LONG BLOG
Technical Difficulties- We've never had it better
For quite some time I�ve had some rather unusual thoughts about the structure of gameplay difficulty, and I�m glad that I have some incentive to fully explore and distill these concepts into a cogent argument.
Consider this common scenario from the average gamer�s life. Your favorite developer announces a new title at a conference, be it E3, GDC, TGS, or Leipzig. You have never been so excited! You wait for a year or two, keeping up with all of the news and previews, eagerly awaiting your chance to play it. Early reviews say that it is really good, but has some issues with the difficulty curve. You think to yourself �Bah! I�ve been playing games for years, I�m sure it will be fine.�
The release date is finally here; you walk into your local game shop and plop down the $50 or $60. You take it home, carefully peal back the cellophane, take a quick sniff and pop the disc into your system. You get everything ready, get yourself a nice coffee, take the phone off the hook, lock your door, turn down the lights, and settle in for a night of relaxation. Controller in hand, you are ready.
Two hours in, and the pacing is fine. You wonder what those reviewers were whining about. You haven�t had any trouble. Maybe they just sucked. You get to your first boss fight and you start having some trouble. You get killed. You think it�s no big deal; you reload a save and try again. You�re slaughtered. A little annoyed you rethink your battle plan, go grab a few more healing items and tackle it again. Nope. Bitch-slapped by some psychic alien you start shouting in frustration. Again you try, and again you fail. Ultimately, you give up and head to the forums to rip your favorite dev�s latest IP a new one.
Daniel Starkey 
Roager 1
Grethiwha 1
Consider this common scenario from the average gamer�s life. Your favorite developer announces a new title at a conference, be it E3, GDC, TGS, or Leipzig. You have never been so excited! You wait for a year or two, keeping up with all of the news and previews, eagerly awaiting your chance to play it. Early reviews say that it is really good, but has some issues with the difficulty curve. You think to yourself �Bah! I�ve been playing games for years, I�m sure it will be fine.�
The release date is finally here; you walk into your local game shop and plop down the $50 or $60. You take it home, carefully peal back the cellophane, take a quick sniff and pop the disc into your system. You get everything ready, get yourself a nice coffee, take the phone off the hook, lock your door, turn down the lights, and settle in for a night of relaxation. Controller in hand, you are ready.
Two hours in, and the pacing is fine. You wonder what those reviewers were whining about. You haven�t had any trouble. Maybe they just sucked. You get to your first boss fight and you start having some trouble. You get killed. You think it�s no big deal; you reload a save and try again. You�re slaughtered. A little annoyed you rethink your battle plan, go grab a few more healing items and tackle it again. Nope. Bitch-slapped by some psychic alien you start shouting in frustration. Again you try, and again you fail. Ultimately, you give up and head to the forums to rip your favorite dev�s latest IP a new one.
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About Daniel Starkeyone of us since 2:41 PM on 12.27.2006
Some say he never sleeps and eats only gourmet amaretto cupcakes. Others claim he's a hyperactive optimist. To citizens of the Destructoid empire, though, he's Captain Starkey, Intergalactic Games Journalist.
Disclosure: In my undergrad at the University of Minnesota, I did do PR and event promotion for Microsoft. It does not and has not affected any of the pieces I have written, but it is something that you, as a reader, should know.
Disclosure: In my undergrad at the University of Minnesota, I did do PR and event promotion for Microsoft. It does not and has not affected any of the pieces I have written, but it is something that you, as a reader, should know.