Game Difficulty As a Virtue

The Wii and various mobile gaming platforms have done wonders for the trend toward casual or "easy" games. But the success of a few recent titles, despite their difficulty, has caused some to wonder whether the pendulum has swung too far; whether a little frustration can be seen as a good thing. Quoting: "The evidence is subtle but compelling. For one example, look to major consumer website GameSpot's Game of the Year for 2009: Atlus' PS3 RPG Demon's Souls, which received widespread critical acclaim – none of which failed to include a mention of the game's steep challenge. GameSpot called it 'ruthlessly, unforgivingly difficult.' Demon's Souls was a sleeper hit, an anomaly in the era of accessibility. One would think the deck was stacked against a game that demanded such vicious persistence, such precise attention – and yet a surge of praise from critics and developers alike praised the game for reintroducing the experience of meaningful challenge, of a game that demanded something from its players rather than looked for ways to hand them things. It wasn't just Demon's Souls that recently flipped the proverbial bird to the 'gaming for everyone' trend. In many ways, the independent development scene can be viewed on the macro level as a harbinger of trends to come, and over the past year and into 2010, many indies have decided to be brutal to their players."

Comments

Virtual virtues

[You'reJustSlashFlock]

Don't get enough money to hire two hookers at the same time.

Re:I returned Return to Zork in one day

[techno-vampire]

Emeril Lagasse suffers from the same problem as the article writer. They both think that one ingredient is the key to a winning formula. BAM! Just add some EVOO or in this case turn the difficulty all the way up.

Congratulation! You've lived up to your nick Yet Again! As any Food Network junkie could have told you, Emeril isn't particularly attached to EVOO -- in fact, he never uses the term -- preferring to spice anything and everything he makes with a seasoning blend he calls "essence," even if it doesn't seem appropriate. Rachael Ray is, among other things, the Queen of EVOO and the inventor of the term. (For those of you who don't watch Thirty Minute Meals, the term stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.)