Just because the game is hard, people stop playing the game?

I made a single player level in Far Cry 5 Arcade. I intended it a bit harder. I spent hours and hours to made the level, but the rate of that level was 1 star. I really don't think the level deserves 1 star. The gameplay and scenery are polished and balanced. Apparently, people stop playing the game if the game is hard. So I understand why big game companies like UBI try to make games for casual people.

But WHO are the casual people? Are they just young? SJWs? Is big data saying that making easy and simple games is good? Some say game industry stay the same for like ten years. Is that really true? But I remember, 10 years ago, there were more challenging, organic games than nowadays.

know your target audience.

OP

1. 'hard' is a sliding scale. to say 'all i did was make it hard' doesnt mean a lot. you could have made it impossible.

2. is that LITERALLY what your reviews said or are you making assumptions?

Some people play games for relaxing, and they don't wanna play on hardcore levels.

@yd: Before mocking people who like an easier time; question-

What's the hardest game(s) you've beaten. And do you have screenshots to back-it-up?

Game industry has become more popular than earlier. 10-20 years ago not many people had good PC and consoles, mobile phones were simple. Now game platforms have cheaper price. A lot of people know that playing video games isn't bad. More gamers - more casual people. It's normal because casuals are gamers who didn't play a lot of game earlier. When they'll play more games they'll become true gamers.

Plenty of people like hard games, look at Cuphead, Dark Souls, Monster Hunter, etc. I think the the trick is that your game must be advertised as being difficult so that people will go in expecting a challenge instead of being thrown a curve ball. And that's just one aspect of making a hard game, the point is making a hard game that's actually fun is much more difficult then you might think (Extra Credits made an excellent video on this).

Lol, love how you shoehorned SJW's into your rant. Anyway, there's challenging and then there's overly difficult and unfair. Maybe yours was the later. Maybe there were other things people didn't like about it. Maybe it was too time-consuming and people want something that's more quick to beat, regardless of difficulty. If it really had a 1 star rating, then either not many people played it and you're taking it too personally, or a lot of people played it which means your level is universally hated and there must be more wrong with it than its difficulty.

i found it way too easy. you were lucky to get 1 star from me

If the game is insanely tough because level design is crap and because the devs were obviously idiots, then its ok to quit. Dark Souls1 is perfect example of this.

Well designed toughness is always rewarding, and it actually makes you want to go on.

So, if game is hard in a way that makes you hate the game, it means the game has been badly designed. Its as simple as that.

@yd: I tried Dark Souls 3. And I found it impossible even on it's easiest setting. I was at it all day i managed to make it to a point where i had to fight this guy who was way quicker than me who had me pinned against a ledge. By the way this was just at the beginning after killing the big dude.. embarrassing i know.. (hides in corner full of shame).

I even had a walk-through on my iPad open which some kind soul had posted on the web how to get through it, still nada..!!

I'm 43 years old, female and a seasoned gamer so not young. I do enjoy open world exploration but also enjoy kicking bum every now and then.

I think every now and then a game comes along that is sooooooooooo annoyingly difficult it makes you want to throw your controller at your lovely hi def screen. Even when you get a win it's so short lived the defeats outlive the rewards. Such is life..!! :)

Causal mean they are casual players, play maybe just on the weekend or an hour a night. I have put games down that where hard but I didn't enjoy, then again I have failed 20+ times and still played till I've beaten (waiting till the next day to play again helps a lot) the part I was stuck on because I enjoyed it.

What do the SJW have to do with anything?

Yes it's SJWs fault! ?

Probably you just suck at game design. Also, I imagine that people who are playing user made maps in FC are not willing to lose too much time on a level.

Dark Soul games don't have difficulty settings, maybe you found it impossible because you played an entirely different game that has difficulty settings. . .

Dark Souls are slightly above average as far as difficulty is concerned, no means "impossible" by any gaming standard.

@tryit:

I beat the level several times. It's not impossible at all.

The problem is that the game doesn't show the result that creator has beat the level or not. So you may have a chance that you are challenging a level that is literally impossible.

In Mario Maker, you have to beat the level FIRST, then you can upload it.

But wow, Nintendo that people call a childish game company makes the game in deeply understanding of challenges, while american game company that is supposed to be "for adult gamers" makes this silly weak game with low understanding of gaming.

UBI has more money than Nintendo. And there must be a law that only adults can buy Far Cry 5. Why is that? Are adults in america are weaker than little children? I saw a video in Youtube that an american gamer complains so much about the game like crazy while he keeps getting killed by enemies. May be that's all about it.

@RSM-HQ: Dark Soul games don't have difficulty settings, maybe you found it impossible because you played an entirely different game that has difficulty settings. . .

I was definitely playing Dark Souls 3 but just got confused that i changed the difficulty settings. Sorry about that..

Thanks for replying by the way, your the first person to reply to any of my posts since i joined in 2004..!!

@yd: Have you asked for friends to play your level and give you feedback? It's completely different one playing his own game and others doing it. Being possible to beat a level doesn't mean the level is well design and/or enjoyable. It can happen that a level is so obtuse that only you can beat it, because you know the intricacies of its design, while others are straight away repelled to keep pushing forward.

lol..

dude of course you did, you designed the ^*() thing! of course you would be able to to.

