Poll: Hard Difficulty as an unlock?

[hitheremynameisbob]

I don't mind having a harder difficulty to unlock so long as this is done with purpose beyond just giving us one more thing to do. It's important that mindful developers be able to dictate the level of challenge presented by an experience, as they can use this to great effect in accomplishing their goals. Carefully controlled difficulty can be used to enhance a story and better immerse players, while an extra-hard mode might provide an entirely different, less-desired experience for the first playthrough. What we need to recognize is that the rewarding feeling we get from overcoming the steepest challenge a game can throw at us is not the only reward we can receive from playing games. If a developer wants their players to first experience a more "normal" difficulty because they feel it better suits the atmosphere and story they're trying to convey, but also wants to accommodate players who desire the satisfaction of beating that higher difficulty, they may see great value in having a harder setting unlock after the player has first experienced the game as the developer intends them to.

All too often, this aspect of game design IS ignored, I'll grant you that, and in those cases it's very annoying, but careful control of the difficulty settings first available to players can be used to enhance the experience. It's a tool I'd like to see developers utilize more frequently.

 

[anthony87]

Depends on the game. For a game like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry having to do normal first works in its favour, if you started either of those on the hardest difficulty then you'd get your ass handed to you over and over again.

 

[Yopaz]

It's silly to lock the hard difficultly, because there are many people who like to use the hard difficulty as their default. Why should a person have to play through the game on a lesser difficulty just to play it on their preferred?

Locking easy I can see a little better, because it's the game's way of providing assistance to those who need help, and you have to prove you need help before you get it (by dying a lot) because the developers want you to at least try normal mode first.

First I want to say I agree and I want to mention Ninja Gaiden as an example. The normal and hard difficulty were there from the start, but if you died (I don't remember if it was after a set number of times or every time) you were offered an easier mode. It did emphasize the easy mode as "less honorary" since you would abandon the way of the ninja.

Now I think this is perfect. The game is too hard and you get the easy mode. The game is too easy (yeah right) Pick hard mode.

I have played a few games where normal mode bored me and I had to change the difficulty, I never even played Arkham City on normal to find out if it was too easy or not. When it comes to the Tales series I know the combat system well enough to want the challenge in the harder difficulty and I don't want to play through the game once just to get my fix.

So locking off hard is a stupid idea, but locking off easy is totally alright?

#GamerLogic

OK, you didn't get my point here. Making you beat the entire game in order to get higher difficulty is stupid. Giving you the chance to turn down the difficulty if you're struggling is less stupid.

I'm not saying either should be locked. I'm simply mentioning a way to inspire people to seek out a challenge and give them the option to back out if it gets too tough. I am also all in favour of the option to change difficulty during a run so you can adjust the challenge without starting over.

Try to read and understand the post you're arguing about before you act smug and poke holes in the logic of it.

 

[ninjaRiv]

I like to replay games for extra content/bonuses, trophies, fun, etc but not because of difficulty. If anything, I prefer to play a game on a harder difficulty and then go for the trophies and unlockables (a feature that I really love and would like to see more of. I fucking love concept art and behind the scenes vids) on an easier level.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Remember when DMC3 was first released, and the only difficulty level available to play WAS hard? The game was basically deemed impossible and they actually had to re-release it as the special edition. This wasn't a case of scrubs whining that the game was too hard for them. The game WAS impossible.

Hardly. It's not quite as impossible as one may think. Only if they look at the bare bones front. Much like Ninja Gaiden, the game offers to let you switch to Easy mode if you get killed 3 times. Failing that, the game has an Unlock Everything code that you can input, save, then have free reign to do as you please. Although I can't say I condone that option, personally. It also grants access to Super Dante right from the get-go, so you can turn Dante Must Die into Easy by simply ploughing your way through with an infinite Devil Trigger. But nonetheless, the option does exist whichever way you look at it. Funny part is that code's absolutely worthless in the HD Collection as it's beyond needlessly complicated to input and it disables saving and locks trophies/achievements until you reset. Hurr.

I do agree with the meat of your argument, though.

 

[blazearmoru]

I like games that have multiple difficulty settings, hard, normal and easy but with a twist.
Normal mode gives you the entire story.
Easy mode leaves out parts of the story. (nothing important mind you)
Hard mode has easter eggs.

I think that would give immense replay value as well as a reason to strive higher for the casual player while hardcore gamers can actually not waste time.

