A disturbing trend (Games are supposed to be hard)

@wiggin

I don't think the game is too hard. It just requires to rethink and/or observe when something gets wrong.

I agree however that for those who like running in middle of ennemies, kill everyone and not think about anything else, death is surely something like a permanent guest.

I also appreciate the fact that you don't have to wait for :
* Hell (D2)
* Inferno (D3)

to have a slight problem with the game.

First (and second...) difficulty mode being a tutorial (typically, D3), has to be forbidden.

Ultimately, i would just prefer 1 extra difficulty mode with more progressive difficulty, but i understand that it's not quite possible right now. Difficulty modes, it's just a way to artificially lenghten the game, without adding any real good ideas.

I don't think the game is too hard either but the balance is a work in progress and hopefully will be for a long time (new content requires balancing).


OT: Sometimes I feel like posting on these forums is automatically judged as picking some sides or something. Like in those ffa vs whatever threads, pointing out disadvantages of ffa loot system automatically makes you instanced loot fan etc.

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wiggin wrote:

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Laimbrane wrote:

If it's too hard for you, then you are not the target market. I don't understand where the problem is.

The problem is that if the target market is too small the game will die.

You're correct. The difference of opinion is whether or not the target market is too small.

Here's my chain of logic on this issue:

1) Assumption: You introduce people to your product in one of two ways - spending money on advertising or relying on word of mouth.
2) Assumption: GGG doesn't have the money to be spending on advertising.
- Inference: they're relying on word of mouth.
3) Assumption: The only way to get word of mouth is to make a game that people care deeply about and want to tell others about.
4) Assumption: With all of the free games out there, it's very, very easy for people to find the "right" game for them.
- Inference: GGG has to develop a game that people care deeply about, not one that they can play for a few hours, get bored with, and move on.
- Inference: If a game is gets stale, many people will go find another.
5) Assumption: If players are emotionally invested in a game, they are much more likely to spend money on it, and much more likely to play it for a longer period of time.
- Inference: GGG knows that they have to get the people that do play it emotionally invested in it.


6) Argument: In order to develop and maintain interest in the game and make money on it, the developers have to make it difficult.
- Defense: By making the game difficult, the devs are trying to give players incentive to try new things to see what works. In doing so, they increase the amount of time that invested players play the game. The more that players play the game, the more emotionally invested they become in their characters and in their knowledge about the game's intricacies. The more invested they become in that knowledge, the more they appreciate it. The more they appreciate it, the more they want to share that enjoyment with others. The more they share that enjoyment with others, the more likely it is that new players come in with that word-of-mouth hype and positive predisposition already set into their minds. Positive predispositions are going to increase the odds that those new players make it through the overwhelming initial learning curve.

So in order to be successful, this game has to be difficult. Now, HOW it's difficult is a different story, but in order for them to make money, it will have to be challenging.