Assassin’s Creed 3 Lead Designer, Alex Hutchinson, has criticised developers for offering easy modes in their games.
A lot of games have been ruined by easy modes. If you have a cover shooter and you switch it to easy and you don’t have to use cover, you kind of broke your game.
You made a game that is essentially the worst possible version of your game.
An interesting point of view, especially when you consider who it’s coming from. The Assassin’s Creed series is hardly famed for its difficulty, in fact quite the opposite. One of the biggest criticisms leveled against the series is that the combat is too easy.
At the end of the day, we all play games for different reasons. Not everyone who picks up say, Borderlands 2, is looking for a hardcore challenging experience.
This is why difficulties exist, to offer choice.
Do you agree or disagree with Hutchinson’s statement?
Source: Edge
AG2297
Always choice. Sometimes I want a challenge, sometimes I just want to not have to think about it. Let the player decide.
hazelam
there are many games i’d have given up on without an easy mode.
i’m under no illusions about my skill levels, and i’m ok with that.
i play for fun, or for the story.
i don’t need to prove i’m some uber gamer, because i’m not, i’m not actually a very good gamer when it comes down to it.
the example he cited was an extreme one.
and isn’t gaming about choice, surely that’s the whole point of an interactive medium.
if that’s the way the player wants to play, that’s up to them right?
if it’s a competitive or score based game with some kind of leaderboard system then fair enough, make it a challenge, but for a story based game wouldn’t you want every player to be able to see the story through to the end?
keep the hardcore modes for those who want the challenge, but keep the easy modes for those who don’t but still want to see the whole story.
or maybe i might just want a bit of light hearted, easy, fun.
blarty
To be honest, multiple play-throughs on multiple difficulties is one of the better things that trophies and achievements have brought to the table; for those achievement completionists, finishing a game of the hardest difficulty requires you to rethink your entire strategy for the whole game – Collector Ship on Mass Effect 2 Insanity is a notable one in this regard, with other games, such as Alan Wake, some collectables are only available on higher difficulties.
Easy game modes have been in games forever whether explicitly through user-changeable modes or through things like the old Action Replay add-ons.
mad_mac_hl
I’ve no problem with easy modes but prefer a harder setting for the challenge. At the same time, I do like games that recognise and reward those who play on a higher difficulty setting with additional game features. The Witcher 2 for example has certain weapons and equipment that can only be obtained through playing its highest difficulty setting.
XisTG
While I do agree that playing a game on easy many times defeats its purpose (never watching a game over screen is not my idea of money well spent), it’s there as an option for those who just want to play the story without worrying about loosing. Its a choice.
But I don’t recall Assassin’s Creed as the hardest of games, I mean, you just press the same button and point at a direction and there you go, another dead guy.
xdarkmagician
IMO- Gaming is about 2 things, experience and winning. Winning should require skill, or at least some amount. Experience on the other hand you get just for showing up. If people want to show up at the party, it just makes a bigger party. If there wasn’t anybody playing on the easy modes there wouldn’t be anybody to impress while playing on the insane mode. I can’t see easy mode ever becoming the standard in gaming, so as long as those complete game on easy trophies keep popping up when I beat the game on hard I personally couldn’t care about easy mode, or if someone uses it.
Sympozium
Easy mode’s alright for getting into the game once the A.I becomes way too stupid to continue going against up to it normal or something. Works for me.. so I don’t really get why poor ol Easy mode is getting attacked or being claimed to have ruined games. odd Alex odd..
jeccross
I wouldn’t say it ruins the game, but I like having no difficulty option. Everyone has the same challenge and when you’ve completed it you know you’ve acheived something. Having to qualify that with a difficulty level takes something away imo.