 

[CorvusFerreum]

I don't like it. I want to pick my difficulty as I please. And I want to be able to pick it after my skill level and after what I want to get out of the game. And I donn't want to have the desired difficulty locked away from me. (That doesn't mean I play every game on Hard. But I want to be able to do it, if I desire.)
I kinda get the point if it's some sort of ridicullously hard setting, which basicly renders the game impossible. So it can be enjoied by those who had experienced the game on Hard and just want some more edge. But many games tend to be not too challanging in any case. and locking the Hard setting in games like that is just a stupid attempt of adding fake replayability. And stuff like that just makes me pissed.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

There is nothing worse than having to slog through a game on a difficulty that is so easy for you that the game is boring, for the sole purpose of being able to play through the game a second time on a harder difficulty and actually enjoy it. A lot of games even have multiple harder difficulties you have to unlock so very skilled players might even have to suffer through two boring playthroughs.

The only purpose of having to unlock harder difficulties is to create the illusion that the game has more content and replayability than it truly does.

 

[SoulSalmon]

A lot of people in this thread are talking about a "New Game+" where you keep things from the last playthrough, these I absolutely adore, especially in an explorative game where you can access new paths on this second playthrough that were impossible the first time around.

As for actually "unlocking" hard mode... the only reason I'm against it is because save files are temporary finite things, losing a save file is tough, but then having to play through a game again to merely unlock the difficulty you were already playing through? nope, screw that.

Edit:

I like games that have multiple difficulty settings, hard, normal and easy but with a twist.
Normal mode gives you the entire story.
Easy mode leaves out parts of the story. (nothing important mind you)
Hard mode has easter eggs.

I think that would give immense replay value as well as a reason to strive higher for the casual player while hardcore gamers can actually not waste time.

I remember a lot of older games (about SNES/N64 era) ended sooner if you were on an easier difficulty setting, with the story becoming longer and deeper the harder you played it.
A game could end after a boss battle on easy, then in medium you discover there was another enemy behind them pulling the strings and get about 1/4 more game, then on hard you discover the boss has a 'final form' of some kind and do one final epic battle.
I'm pulling this example from experience but I can't remember which game it was...

 

[Maze1125]

It actually makes sense from the publisher's perspective to keep the harder difficulties locked.
There are a lot of people who see themselves as having something to prove, or similar, and so play any game on the hardest difficulty they can and will refuse to lower it even if they have problems. If you give these people the hardest difficulty right off, then they'll play it even though they're probably not very good at it. So, in turn, they will die a lot and won't enjoy the game as much as they might, or even outright dislike it. And then, when their friends ask about it, they'll say the game wasn't very good.
Alternatively, if the harder modes are locked, then these people will be forced to play on a difficulty that they can cope with, and so will enjoy the game more, and so will talk better about it to their friends who might then go on to buy it.

I agree that it's bad for us to have such options locked at the start, but they're not just doing it randomly.

 

[ph0b0s123]

It actually makes sense from the publisher's perspective to keep the harder difficulties locked.
There are a lot of people who see themselves as having something to prove, or similar, and so play any game on the hardest difficulty they can and will refuse to lower it even if they have problems. If you give these people the hardest difficulty right off, then they'll play it even though they're probably not very good at it. So, in turn, they will die a lot and won't enjoy the game as much as they might, or even outright dislike it. And then, when their friends ask about it, they'll say the game wasn't very good.
Alternatively, if the harder modes are locked, then these people will be forced to play on a difficulty that they can cope with, and so will enjoy the game more, and so will talk better about it to their friends who might then go on to buy it.

I agree that it's bad for us to have such options locked at the start, but they're not just doing it randomly.

I'm sorry, but those people are idiots. As I said when I posted this thread, I like to play on the highest difficulty available. But I and any gamer with 2 minutes experience, knows that sometimes a games hard or ultra hard difficulties are impossible to beat due to either bad play testing or mistakes by the game devs. I try hard, but move down without much embarrassment if the difficulty level is ruining my enjoyment.

I also stay away from nightmare or crazy difficulty modes as they are obviously put there by the dev's to be impossible. Someone may beat those modes, but it won't be me. I like difficulty, but I also want to have some chance of finishing the game.

But I object to having my difficulty choice removed because some muppets do not get the concept of lowering the difficulty if hard 'does as it says on the tin', and would rather ***** about it. I am quite happy if those types got dissuaded from play further games. Harsh I know, but it ruins things for everyone else if devs have to restrict the experience, to cater to these idiots by removing the choice from the rest of us.

Also I agree they are not doing it randomly, but to instill a false sense of replay value, which is a bad reason....

