HAH
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2016/04/07/no-dark-souls-3-shouldnt-have-an-easy-mode-and-it-sort-of-already-does/
>Over at the International Business Times, Oliver Cragg argues that Dark Souls III should have an “easy mode” as an “option not an enforcement.”
>“While reducing the testing gameplay in the Souls games may indeed blunt its overall impact if chosen as an option, an ‘easy mode’ it is not a sacrilegious feature,” writes Cragg, “it is an olive branch to an excluded audience that may interpret its enigmatic lore and foreboding atmosphere in an entirely new way missed by the ‘hardcore fans’.”
>Whenever a new Souls game comes out, somebody trots out this argument or something like it, and inevitably the argument relies on differentiating between “hardcore fans” and “everybody else.” That’s the wrong way to look at the game and its fans, but it also ignores how difficult it would be to actually implement an easy mode in the first place.
>First, however, it’s important to note that the Souls games aren’t actually that difficult. Oh, there are moments where the challenge is truly great, but you never run out of lives. You never die and have to start back at World 1, Level 1. When you fail, you can get back up on your feet and try again without risking anything but a few thousand souls.
casuls rekt
>>333603270
>le souls games are le difficult
INFINITE LIVES
INFINITE TRIES
YOU DON'T EVEN LOSE YOUR ITEMS
ALL YOU LOSE IS YOUR CURRENCY THAT YOU HAVE 1203102523598 METHODS TO PRESERVE EVEN IF YOU DIE
WHAT MORE DO YOU FUCKING WANT RETARDS, AUTO MODE? GO PLAY WITH BARBIES
People who say make games easier and more accessible make me think of people who take a helicopter to the top of a mountain to enjoy the view.
Enjoying the view is a great part of climbing a mountain but it takes away the journey.
>Erik "The Shill" Kain
No thanks fampai
>>333603270
Game play is the point of the Souls games. While people enjoy talking about the lore and other minutia the foundation of the series is fighting enemies and bosses with a variety of weapons and builds.
What do you hope to gain by trivializing the combat? There's nothing else of real substance for you to see or do. I can understand an argument for removing combat in a story driven JRPG like a Final Fantasy game, some people don't want to worry about the gameplay they just want to experience the story and characters.
That's not Dark Souls though. It's a bizarre request.
GITGUD
Why is Forbes based when it comes to shittalking video game "journalists"?
>>333603270
>Go back to play some Devil May Cry HD collection
>Game is a fuckload harder then I remember
>People are crying they want games easier even though there piss easy now
What a time to be alive.
>>333604105
They practice actual journalism
>>333604105
they have copious experience in developing a coherent argument and relating it to an intelligent audience
Hey guys...
*tips cap*
why don't you...
*tips again*
git gud xD
>>333603270
>“it is an olive branch to an excluded audience that may interpret its enigmatic lore and foreboding atmosphere in an entirely new way missed by the ‘hardcore fans’
I'm pretty sure Vaati has everyone covered on that front.
Like everyone that has and will exist.
>>333604105
It has nothing to do with Forbes. What Kain posts on is literally a curated blog feed run by some editors at Forbes. All the posters are outside contractors.
Kain is just an average journalist who happens to make an effort to be neutral and applies some standards to his work. Compared to the majority of game industry 'journalism' this makes him standout brightly.
As time goes on I get more and more suprised how shit some people are at just about everything in games. Not just gameplay, but even and sort of problem solving seems to be a problem.
I recently played through DQ 3 without looking shit up at all and it was such a rewarding experience. Beyond a few bits where it was like "the fairy flute is in this village but it's laying on the ground near those trees actually" it was all great. Now I see shit like cutscenes that draw focus to parts of the level when you enter it or little partner characters that tell you what to do and I just get insulted.
Do devs just THINK people are this bad or are there actually people that get stuck with shit like this? Maybe I'm just so far away from the mindset of the common man these days but I still have a hard time understanding how anyone but a dad who never seen a video game before could get stuck at anything but a boss fight in a souls game. You might die a few times in level but you can try again, no biggy.
