Fawz
Insider
Game difficulty is something every game has to deal with and I feel that most of the time it isn't being done right and treated as something where not too much focus should be put. I figured I would share some of my thoughts on how to properly integrate different difficulty settings in the game.
First of all, selectable difficulty levels should become a thing of the past because they really don't make much sense. If you've never played the game, how can you possibly know which difficulty level will be the most enjoyable for you?
It doesn't mean that there should be no way to tweak it though, as a single difficulty setting usually means the game was designed to be easy to pick up but offer a bit of depth for the hardcore crowd. This tends to not work out so well (The Fable series is a perfect example.)
I think the way to go about difficulty is to introduce it in the game and have be player choice about the game's difficulty be a constant choice from start to end with clear risk/reward. A great example is how Bastion chose to do it. There was no set difficulty levels, but instead over the course of the game you unlocked Shrines you could interact with that would change the way the game worked. They offered a clear risk/reward (ie: Enemies now explode on death but offer 20% more experience or Blocking no longer negates all damage but you gain access to X feature/ability)
It can be very tricky getting difficulty right so most developers want to cover all the bases (Casual and Hardcore players) by offering a long list of difficulties (Easy, Normal, Hard, Insane). At least on PC we can usually make tweaks ourselves to cater the game to our playstyle.
For RPGs difficulty handles a little differently since there is player development where choices are made that shape the character and affect how the game plays out. This means that in the beginning it's much easier to tweak the default game difficulty since everyone's starting point is relatively similar. The general approach has been to start off easy and make the game gradually harder forcing the player to be more concious of the choices he makes with character development. (Not all game's do this though, as Prince of Persia: WW is a good example. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.)
It's already being done with current RPG game design where the player somewhat chooses his own difficulty based on the character development he chooses.
Do you go for the best first ability you can get to make your life easier in the short run, or do you go through a path that starts off not as rewarding but leads to a much more rewarding path later down the line?
People already make choices like these and although it tends to break game difficulty in the long run for experienced players (A good example is the Elder Scrolls games) it's a way for players to tune their own difficulty. Adding an extra layer to that where they have other options separate from character development to manage the risks/rewards based on what they feel capable of doing wouldn't be that far off from current design. Plus, since you introduce it within the game the player is already familiar with the mechanics and has gotten a feel for how well he can perform.
I think that in the beginning it doesn't matter if the difficulty isn't perfect since players are assaulted with new features and difficulty isn't that big of an issue at first. Integrating the choice of difficulty within the game pushes player choice and lets people custom tailor the game to suit their own play style and create the perfect gaming experience.
I know I've been rambling on for a while, but I feel that game difficulty is a crucial aspect of games and one that isn't all that hard to do. It's just hard to do it right.
First of all, selectable difficulty levels should become a thing of the past because they really don't make much sense. If you've never played the game, how can you possibly know which difficulty level will be the most enjoyable for you?
It doesn't mean that there should be no way to tweak it though, as a single difficulty setting usually means the game was designed to be easy to pick up but offer a bit of depth for the hardcore crowd. This tends to not work out so well (The Fable series is a perfect example.)
I think the way to go about difficulty is to introduce it in the game and have be player choice about the game's difficulty be a constant choice from start to end with clear risk/reward. A great example is how Bastion chose to do it. There was no set difficulty levels, but instead over the course of the game you unlocked Shrines you could interact with that would change the way the game worked. They offered a clear risk/reward (ie: Enemies now explode on death but offer 20% more experience or Blocking no longer negates all damage but you gain access to X feature/ability)
It can be very tricky getting difficulty right so most developers want to cover all the bases (Casual and Hardcore players) by offering a long list of difficulties (Easy, Normal, Hard, Insane). At least on PC we can usually make tweaks ourselves to cater the game to our playstyle.
For RPGs difficulty handles a little differently since there is player development where choices are made that shape the character and affect how the game plays out. This means that in the beginning it's much easier to tweak the default game difficulty since everyone's starting point is relatively similar. The general approach has been to start off easy and make the game gradually harder forcing the player to be more concious of the choices he makes with character development. (Not all game's do this though, as Prince of Persia: WW is a good example. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.)
It's already being done with current RPG game design where the player somewhat chooses his own difficulty based on the character development he chooses.
Do you go for the best first ability you can get to make your life easier in the short run, or do you go through a path that starts off not as rewarding but leads to a much more rewarding path later down the line?
People already make choices like these and although it tends to break game difficulty in the long run for experienced players (A good example is the Elder Scrolls games) it's a way for players to tune their own difficulty. Adding an extra layer to that where they have other options separate from character development to manage the risks/rewards based on what they feel capable of doing wouldn't be that far off from current design. Plus, since you introduce it within the game the player is already familiar with the mechanics and has gotten a feel for how well he can perform.
I think that in the beginning it doesn't matter if the difficulty isn't perfect since players are assaulted with new features and difficulty isn't that big of an issue at first. Integrating the choice of difficulty within the game pushes player choice and lets people custom tailor the game to suit their own play style and create the perfect gaming experience.
I know I've been rambling on for a while, but I feel that game difficulty is a crucial aspect of games and one that isn't all that hard to do. It's just hard to do it right.
