Poll: Who here actually wants RPGs to get easier?

[Blood Brain Barrier]

There's no doubt that for the past 20 or so years RPGs have increasingly been dumbed down to become more accessible. How many people approve of this?

I started playing a 22 year old RPG (I won't say which one) and after spending 2 hours creating my party got massacred nearly every battle. I'm no stranger to RPGs either and consider myself experienced and a reasonably good player.

The point is, I like this. It gives a sense of challenge and adversity which needs smart thinking to overcome. Modern RPGs don't have this. Even Legend of Grimrock was easy.

 

[sextus the crazy]

There's no doubt that for the past 20 or so years RPGs have increasingly been dumbed down to become more accessible. How many people approve of this?

I started playing a 22 year old RPG (I won't say which one) and after spending 2 hours creating my party got massacred nearly every battle. I'm no stranger to RPGs either and consider myself experienced and a reasonably good player.

The point is, I like this. It gives a sense of challenge and adversity which needs smart thinking to overcome. Modern RPGs don't have this. Even Legend of Grimrock was easy.

The Problem with RPGs is that you can grind your way to victory in most of them. Most of the challenge comes from higher leveled monsters or cheap tactics. What RPGs need is some sort of non-stat based modifier to combat such as strategy (over come bad odds with tactics) or real time combat (I.E. demons' souls).

 

[pure.Wasted]

I would rather have what we have today than what you described, but neither is ideal.

Depth is better. You start the game by being introduced to a simple world, but you're constantly given new mechanics to take advantage of, until little by little the world isn't so simple anymore and the only way to progress is by cleverly manipulating the mechanics you've learned. But the key here is that the game has to teach you how to manipulate them, it has to set you on the right track first before leaving you out to dry.

Fake difficulty is the easiest thing in the world to create. I give it zero props.

edit: the wording of the poll options is beyond useless. You might as well have asked "do you like good games or bad games?"

 

[krazykidd]

No , they are easy enough as it is . I like you OP am a gaming masochist and a rpg fan . But i do realize that most people don't like challenge , thus i suggest giving every RPG a difficulty setting. I like how SMT :Nocturn did it . Normal was Normal . Hard = monsters do more damage , you cannot flee from battle, Everything Costs 3x as much as on Normal . Now you COULD grind , but it isn't really a grind friendly game until you get to the end of the game . It was all about your battle tactics and luck on Hard mode . Very fun. For me at least .

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

There's no doubt that for the past 20 or so years RPGs have increasingly been dumbed down to become more accessible. How many people approve of this?

I started playing a 22 year old RPG (I won't say which one) and after spending 2 hours creating my party got massacred nearly every battle. I'm no stranger to RPGs either and consider myself experienced and a reasonably good player.

The point is, I like this. It gives a sense of challenge and adversity which needs smart thinking to overcome. Modern RPGs don't have this. Even Legend of Grimrock was easy.

The Problem with RPGs is that you can grind your way to victory in most of them. Most of the challenge comes from higher leveled monsters or cheap tactics. What RPGs need is some sort of non-stat based modifier to combat such as strategy (over come bad odds with tactics) or real time combat (I.E. demons' souls).

Not true. You can't do that in Icewind Dale or Pools of Radiance. Maybe in Skyrim or Diablo.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Easier? No, not necessarily. But I would honestly rather have an easier game than one that just demands I spend X number of hours in each new area grinding for XP and/or money to buy equipment. I've been through enough of that in the 8 and 16 bit eras, I don't want any more of it now.

If you're going to give me a challenge in an RPG, make it an honest challenge. If I die every second battle because my tactics aren't right, cool. If I die every second battle because I haven't hit an invisible level based milestone, then screw off.

 

[Zhukov]

Nah, not really. I'm voting yes just to spite you though.

