The Thing about Difficulty: The Easy Way Out

Picture Source: Dark Souls

Every player will inevitable talk about difficulty when discussing a video game. Too easy or too difficult, the challenge presented by a game will always be a central talking point. Two weeks ago there was a small outrage about the revelation that there will be an invincibility mode in Star Fox Zero. Last week we took a look at the forms of difficulty and why hard difficulty is sometimes great. Now let's talk about the other end of the spectrum and how it defines the gaming experience.

The Problems of Accessibility:

I have stated this before, but let me repeat myself, difficulty is, and should be, baked into the very core of the any video game. To be more specific, we talked about how high levels of difficulty can benefit the experience.

However, this, of course, doesn't mean that all games need to be difficult. In fact there has been a growing trend, especially with some Nintendo games, for easier video games. Especially with the Wii this desire to appeal to a more casual audience was very dominant. And as newcomers to the medium developers seem to think that these people aren't capable of enjoying more difficult games. This lead to the creation of things like the Super Guide, which auto completes levels for you after you failed a certain amount of times. If you desire.

This situation has lead to an interesting debate: Is an easier, more accessible game capable of reaching a wider audience of players than a more complex, difficult and nuanced game? Of course the answer lies somewhere in the middle, but I firmly believe that both types of experiences have their place in this massive industry. The only problems are when developers try to make their game into something it isn't, trying to increase accessibility when that is not appropriate in the context of the games design.

Picture Source: Wii Fit Commercial

And while Nintendo often get's some flak for their ''easy'' games, I can't think of an example where they truly compromised their game design in order to make it more accessible. Of course it helps that Nintendos games all tend to be rather accessible, but even with such things like the Super Guide they never compromised the core game. The difficulty is still there. They only handed you another tool to complete the level. What they've done is shifting the responsibility of how difficult a game should be away from the developer and onto the player themselves.

So everything is fine? Not really. There is one ''recent'' game that is guilty of compromising the experience for more accessibility.

Skyward Bore:

Skyward Sword is filled with many great puzzles that would be tons of fun to solve – if only the player was given a real chance to.

Unfortunately, you are burdened with an overly helpful companion, who feels the need to give you the solution to nearly every puzzle proactively, often telling you how to unlock a door before you even noticed it was locked. Of course you can ignore her advice if you like to be reminded that she has something to say every two seconds.

Of course the helpful partners have been a staple of the series since the 3D debut in Ocarina of Time, but never have they been as overbearing as Fi.

Picture Source: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Now before you complain about me ragging on an extremely well received game, let me say that Skyward Sword is great. All I'm saying is that the level of difficulty, or lack thereof, is not appropriate in the context of the mechanics and mythos, and the experience is definitely hurt because of it.

Skyward Swords dungeons are still as elegantly crafted as one would expect given the series history, but they aren't without flaw, and difficulty is one of them.

Easy Game Bad; Hard Game Good?

What we've just looked at was a game that was too easy, or rather a game which was hurt by its overall lack of difficulty. This, however, does not mean that there is no place for less challenging games, and it also doesn't mean that any serious game experience needs to be difficult. What it all boils down to is something that risks becoming a theme in this series: Keep difficulty in mind when designing the core systems behind a game.

Essentially I'm saying not to make hard games easy or easy games hard. Skyward Sword stumbled because it's mechanics and themes did not mesh well with it's lack of difficulty.
However do not think that difficulty and accessibility are one side of the same coin, though they do often intersect. Even the most complex and engrossing games can be very easy and the most simple games can be incredibly challenging. What's important is that your games difficulty level makes sense within the context of the overall experience.

Back to Zero:

Picture Source: Nintendo Digital Event @ E3 2015

Now what does this all mean for Star Fox Zeros invincible Airwing? Remember when I talked about handing the responsibility about the games difficulty to the player. This is exactly that, and while I think of it as an desirable approach, it has one problem. The player.
There is this mindset that if you beat something on an easy difficulty you haven't earned it. You don't deserve it. My question to these kind of people is always the same.
Why do you care?

Why do you care that they completed this game on an easier difficulty? Is it devaluing your achievement? If the answer is yes then stop defining yourself over things others can't do and start defining yourself over things YOU CAN DO!

But back to the topic of the invincible Airwing. Is it bad or good? Well for a definitive conclusion I first have to play the game, but for now I would put it in the good accessibility box. Star Fox Zero is a game about highscores. It's firmly rooted in it's arcade tradition. As long as it's not possible to establish a highscore in this Airwing, I don't see a problem with it. It's completely optional and in no way forced upon you. It's an artificial difficulty decrease, and as with the artificial difficulty increases, it is not inherently bad if handled properly.

Difficulty is a huge topic, and on that, in entertainment, is mostly exclusive to video games. It's something that lies at the core of each video game and is a defining factor in shaping your gaming experience.

So what are your thoughts about it?

And as always

thanks for reading.