 

[MammothBlade]

No damnit. I like my Easy, Normal, and Hard analogues right next to each other. Just make Very Hard and Impossible modes unlockable....

 

[lechat]

i generally play on default difficulty and rarely replay a game so i really don't see the point
if i was to come back to a game a year later only to reinstall and have it tell me i first have to play the game on easy before i can play how i want i would be pissed

 

[DustyDrB]

Depends on the game. For a game like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry having to do normal first works in its favour, if you started either of those on the hardest difficulty then you'd get your ass handed to you over and over again.

Yeah, but if you're having trouble on Hard then you should be able to drop it down on the fly. There's no benefit to locking out difficulties.

This is one of those rare times when I actually get to blanket statement say, "It's bad, mmkay?"

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

It defeats the entire purpose of a hard difficulty. The reason I want to select hard is because normal is too easy. Don't make me slog through an easy game to unlock the harder one.

 

[Slayer_2]

I hate it, because I want to draw the first play through out as long as possible. I enjoy the story more in the game forces me to slow down and kicks my ass to the dust a few times.

 

[Vhite]

I think its ok if its like for example Painkiller, where you had hard difficulty and then there was masochistic difficulty if I think you finished the hard one. Still I prefer having all the difficulties available right from the start.

 

[Icehearted]

Part of how companies market games is to inflate approximate play time. It works, I've seen a lot of people talk about how much time it takes to complete a game rather than it's value overall, as if the price of a game and it's DLC is an intrinsically essential part in evaluating it's retail value.

The gimmick of unlocking difficulty is clearly, in part, a means to artificially inflating a game's value by increasing it's play time with an artificially created "replay value". It's padding and it sucks. An example for me would be Max Payne. I dearly loved the first two of those games, but found not getting the "true ending" without playing the hardest difficulty in the second one an annoying grind.

 

[Loonyyy]

It's not a new trend, but it's bloody annoying. Difficulty levels are there so all players can have fun, regardless of starting skill level. Taking skilled players and forcing them to play at the lower difficulty to unlock the harder one is just inflating the gametime with wank. It's as vapid as CoD's prestige mode. Oh, you got to the end? Do it again for a shiny!

 

[dimensional]

In games like Bayonetta having the option to start on Hard would be nigh on insane. The way it's set up is that the enemy encounters are just all round more bullshit. I don't think they have more health or anything but when an encounter on Normal is a few bog standard Angels and maybe one giant Angel then on Hard that same encounter is three giant Angels and the EVIL Grace & Glory duo I think you would agree that the guy on his first run through the game would be destroyed for no reason.

Besides, it would ruin the monster pacing. Whenever a new enemy is introduced they get their own little cinematic. With high level enemies coming at you about 3/4 levels before they should that's a bit silly.

Basically, it depends on how the game sets it up. Bayonetta takes the old DMC Dante Must Die-esque difficulty and ramps it up to stupid levels. I believe the highest difficulty is complete the game on max difficulty with zero Witch Time in one single sitting with no save points. Not even sure if there are any checkpoints either.

Bayonetta and the original DMC did difficulty correctly imo not just beefing up enemies but actually changing who you fight and where it basically made it feel fresh again I wasnt a fan of Bayonetta on normal mode but when I decided to try hard everything juts clicked and I loved it I was actually having to develop tactics now and it makes you feel so badass when you destroy a group of powerful enemies by knowing the mechanics and executing your abilities exactly as you want. If I had not played normal mode first however I think I would have quit for the reasons you mentioned.

The highest game difficulty in Bayonetta is non stop infinite climax mode which is hard mode minus the witch time and by the time you have finished hard mode this wont offer much challenge tbh you can save though im not sure about checkpoints as I dont remember dying by the time I got to this setting (I think they ar still in) as you basically know the game inside out, it is not as hard as Dante must die mode on the original DMC that mode was stupid. There are further difficulties in Bayonetta outside the story mode that were pretty insane such as facing the guy in the bar and although I never attempted it I believe there is a labyrinth type mode where the final enemy is a Bayonetta clone its in this mode saves and checkpoints are disabled I believe and I would be amazed if more than a handful of people around the world ever finished it.

Usually though locking difficulties dosent bother me I tend to leave most games on default some I will breeze through others I will struggle on, most games I only play once anyway I cant really see a reason for locking difficulty if all it does is make the enemies hit harder and have more health or greater accuracy, string together more damaging combos or whatever, if people think they are that hot to take it straight away let them. If it juggles things around though aka DMC,Bayonetta then locking makes sense but still its up to the devs and what they think is best theres no one size fits all solution.