Poll: Easy Mode

[Best of the 3]

Onbjectively having an easy mode is good for new players and terrible players to get into a game .

Subjectively , i think people that play on easy are lazy . Play a game how it's meant to be played , pussies .

But this assumes that the only reason you play a game is for gameplay alone. Sometimes I like to play a game for it's interactive (and sometimes not so interacting) story telling, sometimes I like a game for it's visuals, sometimes I want to easily feel like a bad ass.

Now if I wanted a challenging gameplay I'd definitely ramp up the difficulty. For me, the way I see it, it's all about what you want out of a game. Hard gameplay only covers some areas, and in some cases can stop you from enjoying the others. It does for me anyway. I won't be thinking how pretty a game looks, or focused on it's story, if I'm doing my hardest to play at the top level.

So for me, is easy mode a good thing? You bet I think it's good. I play on it quite often, probably more so than harder difficulties. What do I think of people who play on easy? Nothing really. Same as what I do with people playing on other difficulties.

 

[aguspal]

Easy mode is a cool guy.

He dosnt bothers me, I wont bother him. I dont think less of people who use him, but I dont think highly of them either.

The end.

 

[Lunar Templar]

eh, i have no strong feelings one way or another toward 'easy mode' or the people that play then.

not sure why i should o.0?

 

[scorptatious]

When I was younger I would always play games on easy. Mostly because back then, I wasn't too confident in my skills and hated dying repeatedly in games. Heck, if it weren't for the option to play on easy, I probably wouldn't have gotten to experience the awesomeness of games like MGS3.

Now-a-days, I tend to play on the default difficulty. And if I feel I'm good enough at the game, I would raise the difficulty on subsequent playthroughs. Right now, I'm playing through Fallout: New Vegas on the Hard difficulty setting with hardcore mode on. Pretty fun I must say.

Man.

Remember when some games wouldn't let you get past a certain point if you had the game on easy?

Fuck you, Twisted Metal 2.

I sort of remember hearing that Superman 64 did that as well. I think you either had to play through the entire game on the highest difficulty setting in order to beat the game, or you had to manually raise it mid-game in order to proceed.

Not sure which one it was.

 

[Halima Saranov]

I saw a really good video on this subject the other day. I think easy mode is great since I'm not always very good, but I still want to play the game. I think Assassin's Creed is easy enough, but some other games I was thankful I could change the difficulty on because I'm bad at them like Fallout 3. I made the worst stat decisions, but I could still play through it on easy.

http://thebestgamesiteever.com/2012/10/video-discussion-takin-it-easy-how-easy-mode-only-helps-your-game/

 

[T_ConX]

I don't mind the existence of easy mode, just so long whoever is playing on easy mode is CONSTANTLY REMINDED of how TOTALLY PATHETIC they are for doing do.

Oh, and easy-moders should also be barred from getting most, if not all, of the achievements/trophies for level/game completion.

 

[Halima Saranov]

I don't mind the existence of easy mode, just so long whoever is playing on easy mode is CONSTANTLY REMINDED of how TOTALLY PATHETIC they are for doing do.

Oh, and easy-moders should also be barred from getting most, if not all, of the achievements/trophies for level/game completion.

I completely agree. I don't mind missing out on some achievements for playing on easy mode. Sometimes I just want to be terrible, but still complete the game.

 

[Terrible Opinions]

Man.

Remember when some games wouldn't let you get past a certain point if you had the game on easy?

Fuck you, Twisted Metal 2.

I sort of remember hearing that Superman 64 did that as well. I think you either had to play through the entire game on the highest difficulty setting in order to beat the game, or you had to manually raise it mid-game in order to proceed.

Not sure which one it was.

Damn, man. Twisted Metal 2 at least had "is a really fun game" working in its favour.

I don't mind the existence of easy mode, just so long whoever is playing on easy mode is CONSTANTLY REMINDED of how TOTALLY PATHETIC they are for doing do.

I Wanna Be the Guy put a bow in the player's hair and printed the word "WUSS" across all the game's save points.

 

[dagens24]

I feel like ez mode isn't ez enough. Easy modes are usually way too hard for people that have never played games before (or even games in that genre). Try getting a grandmother who has never played a video game to beat the training levels of Call of Duty; near fucking impossible. Every game should have a mode where you're 100% invinsible and is designed for people that have never played a game before.

TLDR: Long time gamers don't realize how hard easy mode can be for non-gamers.

 

[Loonyyy]

Easy mode is good. Simple.

People have different levels of skills, and many people haven't been playing games as long as I have, and many have played for longer. To expect all to have the same reflexes or skills is silly. I'd be happy (Play-wise), if they removed all the difficulties below the "Hard" one on FPS games. But if they did that to Total War, I'd be screwed. So acknowledging that some people don't play as well as we do is to acknowledge our own failings, and that we might need it at some point. Most of us would rather not be excluded from a game simply because we're not practiced enough. What if a new genre of game came, that no-one had talent for, that was ridiculously difficut? Would it be simply whining to be disappointed that we could not play because we weren't able to play on that difficulty? Of course not. It's simply silly to design something like that. Excluding deliberately obtuse titles like IWBTG, it's not the core concept, and changing the difficulty doesn't dilute that concept.