Maybe I'm just retarded.
>>333604578
That guy besides, isn't part of the atmosphere how tense the gameplay can get? Like sure you can walk through a scary looking cave or castle, but what's the point if you don't think/know you're in danger?
>>333603664
>First, however, it’s important to note that the Souls games aren’t actually that difficult.
l2read
>>333603270
I'm too busy to invest in hard games, so I avoid souls.
But there really is a whole community built around it in part because it is hard. I don't want this to be blunted just because it isn't for me.
>>333603713
>sport analogy
>implying flying with a heli isnt based as fuck
i don't see why casuls insist on an easy mode in Dark Souls when there's tons of other RPGs for them to play
>People being paid to play and review games constantly asking for shorter games, easy mode, and being able to skip gameplay like a cinematic
GEE I WONDER WHY
Do your damn job you fucking hacks.
Erik Kain is a literal cuck and supports Anita. Who ducking cares what he has to say?
>>333604657
>"the fairy flute is in this village but it's laying on the ground near those trees actually"
That's DQ1.
the difficulty is central to the entire experience
>>333604927
maybe the game is boring but their ethic forbid them to write reviews without finishing it :^)
>>333603270
Pastebin? Forbes is one of those ad-blocker blocker sites.
>>333603270
But Dark Souls already start out on easy mode
you can gimp yourself by not using humanities, using bonfire ascetic or doing level 1 runs to challenge yourself.
>>333604657
There really are people who are JUST THAT BAD. However, even adding an easy mode wouldn't make them buy Dark Souls, as most people also have an ego that prevents them from picking the easy mode. This is why modern gaming trends now have difficulties labelled as easy - normal - hard actually be stupid baby easy - easy - normal, so that the average stupid dumbshit player will still be happy they're not playing on that GODDAMN EASY MODE. For they're not BABIES afterall.
>>333604986
Well yeah, but it was in 3 too.
Flute in 3 was laying in a lil grove of trees in the middle of Kol. I was fuckin searching everywhere for it because I knew 1 had already pulled that shit.
I wish someone in the village had said something like "I think someone lost the flute..." or something to indicate I wasn't supposed to spend 30+ minutes checking out every villages multiple times. They were all just really concerned about the swordsmith.
>>333603270
casuals can just watch a lets play on youtube, it would be the same shit
>super casual players always asking for an easy mode in a game with very light plot to begin with
Some games are built around the gameplay gating off the next section of plot. In the souls series it's the opposite, the plot is just a very minor aspect used to direct you to the next gameplay section.
>>333604657
I was main tank for my guilds in WoW during vanilla and TBC. People being unable to understand basic mechanics tilted need so hard.
Thaddius nearly made me quit.
>>333605093
use uBlock
>>333605093
forbes doesnt detect ublock origin my friend
I agree with him, though. It's better to have an easy mode than to make casuals the entire game.
Isn't summoning, leveling up armor and weaponry pretty much easy mode
>>333605203
>plot
>dark souls
I've finished 1 and 2 and I have no idea what the plot was except in undead for some reason and there's a big bad dude
>>333605203
>plot
Let's not say that souls has plot. It has lore, vaguely. This is why there's no reason for casual plot babies to want to even play.
>>333604927
I think I remember seeing some screencap on /v/ of some guy writing an article about a game claiming he beat it on the hardest difficulty, but the article itself giving away he skipped through it in casul difficulty setting?
Can't fucking remember which game was it tho
>>333605126
I don't even know what to think about any of anymore. It's gotten to a point where I'm in somewhat disbelief someone could drop an old RPG because they got stumped but trying to imagine someone dropping any game made in the last 5 or so years because it was too hard is baffling.
Maybe I'm just too used to the harder games. I don't even think I'm that good at games but I still beat some games on hard, it's just about not giving up man, do some people not get that?
>>333604657
>Play a game
>Discover neat trick through trial & error and judgement calls based on previous events in said game
>Feel proud
>Watch someone else play same game
>Get to part with trick is really helpful
>I don't know what to do
>What do I do
>What the fuck
>This game is stupid
Even worse when the solution can be found out by simply jamming on the controller for a bit.
