Random Gaming Thoughts

[KalessinDB]

Alright Bone, I'll bite. What's the 7th Saga hardon you've had the past few days?

[the7k]

I don't think it's that we are elitist, I think it's that today's gamers are about as Soft Scrub as it gets.

I work at a retro games store. We always put PS1 games in the demo kiosk because we have tons of them and when we put games in the demo kiosk, it tends to sell.

They said I couldn't put Mega Man X4 in there anymore. Because kids were complaining about the difficulty. IN THE INTRO STAGE.

Granted, an elitist tends to think they aren't elitist, but I watched in horror as a bunch of kids - and by kids I mean people aged 14 to 20 - at an anime convention couldn't figure out how to progress in Elevator Action Returns. There's a RED FREAKING DOOR. With a constant "Ru-RAN Ru-RAN Ru-RAN" Siren blarring the whole time, with arrows from all four corners coming in pointing to the door saying "Go Inside - Get Data" and people still just sat there absolutely dumbfounded about what they needed to do. Hoping they would figure it out, but they never did.

I mean, for f***s sake, we already have people calling for some characters to get nerfed in Street Fighter V and the game isn't even out yet. Heck, some of the characters that they want nerfed, like Vega, Mika and Karin, haven't even been made publicly playable yet for beta participants, so they literally have not a leg to stand on.

As for difficult RPGs, I tend to find MegaTen games challenging, although a good bit of that is due to randomness. I think I remember finding Persona 3 more difficult with a guide, because going for everything limited the amount you could grind. My roommate is actually doing P4 now, and he says that following that guide, he's about 4 levels lower than his enemies and almost every fight is by the skin of his teeth.

Tactical RPGs are also pretty good on challenge, I find. At the very least I find them more rewarding.

[nullPointer]

As for a random gaming thought, an in depth look at the Nintendo Power gossip gremlins from early issues. Don't miss "that distinctive LJN style".

Heh, "distinctive LJN style," indeed. I love it.
Pretty funny stuff all the way around and ... wait ... what is ... I'm not ... I don't even.
http://kidfenris.com/gossipgremlinsalien1.png
(Don't get me wrong, I do see the visual gag they were going for, but uh ... yikes I can't believe they slipped that one past those stringent Nintendo Power content censors. OTOH maybe I'm just a sick person )

[Exhuminator]

As for difficult RPGs, I tend to find MegaTen games challenging, although a good bit of that is due to randomness.

As a general rule, I agree with that. I've only finished two SMT games so far (Soul Hackers and Nocturne) and they were absolutely above the casual watermark of most JRPGs.

My roommate is actually doing P4 now, and he says that following that guide, he's about 4 levels lower than his enemies and almost every fight is by the skin of his teeth.

Is it because he's trying to max all his social links and thus spending less time fighting in dungeons?

Tactical RPGs are also pretty good on challenge, I find. At the very least I find them more rewarding.

I absolutely agree with you on that. SRPGs > RPGs when it comes to average challenge.

[Flake]

I don't think it's that we are elitist, I think it's that today's gamers are about as Soft Scrub as it gets.

I work at a retro games store. We always put PS1 games in the demo kiosk because we have tons of them and when we put games in the demo kiosk, it tends to sell.

They said I couldn't put Mega Man X4 in there anymore. Because kids were complaining about the difficulty. IN THE INTRO STAGE.

Game design these days doesn't emphasize most players actually gaining any skills at the games that they play. "RPG elements" or stat enhancing gear serve to make many games easier as the game progresses but actually creates the illusion for the player that they are getting 'better' at the game.

These types of things existed back in our day such as the red protection ring in Zelda, armor upgrades in Megaman X, or powerups in Symphony of the Night but they usually came with a requisite jump in difficulty - the developers now felt like they could throw something even harder at you.

Think Skyrim. It is literally at its hardest before you pick up a single weapon and only gets easier from there.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Alright Bone, I'll bite. What's the 7th Saga hardon you've had the past few days?

Past few days? More like past few years.

Play it and you'll understand. Though be forewarned. Only two people in history (okay, in the history of this forum) have ever completed it.

[Ack]

Play it and you'll understand. Though be forewarned. Only two people in history (okay, in the history of this forum) have ever completed it.

Checking in, my good sir.

[isiolia]

Game design these days doesn't emphasize most players actually gaining any skills at the games that they play. "RPG elements" or stat enhancing gear serve to make many games easier as the game progresses but actually creates the illusion for the player that they are getting 'better' at the game.

Really depends on the game, since some certainly will raise the bar for continuing to do well. Something like Skyrim is probably more of an exception, since the point would be less if you succeed, but how.

To a fair point though, creating illusions is what gaming is all about. The player can feel powerful, or smart, or accomplished. Whatever. If the developers can evoke the intended emotion, then that's a success. For some players, it might take something they need to master in order to succeed - that's who the harder difficulties or obscure trophies are for. Or maybe just a different game.

[Flake]

To a fair point though, creating illusions is what gaming is all about. The player can feel powerful, or smart, or accomplished. Whatever. If the developers can evoke the intended emotion, then that's a success. For some players, it might take something they need to master in order to succeed - that's who the harder difficulties or obscure trophies are for. Or maybe just a different game.

Oh, absolutely. Game design should never be considered some static, immutable ideal. But I guess my point was that the more prevalent style of game design these days does not require player develop skills specific to that game. Understanding the conventions of the genre are what is needed to progress quickly and efficiently through a game.

In previous generations, game design was still strongly influenced by arcade conventions where the player was expected to memorize levels and develop twitch reflexes specific to that game. What you learn playing Super Mario Bros. doesn't carry over to Sonic the Hedgehog in any one-to-one manner. Go left, collect gold objects, and don't run into enemies are where the similarities end.

Nowadays the arcade archetype is completely gone from most of the marquee titles that are coming out. What's left is largely mission or task based with a similar presentation style (3rd person, behind the shoulder with 1st person aiming) and I think that this is why games these days seem 'easier' or at least don't develop gamers reflexes or non-congnitive skills. Using my Mario doesn't translate to Sonic analogy, the jump between Mass Effect and Metal Gear Solid 5 is not that huge - there are differences to be sure but the core concepts are practically identical.

[jinn]

I was playing the godawful American/European version of Magical Drop III so I switched to the Japanese one.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT, THE BRUTALITY OF THE HARD MODE. I can't make it past Fool. Yes, Fool, the guy with the permanent runny nose. Geez!

On normal mode, I still get my butt kicked by Empress and Tower. On Magical Drop II I almost always beat Strenght and after that, Empress isn't too difficult but the couple times I've made it all the way to Black Pierrot I had a brain fart and couldn't beat him.

I'm a fan of Magical Drop. While I'm not too happy with magical drop v I would love to play vs mode online with a few of you guys. Steam has it for $1.