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Hard vs Easy Games (CT #3)

sentrywiz

S

sentrywiz



Hard vs Easy Games
Discussion on Psychology, Spirituality and Games
Creative Tutorial #3

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Let's start this tutorial / discussion with two rather obvious
questions which will take the scope of this thread:
1. What do easy games mean for us?
2. What do hard games mean for us?

Easy Games

What do easy games represent for us, as consumers? We see them more
than hard games and they certainly saturate the market with their re-brand
ing of older easy games or mechanics in a new shell. Since there are so
many of them, it must mean that there's an appropriate ratio of consumers
out there willing to purchase and play these types of games.

Easy games range in every possible genre, and some of the genres are
expected to have easy game mechanics in them. For example, hidden
object games are relatively easy games to play and there are very little
hard hidden object games remaining or are being produced. Same can
be said about memorization or adventure games.

So what's it all about? Power. Easy games are meant to empower
us as people, as consumers. Especially true for people that are mostly or
completely powerless in real life to live the life they want. Easy games are
a kind of hidden drug that is based around how "powerful" a person's game
avatar is and how it behaves according to others. It allows a person to
momentarily escape real life into a life where they are the figure of destiny.

This isn't only connected to easy games. Movies and anime can also be the
"easy" type, where you watch some "badass" do all kinds of inhuman,
unmatched things and actually get away with all the power, glory and fame.
I bet many of you remember Rambo. He's an old badass. I've never seen
a guy being shot by a russian legion of infantry, a tank and helicopter while
he sits in a shallow ditch and shooting them with a machine gun at sniper
range and actually killing them while they seem to have such a hard time
hitting him. Such fair play.

If this is the type of consumer that we're, then we will most surely buy or
download ONLY the types of media that make our role super powerful. By
this formula, famous multiplayer games are out where the competition is
real and strong. We might play through the campaign and at random times
join a few matches a month for "funs" and play poorly. Horror games are
also out, cuz they thrive on the very thing we're trying to avoid - powerless
ness. High skill rpg's and fps's are also out, since they demand we constantly
improve to match the competition.

Note that nothing of this is inherently "wrong". Everything is legit. I am only
bringing the reasons from behind the curtain if you're this kind of person.

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Hard Games

Now let's look for the counterpart of the easy genre - the hard games that
require you to jump from hoops and bounds, to traverse continents, swim
through oceans just to... win?

Hard games are easy games with a different focus. In these games, you
as a player lack the power to instantly win the game and must there
for utilize all or most of the game's mechanics to your advantage against
way more powerful enemies. I'm not talking God of War types of enemies
where they only "look" more powerful than you, but any human with eyes
and vision can 80% of the time dodge or parry any attack there.
I'm talking Dark Souls type of games, or just trashy broken pay to win
games that cause you to grind and suffer or die under the muddy boot of
a paying player.

Some people only play and crave these types of games, where there is the
Potential to grow and improve. So why are these people enduring so
much of the game's bullshit? For what merit? Power.

Hard games are also about power, but that power is not in you when you
start the game but rather you HAVE TO work for it. This is the key different
iation between easy and hard games. In easy games, all is given to you and
the only thing expected is for you to beat the living shit out of the enemies
on your screen. In hard games though, you cannot simply go and beat the
shit of the enemies, because they will round house kick you back to square
one in a jiffy. You must outsmart them, outlevel them, outgrind them or
best said with one word - OUT POWER THEM by any means necessary.

So why don't all people play one genre if its all about power? Well, some
like to revisit old childhood days with NES and stuff where they felt in
control, in power about their life. Those easy games allow them to feel
empowered about life and the destiny they forge for themselves. On the
other hand, people that played hard games in their childhood are driven
by being better than everyone else in anyway they can. Abusing bugs,
grinding for gear, mastery over skills, execution time, reaction time,
superior gear, better weapons etc etc etc.

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We're all human with something from our life missing. We might lack power,
love or self recognition. We deem ourselves victims of today's cruel word
but are forced to live in it. Until we find a way to recognize our existence as
being valid and worthy, we rely on games to do that for us.

In easy games, we find the absolute power within to beat anything the
game throws at us and we recognize how awesome we are

In hard games, through the constant challenge and the people or the game
itself, we constantly push the limits and through our own achievements of
great difficult we recognize how awesome we are

In multiplayer games, easy or hard
we use others as a mirror to reflect to ourselves how
rewarded or criticized we should be


All in all, its about self love and self validation. The feeling of worthiness.
We need games because we've unlearned how to give that feeling to our
selves, and until we reclaim the power to do it, keep on gaming :)

Further References


 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Level 19
Joined
Jul 2, 2011
Messages
2,162
interesting topic and yes I do play games to feel all powerful, but I also play to see what I can shape in that world. creativity has something to do with it as well as the fact that I believe some people were born to rule over others. games allow us to be gods or alteast kings/queens of man.

they give us opportunities we might not currently have in life.

I work in the construction field and as such I get to order workers around, yet it's not the same as controlling lives and I think that is what gaming allows me to do.

to rule the human race, that is my dream
 

sentrywiz

S

sentrywiz

interesting topic and yes I do play games to feel all powerful, but I also play to see what I can shape in that world. creativity has something to do with it as well as the fact that I believe some people were born to rule over others. games allow us to be gods or alteast kings/queens of man.

they give us opportunities we might not currently have in life.

I work in the construction field and as such I get to order workers around, yet it's not the same as controlling lives and I think that is what gaming allows me to do.

to rule the human race, that is my dream

Thanks. And yes, creativity is valid. But that is creating, not playing. I am strictly talking about playing games in this creative tutorial, not making them. You can see my "Originality vs Creativity" discussion for creating games.

I might also believe that some are more powerful than others, but nobody is born holding a controller in their hand or a golden scepter to rule others with. Babies are born pure and later "corrupted or blessed" determined on many other factors. Point is, all are learn-able habits and acquired beliefs over the course of one's life.
 
Level 15
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
1,126
Splendid article, Sentrywiz.

It's great for those map-making people to understand how to influence and keep gamers stick to their maps/games.

Therefore, I hope that this piece of good knowledge should be a reference for those who wants to succeed in their game-making.

Best wishes,
XESY
 

sentrywiz

S

sentrywiz

Splendid article, Sentrywiz.

It's great for those map-making people to understand how to influence and keep gamers stick to their maps/games.

Therefore, I hope that this piece of good knowledge should be a reference for those who wants to succeed in their game-making.

Best wishes,
XESY

Much appreciated! Thanks for your kind words :)
 
Pretty sweet article. I initially left these in tutorial submission in 2015 because I didn't know if they qualified as a tutorial, and I kinda wanted to gauge people's responses (and the images weren't attached to the hive).

I definitely think the feeling of power in games is something we all have experienced. It is pretty funny to think about. Personally, I like to believe there are more reasons that people play a game beyond self-validation, but who knows. ;) It is definitely a cool topic to explore as of late, especially across markets (mobile markets where there are a plethora of "easy" games, and console/pc games where difficulty is more varied).

I'm going to go ahead and approve it. I think it is a cool topic and a cool reference.
 
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