>>333605360
2 was kept obscure because whateverhisname think it's cool but 1's plot is pretty clear, it just doesnt repeat any exposition twice. Any fanfic vaati conjure up also doesnt stay far from the core of the story.
Sometimes I imagine you guys as doing nothing but browsing social and gaming news sites 24/7 until someone posts some mediocre comment relating to any game and make it look worse than it actually is.
>>333605360
>>333605367
This is what I was getting at. Besides a few reminders from NPCs at certain points of the game there's actually very little in the way of in interaction between characters; and certainly nothing that really constitutes an overarching coherent narrative.
>>333605283
Just finished a run of SotFS where I summoned every npc possible for every boss fight. I'd never played online or summoned before so I wanted to try it out. As you'd expect it was an incredibly easy run.
Except for Fume Knight in the dlc. The npcs were hindering me since they kept drawing his attention and I had to fight him alone to feel comfortable.
>>333605381
this?
>>333604657
Honestly, the average consumer doesn't finish the majority of the games they purchase. This has always been the case, but in the past people were usually happy enough with that. Now that the availability of entertainment has exploded, there's far more competition for video games and the hand-holding and spectacle is basically the devs desperately trying to keep those people interested for a little while longer. People getting lost 10 minutes in will no longer respond with amused bewilderment at a novelty form of entertainment. They'll return or resell the game, and go back to their cell phone or netflix.
Games are a performance art not unlike playing a musical instrument. The less challenging and more streamlined it is, the less the player is able to show off his talent and creativity,
I'd argue that a game is more artistic for being demanding,
>>333605818
This one exactly. Gayming journalism, ladies and gentlemen
Thanks, mi familia
>>333605957
so, mmo is art? afterall they force you to play hundred of hours to have any enjoyment.
>>333604615
Basically this. Almost any good journalist with a degree can be a good writer if they put some effort into it. The problem is most don't or can't give a shit.
>>333605367
Nah, they have plots, they're just incredibly basic
DeS is
>Oh no, there's a bunch of fog and demons everywhere
>Hey, you're trapped in the Nexus
>Go kill these 5 bad dudes and you can leave the Nexus
>Now kill this Old God
>End
DaS is
>Hey dude, you're trapped in this Asylum
>Dude, there's this prophecy that says you need to ring a bell once you get out of here, so go do that
>Welcome to Lordran. There's actually lol2bells. Now go ring them.
>Hello Chosen Undead, go to Anor Londo, retrieve the Lord Vessel, then kill these 4 bad dudes and then you can kill Lord Gwyn and then light yourself on fire.
Alternatively:
>Kill these 5 bad dudes then become the DARK LORD™, the baddest dude of them all.
>End.
DaS2 is
>You need to fix the curse.
>Go kill these 4 bad dudes so you can get into the castle so you can talk to the dude that can fix the curse
>Oops, King's not here. Go chase him
>Oops, King's dead. Go find the Ancient Dragon, I guess
>Hey dude, I'm the Ancient Terrible Boss fight. Here's your mist. Go look for shit in Giant brains
>YOU FOUND THE GIANT KINSHIP. It does something
>Hi notChosenUndead, it's mean, Nashandra. I'm actually evil. Lemme sit on the throne after I kill you.
>Also Aldia might be here
>Also the undead curse is there because you want stuff.
>sit on the throne
>or don't
>End.
>>333605957
>When you see someone playing your favorite game with that smoothness and a grace that hints at the practice and skill underneath
I literally don't remember what the fuck flute you guys are talking about in Dragon Quest 1
was it that flute that was in the ruined town guarded by Golem? I seem to remember there was a map that gave you a pretty big hint about the location it was to dig for.
>>333603936
Say that to my face Ben
Jesus Christ. It's not even a hard game. It's the same as every video game out there with bosses that have big glowing weak points except in most of these games, it's up to you to figure out where they are. Hell, it wouldn't even be the same if there was an "easy mode" because it'd open the floodgates to even more retards and spergs who can now say "I beat the hardest game ever!!!" Who will completely miss the point of why the game is the way it is.