Variable difficulty lets each player choose what's enough to give them constant challenge. I'd never choose a difficulty I couldn't play, because hitting the wall and being unable to experience the content is 1) A waste of money. 2) Shows lazy design. If you can't graduate the difficulty so all can play it with their optimum level of resistance, then you're just bad at doing your job.

It's like at the gym. I might be able to put the Chest Press on 50kg. Some really skinny guy might come over later, and only can do 15kg. Some ridiculously buff guy might come over after him and put it on 80kg. We're all choosing our optimum level of resistance to give us constant effort. None of us is doing it wrong, and if the machine is designed well, everyone gets the same use out of it at different resistance levels.

EDIT:With the trend for content unlocks with progress, and the ability to buy progress with money, in games like Battlefield, Rocksmith, etc, it seems foolish to hitch up to the "Super hard games" bandwagon. Sooner or later, they can start releasing games which are too difficult to unlock the content for, forcing the player to buy into it. Far more insidious that DLC ever was.

 

[babinro]

I think all games should have an easy mode that is truly easy.
Something for the casual gamer to experience the games story/content.

It bothers me when an easy mode isn't included or isn't actually easy.
I'm looking at you, every wrestling game I've ever played where on the easiest difficulty you still get countered out on 60% of your fun moves.

For the record, I almost always play a game on easy. If the game is good enough to warrant another play through I'll gradually bump up the difficulty. Some genre's like RTS and RPG's I'll start on higher/highest difficulties because that's how I prefer them.

 

[llubtoille]

I like my entertainment to be as relaxing as possible,
basically little more than interactive TV.

 

[sethisjimmy]

I look at it this way. I'd rather have the inclusion of an easy mode than the game have a universal unchangeable difficulty setting that is too easy.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

It's not bad but personally I refuse to play it. I regard medium difficulty as the way the game was intended to be played, and will try for harder difficulties if I enjoyed it. I just want to feel that I've accomplished what the developer should reasonably expect of me. Of course this varies from game to game, Armored Core for Answer only gives you the highest overall rank if you S-Rank all missions on Normal and Hard modes, but they aren't an overall game difficulty boost, they are like an extra enemy turns up at the end or something, and I got the feeling that they were part of the game because they used characters from the arena that weren't involved normally, and even explained plot points a couple of times. In something like Mass Effect or CoD, Normal difficulty I would consider the level it's meant to be played at. If you breeze through it, it's because it's an easy game or you are very good, not because you've given yourself an advantage.

Other people can have Easy mode if they want, so I've said Alright.

 

[Arina Love]

as someone who plays all my games on easy! Easy mode is awesome!

 

[skywolfblue]

As one of those "casual gamers" I like to play on easy mode from time to time.

Having varying difficulty options is only a good thing.

 

[Nazulu]

I certainly don't look down on any one playing easy, or even cheating.

However, while easy is usually a good option to have, I don't believe it should be for every game. Many of you probably won't understand, but sometimes developers want to make a game that really challenges players in more ways than one, and they want the ending to be the prize.

I liked how Lylat Wars did it actually, all the different modes are there but the last boss on hard revealed one more trick up his sleeve. The story was still the same and those hoping to get a real challenge at the end did get that surprise.

 

[Joccaren]

More options is always good. Its for people who have never played that type of game before, those who have but are completely sh** at it, and those who just want to dick around having fun rather than playing seriously.
I personally play on medium on my first runthrough of a game, just so I can get through it quickly and learn everything I need to on how the game controls, and have time to counter-act glitches like borked cover systems, or getting flung off the map. After that I'll have a more serious playthrough on Hard, or higher, to try the game out as a challenge, granted of course that the game was enjoyable enough for a second playthrough.
I will consider myself a better player than most of those who play on easy as, generally, I am. I can play the game on hard and win relatively easily, they struggle on easy. I am a better player of that game than them. I don't hold it against them, and if one of them is my friend I'll co-op with them on medium or higher, and make sure they don't die so they can enjoy the feeling of beating a higher difficulty level, or if they'd rather play only on easy I'll tone down my playing style so we're about equal and they don't feel useless.

Easy mode is necessary with games being a big thing these days. I personally tend to steer away from it most of the time, but there are those who need it, and they deserve it so that they can enjoy the game too.

 

[King of Asgaard]

I see Easy mode as another option for those without an extensive gaming experience, or for those people who just want to experience the story.
Case in point, when I was a young kid, I would play on Easy, but as I got older, I started bumping the difficulty up to a level I thought would be perfect.
My reflexes have never been better, and in fact, when the Devil May Cry HD Collection arrives, hopefully this week, I'll be starting on Hard mode since the last time I played I had cleared it on Easy.
captcha: how quaint

 

[Olas]

I can't imagine why anyone would have a problem with an optional mode of play. Though it seems like most modes are easy mode these days.

Whatever happened to punishingly hard mode?