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Post by nerdybat on Jan 3, 2018 9:51:41 GMT -5
A thread like that was probably already created on this forum on one point or another, but I think it would still be interesting to share opinions and discuss one of the things exclusive to a video game medium - in this case, difficulty settings.
As for me personally, I've spent a decade mostly ramping difficulty to the max - to challenge myself, give more playtime to often short games, and just out of weird sense of pride. However, during last 2-3 years or so, I've started to try more and more games on Normal setting, as well as revisiting games I've completed before on lower difficulties, and that eventually evolved into some sort of epiphany. Several conclusions I've made for myself when playing same games on different difficulty settings:
1) Most games aren't really designed with "Hard/Expert Mode" in mind, and at times it breaks the fun or balance of the game - like how in Hitman and Manhunt games you lose the way to track enemies on the map, which turns both games into trial-and-error; or how fun shootouts of Uncharted transform into cover-based slogfests due to how quickly you lose your health. There are exceptions (like rhythm games, which are actually more fun and rewarding at higher difficulty), but they're much more rare.
2) Challenges are often "artificial" - most of the time, you don't get harder levels or intricate obstacles, but something like "you have less health" or "dudes take more damage".
3) Aside of couple of unlockables and achievements, in most cases you don't even lose out on anything - story and levels are the same, from start to finish.
I like challenging games a lot, though, which is why I'm quite a Mega Man and Castlevania fan - it's just the first two points above that made me tired of harder modes, since challenging games are actually designed with their level of challenge in mind.
Either way, I would really like to read your opinions and tastes when it comes to difficulty settings .u.
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Post by kaoru on Jan 3, 2018 10:06:00 GMT -5
Easy. I'm bad at games and have no patience to get good.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 3, 2018 10:37:54 GMT -5
I usually go with normal since that's what the game is usually designed around. I might drop down to easy if it's changeable and I just want to power through and finish it. I don't mind hard games, but selectable hard difficulties do tend to be garbage if they don't change enemy placement, amount or abilities i.e. some sign that more thought was put into it beyond "Enemy Damage x 2".
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Post by Exhuminator on Jan 3, 2018 11:15:13 GMT -5
I always default to Normal the first time I play a game. I do so, because like dsparil said, it's what the designers intended as the standard experience.
I never play on Easy because I like for a game to be at least moderately challenging. I only play on Hard if it's a game I've already beaten before, and I want an extra level of challenge the next time.
Sadly with most games, "Hard" just means the player has less life and does less damage, whereas the bad guys have more life and do more damage. That's just boring. Some games however, do add new creatures or hazards that only exist in Hard mode. I can respect that kind of design.
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Post by JoeQ on Jan 3, 2018 11:26:22 GMT -5
Normal, if I'm playing for the first time. Hard or beyond if I'm already familiar with the game or the series. Halo, for example, I only play on Legendary or Doom on Ultra Violent (Nightmare is too much for me). Of course, this only applies if I feel that the harder difficulties add to the game. Half-Life games only get more frustrating, so I'm perfectly with Normal.
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Post by vnisanian2001 on Jan 3, 2018 11:38:36 GMT -5
Depends if the game has an ending policy. Otherwise, I play on normal. For instance, I always play Contra III on hard.
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Post by ZenithianHero on Jan 3, 2018 12:01:26 GMT -5
Normal. I usually skip Hard mode unless there's something new to it. Easy sometimes if teh game is incredibly hard and I just want to do a content/story run. Fighters I usually go a notch easier than the default settings until I learn the combat and boss fights better.
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Post by toei on Jan 3, 2018 15:01:05 GMT -5
I like challenging games, but normally play them on Normal, because like you wrote, most games are designed around Normal mode anyway. Also, I hate games that drag on unecessarily, and hard mode tends to do that by giving everything more health. One thing I find a little unnerving is when a game only has Easy and Hard, like some of the old Resident Evils. In the end I choose Hard because Easy risks ruining the game, but I kind of resent not having a standard, default option.