>>333606046
Why do you associate length with challenge? Are you retarded?
>>333603664
Ninja gaiden is still hard even with infinite lives
>>333605476
>watching DSP
>>333604657
yeah I sure did love all those illusory walls bro
I liked how it was super clear you needed to use darkmoon covenant ring to remove the statue of gwyndolin
>>333606131
This is true now that I think about it. Although still presented vaguely. I still stand that there is no reason for plot babbies to want to play.
>>333605818
I'm glad they got outed for this
>>333606681
I play Dark Souls and Etrian Odyssey for the plot and to explore stuff.
I don't know why but I really like it.
>>333603664
FINITE LIVES ARE FOR TRYHARDS
>>333606850
I can't believe they get away with shit like that, too. The absolute gaul of saying you beat the game on hard when you didn't, when that's literally your entire fucking job.
If I said I fixed some software at work and didn't and it went out to a customer I'd be fucking fired on the spot.
>I don't know how to read, the book should accommodate my skill level
>I don't know how to play, the game should accommodate my skill level
?
theres a difference between challenging and punishing. Challenging is difficulty due to gameplay (basically how easy it is to avoid damage,) punishing is difficulty due to limited resources or harsh "punishments" for fucking up (health penalties upon death, limited checkpoints, limited lives, save points, and how fast enemies can kill you).
Dark Souls is more challenging than punishing actually, although it is both, but the problem is games are so fucking casual these days then it ends up being more of both than most games. Games these days for whatever fucking reason are not punishing whatsoever and allow savescumming and fast respawns after death right back into the action. Dark Souls is hard, yes, but all it does is reach back into the past when games were about the gameplay and not about fucking cinematic horseshit and "great stories" that would look mediocre in a B movie.
I might be a massive faggot, but I enjoy certain games having a spectator/tourist mode be it an option or via console. I just like exploring maps and looking at scenery without distractions.
>>333607018
>Read over image
>Suddenly feel pretty uncomfortable
>Realize I'm clenching my jaw to the point where it hurts
>>333607018
The difference is that someone else is doing the work and making an inferior product.
What's being suggested is that FROM includes an easy mode. What the trash Romeo and Juliet texting edition is, is some braindead marketers trying to sell Shakespeare to kids who have to read it at school. Shakespeare is far too dead to have any involvement and the copyright is gone anyway.
>>333607018
up next: books who read themselves
movies have already fallen, and videogames are probably the newest media to fall the fastest, with the 80's crash and normies buying shit to no end these days
>>333604615
It also helps that Kain is paid by Forbes and not a publication dependent on video game ads.
>>333607296
>up next: books who read themselves
You mean audiobooks?
>movies have already fallen
And no, just because you don't care about movies doesn't mean good ones aren't made anymore, you just don't pay attention and only see capeshit.
>>333607034
I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
In terms of big releases, I almost always die more in games like
>Uncharted
>Dead Space
>Evil Within/Resident Evil XX
Than I do in Dark Souls.
You know why?
Dark Souls doesn't actually want you to die.
Incredibly rarely are you susceptible to a OHKO. But those are incredibly prevalent in games like I listed. Failing QTE's, enemies getting the jump on you, certain enemies just straight up having instant kills.
I find Dark Souls refreshing because it's transparent in what stuff does. It's not a game where you will just get insta-gibbed by a random enemy, and restart 10 seconds ago. Since you actually get a little bit punished for dying, they actually have to design the game to be good, and not just a horde shooter with checkpoints every 30 seconds so even the most brain dead of casuals can get through it.
Based Forbes.
>>333607404
Did you watch the oscars this year?
They fucking organized it to FORCE hollywood into SJW shit.
>>333607352
He's paid based off the traffic he generates though, so there's still some element of the click-bait-shock-value influence potentially influencing him. That said I'm not certain what sort of editorial pressure Forbes puts on their contributors, so perhaps that dissuades full on game 'journalism'.