That's ok, but wouldn't give up on DkSIII so easily, like any game get use to the gameplay, the flow, and it's far easier than one would imagine. A great game awaits

Thanks for replying by the way, your the first person to reply to any of my posts since i joined in 2004..!!

Well in fairness you've only made 60 posts in 14 years. And GS Community overall heavily enjoys replying to troII bait, or debates on recent game controversies.

I just like to engage in conversations of interest, and really like Dark Souls. Only here to talk games. And always believed the difficulty chatter was misleading about DkS. Plenty of games are more difficult than DkS even within the past decade, DkS is just a fun Action RPG series with interesting mechanics, and great combat.

Was it difficult for the sake of difficulty? That's bad.

Was it difficult because it actually had challenging components? That's good.

Making things artificially difficult is lame, but some people are duped into thinking that just because a game is difficult, it is somehow better than an easier game, or being able to finish the game makes them part of the "gaming elite" or something.

Yeah I thought that little gem was hilarious. It's those damn SJW's! They're responsible for everything wrong in the world.

I can just imagine some Trump supporting gamer trying to make a difficult level "That'll teach those gosh darn liberals! They'll see!" in FC5 --and of course FC5 because 'guns, America, and Montana' like the game was made for red states-- even though Ubisoft is the Frenchiest of the French.

Jangles25 Did you just leak the plot for Broforce 2 (☉_☉)

@RSM-HQ said:

@mrbojangles25 said:

I can just imagine some Trump supporting gamer trying to make a difficult level "That'll teach those gosh darn liberals! They'll see!"

Jangles25 Did you just leak the plot for Broforce 2 (☉_☉)

I did....sorry :(

On a semi-serious note how is that game? Bought it on sale the other day.

@mrbojangles25: I really like it, very fun with a few friends as well.

It's a lot like Worms in some aspects without the turn system.

Majority of the gaming audience play games only for relaxation. If the game is too hardcore people might tend to not play them often. Yet if you can shift your target audience to hardcore players, you might find the stats interesting!

I think there are two types of gamers, casual and hardcore.

Casual players usually play the game for the entertainment and smooth experience, storyline, you got the point i think, most of the players are casual gamers, even if they choose hard difficulty.

Hardcore players, though, enjoy the hard parts of the game and finds value in efficiency and enjoys learning patterns of the game, they are more technical.

So when the casual player dies a few times on the same course, they just want to enjoy the game, after work or school, not having another job of beating the game. Hardcore player would choose to grind out the hard parts and learn to enjoy that. Hard games generate higher sense of achievement

Personally for me, I will surely try my best when reaching a really hard level but when i will stop until a limit as it takes out the fun from that game. Sometimes I don't feel like spending that much time on a really hard game. Just my personal opinion :)

There is also 'hardocore casual' (a word I just made up) which might mean they are passionate about games in general maybe ever more so then a person who is 'hardcore' but they dont like super hard games

Yeah I am somewhere in the middle with challenging games. I started off with fairly easy games like Uncharted 4 and then promoted myself to Horizon Zero Dawn which was "challenging" to perhaps the average player I suppose and can be difficult on higher levels. Now I crave for more of a challenge in Horizon Zero Dawn and played Uncharted 4 on Hard for the trophy (crushing I might go for?). I am a "hardcore casual" because I hate failure and defeat in games but I don't let it beat me and I have beaten mostly every single challenge or wall that has come my way and will in the future.For example I struggled with MHW but I still managed to get into high rank and not quit like quite a few people I have seen did. I even brought Bloodborne and my soul purpose is to beat the elder dragons in MHW and the final boss before trying Bloodborne which is a greater challenge. I gradually progress and although I am far from being a person who can fully appreciate challenging games I am beginning to learn patience and perseverance. I am one who likes to be the master of my domain XD.

I think it depends on what you find interesting in the game, my attitude varies per game. So for my first playthrough of something I might be more chilled out and then the next playthrough I might be a bit hardcore as I want to now see.

COD ruined everything.

I'm currently playing xcom 2 and I intend to finish it, nuff said.

@yd: Who determined it was "polished and balanced?"

But yes, this is why big companies make games for "casual" audiences. In order to make a game that targets a lot of people, the game needs a difficulty that a lot of people would be comfortable with. Apparently, it's good enough for you because you bought the game, so careful about who you're judging.

I think 99..999% of it is that.

its more socially acceptable now.

I can recall the time when I said to myself 'I bet one day TV will start advertising games like they do movies' maybe in 20 years though and that is when it will be mainstream'

well here we are

@yd: yes, I hate hard games. Even Wolfenstein I like to play on "let's play daddy" :)

I like it when a videogame is Hard. Just a bit above your gaming skill level, where you can just almost finish a level or beat a boss. Having a good storyline that is engaging helps you to keep going.

But this depends on the game genre, Since not all games will hold you interest before you just say **** it. 40 tries to beat a Boss is my limit before I give up the ghost on a game.

I like both.

although i dont like stories in my games...at all

but I do like hard games and sometimes I like easy games