

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You are still painting skipping over sections in a game as being always bad, even if they're sections that just aren't enjoyable.

You're still casting way too wide of a net.

No seriously. If skipping a section in a game makes you feel bad to any serious degree, you need to lighten the hell up. It's a goddamn video game.

Usually in relationship to which the "gain" is something actually worth a damn, yes.

I repeat my earlier question. Should we take out cheat codes because they teach the lesson that dishonesty is the best way to success?

If an adult learns "give up at the first sign of trouble," from a video game because it can skip a level, that adult probably wasn't very well emotionally developed. And you arguing against this because of the morals it teaches is two steps away from just flat out going "won't someone please think of the children." Developers don't have an obligation to teach the morals you want them to teach, in the same way they don't have an obligation to put a skip in if they don't want to.

No. Not really. I doubt the developers of Doom were sending a message beyond "killing demons is cool."

It is. If you're an arrogant elitist, frankly, fuck off. I'm sorry, this narrative about "game designed for good players who want to work to become good" adds around three layers of assumptions to intent of design, all of them being rather self masturbatory. "Are good players or players who want to work to become good a bad thing?" They are if they're unbearably smug and elitist about it. "If not, then why is it bad if they tell people who complain about the game difficulty to simply put in some effort to get better or go play something else?" Because it often comes with a certain level of smugness, arrogance, and "I'm better than you," all over a video game. It also assumes all complaints about difficulty aren't legitimate, as if Fake Difficulty never works its way in.

Might I suggest that not everyone is as obsessed with winning as you and Critical are? That they just want to enjoy the game on their own terms? And maybe you can just stop assuming that everyone who does this will avoid every single challenge? Or does that stop you from looking down your nose at them?