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Post by The Great Klaid on Jan 3, 2018 15:10:10 GMT -5
I usually default to Normal unless if it's a more complicated longer game with loads of rules. Then I go to easy just to learn the game. Some action games I like to start at hard, but only if numbers can't fuck it up like a lot of JRPGs
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Post by Snake on Jan 3, 2018 15:14:38 GMT -5
Depends if the game has an ending policy. Otherwise, I play on normal. For instance, I always play Contra III on hard. Ditto here. I play to get the complete ending, whatever is possible at the default difficulty. In most cases, I actually prefer games that have no difficulty option - like most RPG's, or old-school games like Rygar and Bionic Commando. Or Resident Evil 1, where Jill is easy mode, and Chris is hard mode, but have alternate storylines.
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Post by JoeQ on Jan 3, 2018 15:37:09 GMT -5
One game I'm still bitter about never managing to complete on harder difficulties is Viewtiful Joe. I wanted to unlock the other modes and characters, but Episode 6 is just so soul-suckingly awful that it breaks my will every time on anything higher than Normal/Kids.
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Post by cheetahman91 on Jan 3, 2018 15:59:20 GMT -5
The default difficulty.
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Post by nerdybat on Jan 3, 2018 16:05:27 GMT -5
Half-Life games only get more frustrating, so I'm perfectly with Normal. When it comes to Half-Life, as much as I absolutely adore the series, I have to agree with Tehsnakerer's argument that actual shooting is probably the game's weakest part, and it holds up so well mostly on brilliantly executed setpieces and fun gimmicks to occupy yourself with. Hard mode in HL1/2 in particular is just not very well executed - it doesn't make the game that much harder, but forces you to put the whole magazine into every combine/vortigaunt, which makes your guns feel incredibly weak, which is a bad sign for any shooter (I mean, if you can't instakill your enemies with a well-placed shotgun blast, what kind of shotgun is even that?)
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Post by jackcaeylin on Jan 3, 2018 16:33:59 GMT -5
Since we are at hardcoregaming101, the answer is
-the highest difficulty
To be honest, lots of people feel offended when they use easy, thus normal is the new easy since 7+ years. Many games have just 3 difficulties and I do get the feeling that hard is always the true/designed difficulty. I would only use a lesser difficulty, if the difficulty system is too pathetic, for example, no difference, but you have to grind longer, because you get less experience points. Honestly, these kind of difficulties aren't really difficulties, they are just very cheap. It is one of the many reasons why games like Persona 5 sucks so much. To be honest, lots of difficulty options are really cheap and not well thought. It is one of the cases.... where I would even accept the easy difficulty. I mean, if the developers don't even try, then why do they even offer these difficulties? Is it, because of traditions? This is kinda pathetic.
I can't understand people, when they always choose (doesn't matter genre) the easy difficulty. I mean, if you hate every battle systems in games so much, then you could watch youtube streams of these games.
I do get the feeling that games without difficulty options have always the right difficulty, because they don't have to touch the system and adapt it.
Some developers have also a very weird views of game systems. If I remember correctly, Tales of Berseria had a crafting system, but you can completely ignore it, if you play the game, even at the highest difficulty, but my question is: "Why do you even create a crafting system? This is such a waste of budget and resources, besides, who likes that? I mean, I never heard someone saying: "YEASS; I got the Platinum Armor +12, I just wasted my life with 123 hours of grinding due to the shitty drop rate! That is awesome!!!!" - such a flawed and popular system.
Another thing that is flawed: Unlockable difficulties. What is the point of unlockiable difficulties? I mean, if you know the game, then you know the drill.
Yours sincerely
Jack Caeylin
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Post by moran on Jan 3, 2018 16:47:50 GMT -5
I always default to Normal the first time I play a game. I do so, because like dsparil said, it's what the designers intended as the standard experience. I never play on Easy because I like for a game to be at least moderately challenging. I only play on Hard if it's a game I've already beaten before, and I want an extra level of challenge the next time. Sadly with most games, "Hard" just means the player has less life and does less damage, whereas the bad guys have more life and do more damage. That's just boring. Some games however, do add new creatures or hazards that only exist in Hard mode. I can respect that kind of design. what he said
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