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Game Essentials - 20 Difficult Games

Posted by Zonk on from the hardest-of-the-hardcore dept.

Last week, in a discussion of the essentials of game design by John Harris, Gamasutra posted a list of twenty really difficult games. It's interesting not only for the purposes of the article (examining the concept of challenge in game creation) but also simply as a personal scorecard for your own gaming career. My personal albatross: "8. Monkey Ball, a.k.a. Super Monkey Ball. Putting that monkey in the ball may have been a whimsical masterstroke, but don't let it fool you. This game is hard. Design lesson: If you're going to make a super hard game, make it fair. No one thinks Monkey Ball is unfair. There is no randomness. Everything that happens is a direct result of the player's actions, and there are no hidden portions of the level waiting to destroy the player. It's not like a boss enemy with secret attacks the player couldn't possibly survive the first time seeing it. It's not only possible to reach and finish Monkey Ball's Master levels, but it could be done on one's first try. Winning the lottery is more likely, but it's possible." How many have you mastered?

5 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. FOSS classics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Why no mention of great FOSS games?

    Oh... that's right.

    1. Re:FOSS classics by Mprx · · Score: 3, Funny

      Just because you suck at Nethack, doesn't make it "difficult".

  2. Hardest Game Ever... by blahlemon · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...Duke Nukem Forever Why do you think it hasn't been release to the general population.

    --
    It take more faith to believe in evolution than it takes to believe in God
    1. Re:Hardest Game Ever... by PFI_Optix · · Score: 2, Funny

      So now games have five difficulty levels:

      Easy
      Normal
      Hard
      Impossible (but not really)
      So hard you can't actually play it, we'll just TELL you it's hard.

      Sort of like Brockian Ultra Cricket when you think about it.

      --
      120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
  3. toughest ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Getting laid.