Is difficulty a serious problem for you in games?

[Milanezi]

Yes, real life has too much stress and hard times for me to turn my entertainment system and get into MORE stress lol Basically, I see difficulty as a fun measure, some people have an amazing knack for shooters and "easy" takes any fun from the game, so maybe in "hard mode" the guy will have more fun. I simply believe the game must be fun, that's all, and what's hard for me might be easy for someone else, and some people might even have fun in overcoming the difficulty itself. So far, the only "hard" game I'm very much into is Dark Souls, but that's because the "difficulty" in it is much more a part of the game's very own "gameplay design" than a leveling system about "how much effort you'll have to put into the game in order to beat it", it's hard to explain, but anyone who played Dark Souls knows what I mean...

 

[Eamar]

I've never quit a game because it was too hard. I am guilty of occasionally looking at guides or turning the difficulty down for a section that's kicked my ass more times than is fun though. How quickly that point is reached varies massively from game to game, and I don't like to make a habit of it as it can feel disappointing unless it's an absolute last resort or the fight just isn't fun.

For reference, I tend to start games on normal difficulty (unless it's a franchise I'm already familiar with), then either stay on normal or switch to hard once I've acclimatised. I don't go in for Insanity modes or whatever.

 

[TehCookie]

-snip-

Just wondering, since you seem to be into fighters have you played one without using a guide? I mean completely blind where you didn't look up any information.

It's hard to gauge how guides help you improve in competitive game since it's not a static challenge. Winner or losing in competitive doesn't mean anything. You may get someone who will punish the smallest mistake or you could get a terrible player and you can win because you're faster as mashing buttons. Like I already said guides don't make you an expert in single player either, but they provide enough to get past most challenges. In competitive they help you improve as well.

 

[white_wolf]

For me the game isn't hard or challenging enough in its goals I can beat games in 2 -3 days without even trying and that is very annoying and a huge let down for me. I can't recall quitting a game because I struggled with it I can recall quitting games because the plot sucked, or the game was insultingly easy to the point I didn't enjoy it at all and it became a chore to play.

Yeah, that's how I felt a bout Asura's Wrath. No real combo system to speak of, but LOADS of story which I ultimately found rather drab because it was just so... slow, the enemies were not threatening, and I didn't really feel powerful. Games like Bayonetta makes you feel powerful in the very beginning even when you can't do any wicked weaves. Metal Gear Rising or God of War have you kill a pretty kickass and dangerous looking boss to help teach gameplay mechanics (except blocking in the latter, that game does a pretty shit job of explaining how to use your moves). Asura's wrath has you punch out about a third of a planet but the sound design and gameplay preceding it are just so drab it's not really entertaining.

As for difficulty: I put in a LOT of time on Dark Souls, but I got stuck on the 4 kings like a year ago and just haven't had much motivation to go back. Sure I could head toward the Bed of Chaos or Nito, but it doesn't sound appealing since I know I'll still have to fight those damn 4 kings alone (didn't get Beatrice and got no friends to help me).

I remember I also got stuck one one bit in star fox, then my brother deleted my saves for memory card space (Ah, good old gamecube), and so I never got more than half the stones/spirits in that game (need 4 and... 9? respectively to complete the game).

I also couldn't actually WIN a game of Shogun II. The damn realm divide and having the enemies spawn entire army stacks when my economy only allows me a few good stacks gives rise to the need to have ninjas to hold their armies in place indefinitely, which is too expensive to maintain because it simultaneously limits available funds for any given turn to not enough to actually build an army to counter the ones held in place.
I think I'll take another crack at it come summer break. That game is still great.



TLDR: I think that I generally don't have a problem when games are difficult to the point I can't beat them. Good games can be very enjoyable even if you ultimately fail, and few games (I'e played) which have actually proved challenging enough where failure is an option are bad.
Exception: Monsoon in Revengeance. Fuck that guy and fuck my old, well used, x box controller for making it so damn hard to block. Fuck Armstrong too because the game NEVER explains how to dodge and you can't block most of his attacks; even if you technically can I personally cannot in no small part due to my old worn controllers with the semi-busted left thumbstick. Maybe the PC version will be better for me in that regard... or I'll just buy a new controller.