Also. well balanced difficulty settings are the shit.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

eh...on higher difficulties that is fine what you described, but that is definitely not what i want. there is no point in me playing a game if i'm dying ever 15-20 minutes, it just causes frustration and wastes time that i could be doing other things, like getting close to finishing the game or some other random thing.

i don't see why they can't have both, plus most rpg's that allow mods have someone mod as such in, for people like you who play games for the pure challenge (nothing wrong with it mind you)

i just don't want that to be standard, cuz quite frankly i just wouldn't buy new games if all they do is make me die each battle and cause me to be frustrated.

 

[Zeckt]

I'm playing Xenoblade right now and the game is at its funnest when you accidentely fight a named special monster on top of a group your already fighting. There's a sense of danger and a need to survive. Without that, all the game has is its story which could kill the game too. Even if the combat system is good, who cares when its so easy it does not even matter since there's no challenge or fun?

 

[skywolfblue]

If easier means "streamlining" and making it more intuitive instead of a convoluted mess of confusing stats then viva la easier. I like modern RPGs more then the clunky older ones.

 

[Fishyash]

Don't the old kind of RPGs get easier as you level up? That's one thing I have been wondering to be honest. I've always thought that if at level one you're getting destroyed, surely the game must reward you very strongly each time you level up.

Okay, honestly I think they went too far in terms of ease of use. I think they should have stopped the streamlining at DragonQuest. If you can play an RPG with a D-Pad and two buttons that's a pretty big freakin' achievement.

 

[Don Savik]

Just make a game that takes skill to play certain content. GW2 looks promising with its dungeons.

I don't understand playing an mmo like some people do (facebook with an auction house)

To me, that mindset needs to die. The role of mindless economy drone shouldn't exist unless it suits the overall gameworld (ie EVE Online).

 

[Autofaux]

I would like one of those elusive things.. I think its called a *difficulty curve*.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Well, 1: The poll has nothing to do with the actual point of the thread (easier != dumbed down. NWN 2 was easier than BG2 and if anything it was more complex) and 2: To answer your question, I want games that cater to all tastes. People who like pain get games like demon's souls, people who do not get everything else. Not everyone likes games where you die within two seconds of rolling your character. :/

 

[Hazzard]

I think that the problem is that games are becoming easy to the point that the people good at them find them easy to breeze through. This annoys people so they either make mods to make it harder or rage about it.

 

[Starik20X6]

I think there's definitely a difference between 'dumbing down' and refining a game so it's convoluted parts aren't so convoluted. Claiming a game is 'harder' due to it being needlessly complex isn't difficulty, it's bad design.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I'd like to see games move backwards...away from the broadening of appeal. Games used to have target audiences in mind with design aimed at niche groups of fans. The net result was that while fewer people might have bought a particular title, those games are to this day legendary titles and sadly reminders of a better time.

Games now are solely mass-market appeal. "Dead Space" took survival horror and made it an action game. "Mass Effect 3" took a sci-fi RPG and turned it into a cover-based shooter/interactive movie. It seems that all you need to do now to make a AAA game is take an action game of any sort, add minor RPG elements and you're done.

Games need to get back to being tough, challenging and involve a little work to get good at. I'm simply not interested in bland, easy, consolised games.

 

[straymatter]

It depends on what matters more to you in a role-playing game: experiencing and participating in a narrative or manipulating Excel spreadsheets.

(Which isn't to say that a narrative can't be unsatisfying or spreadsheets can't be fun, but you know.)

 

[Vegosiux]

Just make a game that takes skill to play certain content. GW2 looks promising with its dungeons.

I don't understand playing an mmo like some people do (facebook with an auction house)

To me, that mindset needs to die. The role of mindless economy drone shouldn't exist unless it suits the overall gameworld (ie EVE Online).

"I don't understand it, therefore it needs to die." Not really how you want to come across with people. *shrug* Not that I'm in favor of that playstyle, but there must be a reason for it, I suppose.

And "skill" in games is something that's just too vague of an expression; I mean in the end it's still just hand-eye coordination and memorizing patterns most of the time. Reflexes aren't a "skill", on the other hand, and I do dislike "twitchy" games.

That said, any move to make an RPG less clunky is a good one, because when half your boss battle is against the game's interface, someone screwed up somewhere.