>>333607536
>Oscars
Great, did you watch the VGAs this year?
Just because an event is high profile and caters towards the big money (Hollywood/SanFran) doesn't mean it represents the entire medium.
>PLZ DISABLE UR ADBLOCK >:(
no thanks m8
>>333607469
Well I'd say what's more important is that Dark Souls is tailored around you dying. Bonfires are placed strategically so you're never too far from where you died, enemies that are incredibly infuriating die forever, e.g. Early channelers) and dying doesn't actually hurt if you invest your souls correctly beforehand.
Compare to a game like Bioshock Infinite on 1999 mode in the Lady Comstock fight, that fight literally punishes you for dying because it doesn't replenish your ammo and the boss is a fucking hideous bullet sponge. It's clear to see which game actually cares.
>>333607404
>just because you dont care about movies
if you're gonna project, put some effort into it, movies have been nothing but popcorn trash for almost 30 years now, Its obvious theres still great movies, just like theres great games or books, but i'm talking the medium as a whole
>>333607797
Okay mr butthurt because you got called out, so what you're saying is the medium hasn't fallen and because you're out of touch you're going to pretend it's dead?
Next you're going to be telling me that kids TV was better in your day and the women used to dress better.
>>333607469
dark souls treats death as a way for the player to learn, not as some BS they can use for shock value. games like the ones listed cover their bad design by having constant checkpoints, resulting in a lot of deaths yet no punishment for dying. this way they can be lazy and kill the player with something cheap constantly, whereas Dark Souls only works if death=your fault.
>>333607797
>movies have been nothing but popcorn trash for almost 30 years now
Film student or just naturally an insufferable wanker?
>>333603270
Kain is definitely right. I would also add in that there are already plenty of easy games. If someone doesn't like a hard game, they should probably stay away from a game that's known for being hard.
If they like Souls games, and don't like the difficulty, they probably need to change their viewpoint of difficulty. Souls is only more difficult if you try and rush through it. If you don't try and find how the NPCs fight and counter them. That's how the game gets you. Once you calm down and start approaching it with a problem solving mindset, you'll have more success.
>>333607896
if you wanna shitpost, start a console war thread
>>333608098
a wanker, mr britbong
>>333604657
Being fed passive games for over a decade has its toll.
>>333607226
>tfw couldn't play on any map but dustbowl
>>333608208
>if you wanna shitpost, start a console war thread
So you don't actually have a retort is what you're saying?
>>333606623
you know that from Demons Souls, the online was an integral component and players are meant to leave messages for each other pointing them out right?
>>333607564
well it is basically reactionary clickbait, but with actual journalism.
its a response to that easy mode article, and it thoroughly tears it apart by pointing out the game is only has hard as you make it. Sorcery makes the game very easy, and there is no real penalty like having to start over. enemies respawn so you can always recoup your lost souls
>>333606623
Yeah fuck games having secrets!
>>333606459
Yeah, but because unlike the Souls games you cannot grind to increase your stats.
>>333609303
You're right actually. While Kain does engage in relatively genuine journalism he makes his dollars by exploiting the reaction the majority of the 'gamer' audience has to the 'mainstream' 'games journalism' that obviously loathes them.
>>333603270
>an excluded audience
>Everyone who doesn't bother buying the game because they don't like it, are now defined as an "excluded audience"
The day of the Rope could not come faster for video game journalists.
>>333606917
While I was playing in the trench and working hard to get out, literally every buttblasted shitstain used the term tryhard after they got their faces stomped in.
>>333603270
>excluded audience
Why does everything have to be for everyone? I have friends that won't play Dark Souls because they are afraid it's too hard, which is fine, every game doesn't have to be for everyone. From have found their core audience and become really successful because of it. They don't have to try and reach out to people that only play mario cart, and nor should they. This fucking attitude that all games should be "inclusive" and "for everyone" makes me sick, it doesn't happen in movies and it shouldn't happen in videogames either.