I can relate to the whole my file got deleted and haven't replayed the said game. I was ONE mission away from completing Red Dead Redemption and my file got deleted! I saw the ending from my sister who finished it just after me so that took a little wind out of my sails for completing it as I just got the end spoiled for me. I do eventually intend to get back to the game because it was very good but I'm still playing the games I have now so its on a waiting list.

Personally I'm getting very sick and tired of this whole accessibility band wagon combined with already simplified concepts, goals, or stories, and worlds I've got ideas for games but no tech skills for the programs, I can write the narrative scripts but I failed miserably at 3D animation software and flash so I don't think I'll ever be able to get my things made.

 

[e90grfvsyu7bk]

I've never had a problem with difficulty in a game, if i start i finish.

 

[COMaestro]

I don't think I've ever quit a game due to difficulty. I have quit games because I got bored and decided to move on to something else (this includes Bioshock and Half Life 2), or just because I didn't have the ability to play it effectively (trying to play Demon's Souls when you have a newborn child just doesn't work as you can't pause and will likely need to. Often. Managed to get halfway through though before needing to stop). I have given up on certain things in a game due to difficulty, though I usually intend to go back and do it eventually (FUBAR mode of Spec Ops, for instance).

So no, I can't say that difficulty is a problem for me at all. I might hit hard stretches, but I eventually get through them after enough tries.

 

[spartan231490]

No. Not unless I've cranked up difficulty and gotten stubborn, like my Dragon Age: Origins nightmare play-through. Almost got so bad on a master playthrough of skyrim but I turned it down to expert

 

[Weaver]

Not really at all. I generally find games too easy, to be honest.
I mean, it's not like I don't struggle or give up on bullet hell games or other style things that were flat out designed to be incredibly difficult; but for most mainstream or "normal" games I don't usually struggle that much.

 

[Adair Belton-schure]

I often stop playing games when the difficulty gets annoying.

Difficult games are fine, annoying games are not. Sometimes it's hard to see the difference.
I feel as if there are two types of difficulty, mental difficulty and physical difficulty. In the former the challenge is in learning all there is to know about the game- Strategy games, RPGs. In the latter is it usually about reaction times- general shooters, hack and slash games.
When one crosses into another it sends me reeling and tends to get on my nerves: Why do I have to be amazingly quick to macro in Starcraft 2 if it's a strategy game? What's with learning a boss' move patterns in Super Meat Boy?
OR
If the game is unfairly hard- An RPG which doesn't explain it's mechanics, a shooter which I'm not quick enough to play.

These are all different reasons I stop playing games, but often difficulty settings can abate at least some of these problems. That is until the inevitable tiny stun-lock enemy comes around.

 

[Quazimofo]

I can relate to the whole my file got deleted and haven't replayed the said game. I was ONE mission away from completing Red Dead Redemption and my file got deleted! I saw the ending from my sister who finished it just after me so that took a little wind out of my sails for completing it as I just got the end spoiled for me. I do eventually intend to get back to the game because it was very good but I'm still playing the games I have now so its on a waiting list.

Personally I'm getting very sick and tired of this whole accessibility band wagon combined with already simplified concepts, goals, or stories, and worlds I've got ideas for games but no tech skills for the programs, I can write the narrative scripts but I failed miserably at 3D animation software and flash so I don't think I'll ever be able to get my things made.

Focus on your writing skills and you just might. Games still need writers. Get good and impress someone in the industry and you might find your worlds come to life regardless of your programming illiteracy!
It's something to strive for at least. Maybe give NaNoWriMo a go next year and see if you're already at the level of whole, fleshed out, stories.

 

[Longstreet]

I always turn the difficulty up to the highest settings. Sometimes i make an exception for a type of game a never / rarely play but after that there is usually a replay on the highest.

Should i quit playing a game it is usually because either the control are a fucking disaster, it is boring, or just plain badly made.

