tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1714483806643923093.post6263976037212332221..comments2024-02-15T09:30:02.666-06:00Comments on The Huh?: Easy-Mode Players Are The Real Gamers (GUEST POST by @Nintendo_Legend)joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445309993717135544noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1714483806643923093.post-7356718336513395892017-08-08T11:10:36.245-05:002017-08-08T11:10:36.245-05:00"Do you mean, in a general sense, the very ap..."Do you mean, in a general sense, the very appearance of the item signals a drop in tension overall?"<br /><br />It obviously varies from person to person, but the obvious comparison is a horror movie: You can see the protagonist, and you can see the monster sneaking up on them, you want to help them, to tell them to *just look behind themselves*, but you can't, and then, as the music rises to a crescendo...<br /><br />The monster has a foam sword and does nothing more then menace the protagonist while they look nonplussed.<br /><br />Then tension of the scene is gone, and quite likely you'll never take the movie seriously past that point.<br /><br />You can argue that that kind of tension isn't for a Mario game, but at the same time, the "tension" of being able to lose makes your victory all the sweeter. You've overcome the odds, etc etc.<br /><br />Different strokes for different folks, of course, but its a very good reason to avoid something like the invincible tanuki suit.<br /><br />"you're saying "but there's players in-between!" I'm not arguing that there aren't! I'm likely somewhere in that in-between area, in fact."<br /><br />Then there's a little dissonance between your title and your point! To call Easy-Mode Players the Real Gamers automatically pits them against not only the hardcore, but also the "inbetweeners" who are equally disqualified by it!<br /><br />Sure, it's a bit of a trolly title, as you say, and I realize you're satirizing the "Casual Gamers aren't Real Gamers" point, but as you say, it lowers the critical impact of your point :)<br /><br />Hope this clarifies my points a bit! :)Arinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1714483806643923093.post-33966911667446304282017-08-08T10:43:28.348-05:002017-08-08T10:43:28.348-05:00Great critiques! I'm glad to have drawn these ...Great critiques! I'm glad to have drawn these trains of thought from your station.<br /><br />Two quick responses -- <br /><br />"there's also an unavoidable lowering of the tension." -- Do you mean, in a general sense, the very appearance of the item signals a drop in tension overall? That's an interesting bit, I'll think on that. I had someone on Twitter say that such things "break immersion" and... I'm still okay with them being there (and optional), but it's a consideration for me now, I'll say that much.<br /><br />"You're painting this as black and white when it's really not." -- this is just kinda a funny critique to me, because I'm saying "this is how Easy-Mode Players differ from the Hardcore Crowd," and you're saying "but there's players in-between!" I'm not arguing that there aren't! I'm likely somewhere in that in-between area, in fact. If you don't *like* me painting black-and-white, I guess I get that (and "hey, painting in broad strokes lowers the critical impact of your point" is something I can hear, too), but... like I said, just funny to me. "Stop comparing apples and oranges, you can't do that!"<br /><br />Harp away further, if you wish -- I basically don't really disagree with you at all, and respect your own disagreements in turn. I wrote this knowing the Trolly, Unfair bits would grate on some people (I mean, even that TITLE is so baity, right?) and just hoped the overall benefit would outweigh the consequence. Perhaps it does not! <br /><br />Thanks for your feedback. I'll strive for a smoother Op-Ed style in the future. :DNintendoLegendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14311562913304747084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1714483806643923093.post-53365373776873292912017-08-08T10:30:28.160-05:002017-08-08T10:30:28.160-05:00I feel like you've not made your point very el...I feel like you've not made your point very eloquently.<br /><br />Your launch pad for the discussion is regarding a "mercy feature" in Mario. While mercy features have their place depending on the type of game and genre (and arguably Mario is one of them!), there's also an unavoidable lowering of the tension.<br /><br />And this is why a lot of games, rather then trying to alter the core feature set in a "please everyone" way, use difficulty settings.<br /><br />Very few people object to having the option of an "Easy" or "Normal" or what have you mode, *many* will object to the features being diminished or removed entirely in an attempt to have your cake and eat it.<br /><br />To use a frequent example, an Easy Mode in Dark Souls would be fine! Removing the death penalties from Dark Souls in general would not be.<br /><br />As to your specific bullet points...<br /><br />"They Are Different"<br /><br />You're painting this as black and white when it's really not. Between hardcore speedrunners and "Easy-Mode-Players" theres a wide spectrum of people who enjoy the scenic route while appreciating the difficulty presented by not-Easy! So, no, they're not different.<br /><br />"They Appreciate The Craft"<br /><br />You fall at the first hurdle here. There are, and always will be, people who wear difficulty settings as a badge of pride, sure. There's also plenty of people who enjoy the struggle without needing to boast about it. To quote Theodore Roosevelt... "Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…"<br /><br />Which doesn't serve to invalidate the point of difficulty settings. Some people's Normal is another person's Hard and vice versa! But to paint the sole motivation for playing with difficulty as arrogant pride is really narrow minded, in my opinion.<br /><br />"They're Nicer People"<br /><br />"Look, um, I admit, this is a gross generalization, and totally unscientific, but --" is really as far as this sentence should have gotten before being scrapped. It *is* a gross generalization, and one, if you'll forgive me for the turnabout, trying to treat the classification as a badge of pride.<br /><br />It's fair to say we've all met nasty people, and really whether they're "hardcore video gamers", "casual Facebook game players" or total agnostics to video games in general has no real correlation.<br /><br />I won't harp on about your last paragraphs, but I will throw some words back at you: "Communities work better when people act more like friends and less like enemies.". By villianizing anyone who isn't a "Easy-Mode Player" you polarize those you attempt to sway.<br /><br />You have some good points to make regarding this topic, but you ended up blending them with a ton of apple and oranges (Easy Mode vs Core Feature Changing) and generalization of the community.<br /><br />As a result, you end up going off message, from inclusion to elitism!<br /><br /><br />Arinoreply@blogger.com