What is the hardest game to watch someone be bad at?

[8bit]

I think the notion of the run button has been determined to be poor design. Modifiers should be used for an action you don't want to use all the time. If you are constantly holding the run button then the default speed should be run and turn it into a walk button. The 2D Metroid games on the GBA removed the run button and just have you always run; it was probably originally because of a lack of buttons but it turned out to play much better.

I find it hard to believe that it the run button could be considered poor design for any 2D mario games. It seems essential to be able to control your run and use it jump higher but on the flip side also be able to decide when not to run at all so that you can slow down, have more precise control, and jump lower when needed. It would be really annoying if the game tried to regulate these things automatically for you and you didn't have total control.

[MrPopo]

Hence my explanation of changing it to a walk button. If you spend 90% of the game holding down the run button then the run speed should be the default speed and then have a button to switch to a walking speed. In Super Metroid the only time you don't push the run button is when you forget to/get a hand cramp. There is literally no reason to ever not use the run button in that game (barring possibly some speed running physics glitches).

[prfsnl_gmr]

Hence my explanation of changing it to a walk button. If you spend 90% of the game holding down the run button then the run speed should be the default speed and then have a button to switch to a walking speed. In Super Metroid the only time you don't push the run button is when you forget to/get a hand cramp. There is literally no reason to ever not use the run button in that game (barring possibly some speed running physics glitches).

I like the run button, and I think it is a (perhaps unintentional) brilliant design feature in the Mario games. When Mario is moving quickly, the game is more exciting, and the player is more likely to be tense. The feeling of tension is enhanced by the fact that you literally have to grip something tightly (i.e., the run button) to move quickly. Conversely, when Mario is walking, the player is more relaxed, and he or she can release tension by literally releasing the run button.

I have played a lot of platformers, and I generally prefer the controls that include a "run" button to those that do not (even if I end up holding the run button for 90% of the game). It might be that I am just used to the presence of a run button, but I do not think we should underestimate the effect I described above.

[Solus_Emsu]

I'm going to say MMO's just given the sheer amount of people and the cooperation involved. I don't mean at some ridiculously high standard of raiding or anything like that either. Just when people don't seem to take the time to learn the fundamentals or what needs to be done in a situation/role.

I guess this could be viewed as a flaw of the genre or game design depending on the circumstances.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I like the run button. It's more comfortable for me to constantly hold down a button.

[Sarge]

It pretty much happens to me any time I'm watching someone play a game that I am personally good at. But it really manifests itself with 2D platformers. Not that I'm in any way perfect, but if it's a game that I've practiced a lot, it just hurts. I remember cringing watching people play Mega Man back in the day, or more recently, Shovel Knight.

I can understand someone being iffy at Battletoads, but now I cringe when I see someone make a move that I know won't work, and they're still sussing it out. But I have a lot more sympathy for them in that case, because it's obviously a hard game. (My coworker just went through Battletoads with save states, and I had to help him a bit in the Clinger-Winger and Rat Race stages.)

[Luke]

And in real life: The roster of the Chicago Cubs.

Yeah, watching the Cubs play hurts. My boss is a Cubs fan...

Why couldn't my Father have told me to be a White Sox fan?

I've mentioned it before, but when I meet someone wearing a Cubs cap who isn't from Chicago fan I have to ask "Why? WHY MAN? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?"

As far as the run button in SMB., I'm bout it. Sure you have plenty of time to take your time, but the fun for me is the frenzy of running like a mad man.

Plus why jump tiny gaps when you can run straight over 'em?

[Ack]

And in real life: The roster of the Chicago Cubs.

Yeah, watching the Cubs play hurts. My boss is a Cubs fan...

Why couldn't my Father have told me to be a White Sox fan?

I've mentioned it before, but when I meet someone wearing a Cubs cap who isn't from Chicago fan I have to ask "Why? WHY MAN? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?"

See, that's the kicker. The guy's from Illinois, so I can't blame him. It's like me rooting for the Falcons in football. They suck, but this is where I live, and they were the closest professional team to where I grew up.

[J T]

Hence my explanation of changing it to a walk button. If you spend 90% of the game holding down the run button then the run speed should be the default speed and then have a button to switch to a walking speed. In Super Metroid the only time you don't push the run button is when you forget to/get a hand cramp. There is literally no reason to ever not use the run button in that game (barring possibly some speed running physics glitches).

I like the run button, and I think it is a (perhaps unintentional) brilliant design feature in the Mario games. When Mario is moving quickly, the game is more exciting, and the player is more likely to be tense. The feeling of tension is enhanced by the fact that you literally have to grip something tightly (i.e., the run button) to move quickly. Conversely, when Mario is walking, the player is more relaxed, and he or she can release tension by literally releasing the run button.

I was just about to post something to this effect, so instead I'll just say "ditto".

[Key-Glyph]

Conversely, when Mario is walking, the player is more relaxed, and he or she can release tension by literally releasing the run button.

This is tangentially related, but do people find they have greater timing precision when they're letting go of a button, as opposed to pushing or tapping one? I do, so I tend to like that sort of mechanic.

Also, and I don't know why, but I love holding down one button with the pad of my thumb while I tap another with the joint. I always wonder if that was an intentional aim of controller design, since it seems to happen so naturally.