 

[Signa]

Generally, I find games too easy. Not easy enough that I can just plow right through them, but I find them too forgiving in many aspects. The challenges they pose are usually overcome by taking a moment to be careful for a second. In the end, I rarely get the feeling like I accomplished a difficult task anymore. The last time I remember was in Batman Arkham Asylum hard mode, and I had to take on 10-13 guys in the records building all at once. I could have just flown over them and moved on, but I wanted to punch them all sooooo badly. THAT was a worthy challenge, and I felt great when I won.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Generally, it isn't a question of difficulty for me but rather, it's a question of a game keeping me engaged and willing to play it. A very recent example would be GTAV and Link Between Worlds. I've played LBW by virtue of having grown up with Link to the Past and, I've played GTAV before by virtue of having played GTAIII, VC, SA and, IV...but I would go back to Link Between Worlds before GTAV because I am more easily (and more effectively) engaged by the top-down Zelda than the loading, overly dramatic, free-roaming 3rd-person shooter. I wouldn't say either are particularly difficult though.

As for difficult games that have made me say "screw this noise" I'd say retro games that I never played as a kid. I like putting on Castlevania 3 if I have a few minutes but I don't see myself sitting down to try playing through it when I have games like Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon or, X-Com: Enemy Unknown left unbeaten.

As for difficult games that make me say "YOU WILL NOT FUCKING BEAT ME" - FTL: Faster Than Light. That one isn't so difficult as it is luck based though...Paper's, Please is a little less luck and a bit more skill/difficulty though and neither will fucking beat me! Legend of Zelda and, Link's Adventure were like this too: difficult (even when guided) but immensely satisfying to beat.

 

[karamazovnew]

Bad difficulty: Guitar Hero 3, Raining Blood on Expert.
Good difficulty: Silent Hunter 3 with a few mods, towards the end of the war.

Both became basically unplayable, no matter how good I thought I were until that moment. But while Guitar Hero 3 was simply frustrating, Silent Hunter turned into the most thrilling experience I might ever have on my computer and a worthy memorial to the poor souls that died trying to do that for real.

Also car sims... against human players it's mostly ok, but against the computer it's just unfair. You get a good wheel, you learn all the theory, you spend days to tune up your car and learn a track, you drive at your very edge, then you find yourself 5 seconds per lap slower than the computer. WTF?!

 

[demoman_chaos]

Generally no, unless it is bullshit cheapness. Recently, I was playing GTA V Online, doing a mission solo for Ron where you had to snag a boat. After getting in the boat, a helicopter is spawned and by the Gods I want to bitchslap whoever chose for that to happen. At this level, you have no access to effective anti-copter weapons (save for a lucky sniper round to the pilot). You can't try to outrun it, as the boat is open and the gunners will just pick your ass apart. I tried many times to gun it down, but near 1000 AK-47 rounds combined with however many sniper rounds I got in while it was coming towards me wasn't enough. I took out the gunners leaving only the pilot, yet somehow I was still getting shot by it despite the birdie not having any weapons. I tried killing the pilot, but the bastard just wouldn't die.
I overcame this horse bollocks via going into the Boneyard Survival, using that trailer as cover and going through the waves until I could snag the minigun and the Heavy Sniper. With those I was able to bring the helicopter down.

The only game in recent years I have remotely struggled with has been Dark Souls. That was frustrating enough to make me quit it within a few hours. I wanted to like it, but found it far too frustrating, especially as it doesn't explain anything, not even what half of the stats do.

Other than that, I play most games on the hardest difficulty I can from the start, and rarely have any issues.

If you look on the bottom of the screen in the menus, it tells of a secret button that will tell you all about the stats (for PS3 I believe tis Select but I haven't used it in a long long time). Dark Souls does difficulty very well, in most areas (there are many areas that are beyond frustration). If you pay attention to your surroundings, you can pick out most hazards and enemies. Lublub charging (i.e. running in like a berserker while screaming "LUBLUBLUBLUBLUBLUBLUBLUBLUBLUBLUBLUB") works in a lot of games, just not Dark Souls.
The best example of difficulty done right is Sens Fortress. You go in the front gate and see a switch on the floor. Step on it, and arrows fly from right in front of you. The first axe swinging traps are easily avoided and uncontested. The 2nd axe trap has a foe down the line shooting at you, which is followed by another floor trap. Then you get to the rolling balls. The first one hits an enemy, showing you these things hurt. After you get past the first section, you hear a loud scrapping noise, slowing you down so you get to see that balls have altered their path.
It also shows difficulty done wrong. One bit in particular is quite the dick move. The first Mimic appears in Sens Fortress, and will eat you. Floor notes can help, though I think the developers should have placed one of their own right in front of the fucker. Otherwise, Sens Fortress does a good job of difficulty.

