Why do we play Dark Souls?

[Grog289]

Hi Escapists,
I recently bought Dark Souls and I am having the same experience as a lot of people, namely that i've died a lot but I've found it one of the most compelling experiences in modern gaming. Normally a game that repeatedly kicks my ass would hold little appeal, yet this one is different. I rarely feel frustrated with death, but rather compelled to keep playing and eventually win. My question is this, why does this game have this effect of hardening resolve? And more importantly, is there a way to harness this resolve for real life tasks like studying?

 

[Devil_Worshipper]

Cause it's metal as fuck.

 

[butternut]

I imagine because death in Dark Souls is not portrayed as failure in that game, but more as a learning experience (even though it technically is in every game) it shows most in a game like Dark Souls.

As for applying this to real life you've probably been learning from mistakes since the day you were born...

 

[EclipseoftheDarkSun]

Heh, I suck very badly at Demon's Souls, having never gotten further than the parapets of the first castle. I guess one shouldn't play it when fatigued as errors creep in and punish you severely. I've put it on permanent hiatus while I play Skyrim, which despite its weird bugs and slightly crappy interface is more attractive and less unforgiving than Dark Souls to me.

Maybe one day I'll HTFU and finish it then proceed to Dark Souls. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Aeonknight]

Because death in Dark Souls is mostly fair. I can't think of a death I've had where I couldn't have done anything differently to prevent it.

 

[Blue Hero]

Satisfaction from success. When I fisted the gigantic anus of the asylum demon until he died from an anal prolapse, I felt like I had accomplished something great.

 

[Smeggs]

Because once I'd sunk a few hours into the game it actually became enjoyable, I just wanted to see what would come next, what I'd fight next, and what new more powerful weapon I could find. Plus, the music was cool.

Satisfaction from success. When I fisted the gigantic anus of the asylum demon until he died from an anal prolapse, I felt like I had accomplished something great.

Here, here. I felt that way when I went on my Black Knight killing spree once I'd gotten the hang of fighting them.

 

[Condiments]

Here is the argument boiled to its simplest state. Most games that are considered "difficult" by the populace are poorly designed and have "cheap" difficulty. Which means the player is often thrown into unavoidable scenarios where they will fail even IF they've played correctly.(One-shots, cheap hit detection, etc.)

Dark souls for the most part(some parts can be considered cheap IMO) is actually well designed in terms of its overall difficulty. Combat is well designed, weighty, and enhanced by the overall difficulty. There is a sense of omnipresent tension when fighting enemies, and it requires your full attention. Thus, it is more engaging than most games that simply require to wade through mindless encounters.

Good difficult games are hard to come by because most developers aren't willing to put in the effort, and rely on "cheap" difficulty. Dark souls is one of those rare gems that stands out in terms of its design, mechanics, and overall gameplay.

 

[Souplex]

Because the difficulty is always fair. When you die, it's your fault.
It's a real game for real men.

 

[DanielBrown]

I don't really play it due to the difficulty. More because I love medieval settings and RPGs.

Also because...

 

[Xanthios]

How much satisfaction do you get when you brush your teeth? Not much, because it's simple, poses no challenge, and you do it (hopefully) every day...but how much satisfaction would you get if you had to save someone from a burning building? A massive amount, because it would be challenging and probably has/never will occur.

Video games today are kind of similar IMO...most games that come out are overly simplified and tend to hold your hand through the experience. Therefore, when you beat a game, level, etc. that has been extremely simple to play though, it can be just a "meh" experience when you succeed. With DS, however, due to the high difficulty, you have to try and try again, but when you finally succeed, you gain a real sense of pride/accomplishment. More challenge equals more satisfaction.

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." - Anne Bradstreet

BTW, Devil_Worshipper, awesome Xavier pic

 

[The Abhorrent]

Hi Escapists,
I recently bought Dark Souls and I am having the same experience as a lot of people, namely that i've died a lot but I've found it one of the most compelling experiences in modern gaming. Normally a game that repeatedly kicks my ass would hold little appeal, yet this one is different. I rarely feel frustrated with death, but rather compelled to keep playing and eventually win. My question is this, why does this game have this effect of hardening resolve? And more importantly, is there a way to harness this resolve for real life tasks like studying?

As others have already noted, death in Dark Souls is treated more as a learning experience rather than a failure to complete the task before you. Dying is usually either the result of naivety or carelessness (getting overconfident in previously completed sections of the game will get you killed), and each death pushes the player to perform better than before. As a result, the difficulty is much more fair despite the game being significantly more challenging that many other games out there.

---

As for how to apply that resolve to studying? Well... that's a little tricky. The drive for you to do keep pushing onwards despite the incredibly difficult content didn't manifest in my own studies until quite recently, specifically when my engineering courses shifted from mere analysis to actual design; after several years of analysis-oriented courses (which do lend themselves to the standard idea of regurgitating what you're taught), design really tests your knowledge by requiring you to apply it. It's the difference between merely having the knowledge and understanding what it really means (and if you have to ask what that last phrase means, you don't get it).

Perhaps the best example of this for me has been structural design.... which, in all honesty, has got to be one of the most brutal & rigorous things I've ever studied. The other aspects of engineering I've studied are quite tame in comparison, though they aren't exactly slouches either. A typical average for my courses tends to be around 80%, which is appropriate for a group of students who are quite focused on their studies; in structural, it dropped to 50%. Despite the course itself being twice as demanding as the other courses (and the majority of students putting in the increased work to compensate), the marks are still significantly lower than every other course. It's just that damned hard. Thankfully, the course is graded on a curve (of sorts); so the lower raw score doesn't translate into a lower GPA.

And you know what? It's probably one of the most interesting & enjoyable set of courses I've ever taken. Hard as hell (beware those open-book exams), but at the same time very rewarding. Definitely not for everyone though (the number of students in the structural design courses is far less than the other technical electives, for obvious reasons), but certainly worth it if it's what you love to do.

And before I forget... yeah, those kind of courses don't exist in high school.
And most of college/university for that matter.