 

[Artaneius]

The only games I believe should be by definition hard is multiplayer driven games. The reason is simply because I believe that if anyone could win in a competitive setting then there is really no reason to actually get good in the game. If someone can just pickup the controller and immediately start getting frags/kills then that game doesn't reward those who actually put in work and effort into that game. Single player games I don't really care since it doesn't really change or influence anything on a grand scale.

 

[Tomeran]

I find that a lot of the games I try dont really have a notable challenge to them, and I usually up the challenge very high for it to be enjoyable. That doesnt have to necessarily mean I am an incredibly skilled gamer or anything, rather in my selection of games. The difficulity tends to be hard to tell before you purchase a game.

My choice of difficulity is particurly true in strategy games, somewhat less so in shooters. Mostly because im fairly good at strategy games, and only average, perhaps even quite poor,(by some definition of that word) in shooters. Even when the obstacle is really hard, I tend to keep going at it because I feel an immense satisfaction when I finally get past the hurdle. This is in particular true when I try to solve puzzles, which I frankly tend to suck at.

I like challenges, and my worst experiences with games tend to be when there's simply not any challenge to get through them. This bothered me in the early mass effect titles somewhat, for example, as its relativly easy to plow through them even on the hardest insane difficulty. ME3 and in particular its multiplayer solved that problem. Thank god for platinum difficulity, now that's a challenge.

When games push you to think, use your head and where you have to use every tool available to you, that's when its working properly imo. I have plenty of friends that think I tend to take this a too far, especielly as I sometimes tend to push the difficulity where I cant even properly handle it and have to re-try and re-try. But sometimes that's preferable to just breezing through it without as much as a tiny hurdle.

 

[JagermanXcell]

With the age of figuring out stuff by yourself slowly dying, I still try to keep it that way even with the laptop right next to me 24/7.

Whenever I pick up I new game I strive for a challenge right off the bat. Its why I praise Dark Souls so much, I finally got to play a game where taking things slow and steady ends up giving me the most satisfaction. It could just be me though, I can easily adapt quickly to whatever a game throws at me, its why I love to experiment when a game offers me numerous options even though I might die with what I built.

All in all its not a serious problem, the lack of challenge in most AAA games is the issue. March's Dark Souls 2 can't come soon enough...

 

[Maximum Bert]

-snip-

Just wondering, since you seem to be into fighters have you played one without using a guide? I mean completely blind where you didn't look up any information.

It's hard to gauge how guides help you improve in competitive game since it's not a static challenge. Winner or losing in competitive doesn't mean anything. You may get someone who will punish the smallest mistake or you could get a terrible player and you can win because you're faster as mashing buttons. Like I already said guides don't make you an expert in single player either, but they provide enough to get past most challenges. In competitive they help you improve as well.

Yeah I have never looked up any guides for Street Fighter 2 Turbo (or any versions) or Soul Calibur (again any in the series) and they are the two fighters I feel most proficient in the first one because I played it for I dont know how many hours 100s easily though and the second one I had a friend who was really into the series and was pretty damn good so he basically taught me by thrashing me in 100s of games before I actually became something of a challenge to him.

One win or loss dosent mean much you have to look at someones record and the records of people they have played as well as look at how they handle themselves in attack and defense with the tools at their disposal and how they try and regulate the flow of battle to get an idea of if they are good or not (among other things).

I think we may be getting off track because I 100% agree with you that guides can and usually do help I just dont agree with what you said in your original statement about no game being difficult because of the proliferation of guides these days. I recently just stopped playing Metal Gear Rising Revengenace and some of those VR missions are hard as balls especially getting 1st place Ive seen guides of people doing it on some but doing what they just did seems impossible I can do the moves but getting the enemies all lined up neatly like they show seems entirely luck based in 30 attempts I only saw them do it once when I tried and then the last enemy did the wrong move so I couldnt do the instant kill and lost out on first place by 2 seconds....gutted.