Last week,
GameSetWatch pointed to
a really nice article about difficulty in games. Entitled "Game Design Essentials: 20 Difficult Games" the writer, John Harris, takes a designer's point of view when describing 20 of the most difficult games imaginable. This is really my favorite kind of videogame "think" piece. Taking an academic approach to some seriously difficult (and obscure) retro titles is both informative and fun to read. (And totally free of snark -- hooray!) If this were a mainstream piece, it would have been called "The Twenty Most Difficult Games of All Time." Instead, this is a carefully thought out list with some really good reflections on what designers can learn from the successes or mistakes of the past. I only wish the writer had carefully listed the platforms of each game!
In my humble opinion, the concept of "difficulty" is essentially the designer's balancing act between fun and challenge. Too much fun, and a game becomes a cakewalk -- unless that is the designer's intention. Too much challenge, and a game becomes deadly and too punishing. The key is to find the appropriate mixture of these elements so that the player enjoys the experience while also feeling a sense of accomplishment as a result of his/her actions. Creating a successful difficulty curve is one of the designer's toughest tasks. When factoring in the complex systems of modern titles, it is amazing to see when the difficulty tightrope is walked successfully.
Makes sense, then, that so many of the games on the list are older titles. With the rudimentary designs of yesteryear, it was probably easier for the designer to streamline the difficulty curve. Hell, you don't get much more "streamlined" than
Kaboom!Anyway, I really enjoyed the article, and I had some of my own games that I thought worthy of the list. Most of the games I thought of were lessons in what not to do, as opposed to being illustrative of good design. But then again, I'm the type of player that doesn't have much patience for difficulty, and will quickly give up and move on as opposed to banging my head against a pixelated brick wall.
Game: Battletoads
Platform: NES
Developer: Rare
Year: 1991
Description: This game is the stuff of legend. No one I know could ever beat it. The flying/racing levels, in particular, required such rote memorization of the obstacles that the fun ceased to exist. I have watched speedruns of this game just to see if it actually had an ending.
What We Learned: The guiding principle of "one mistake and you're toast" is not a good design conceit.
Game: F-Zero GX
Platform: GameCube
Developer: Amusement Vision
Year: 2003
Description: No surprsie that this game was developed by the same guys who made Super Monkey Ball (on the list of Gamasutra's 20). This game is T-O-U-G-H, and requires some of the highest "player skill" requirements this side of a monkey-filled sphere. Like Harris points out about Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero is totally fair. If you can't win, it's not the game's fault. You MUST have the driving skills. I actually adore this game...to a point. And I mean that quite literally: I got to a spot in this game and just COULD NOT PASS IT. Like Battletoads, there are some missions that require rote memorization of obstacles. I hate rote memorization of obstacles.
What We Learned: F-Zero GX had great graphics, awesome physics, a robust feature set, with impressive cut-scenes and scripting rarely seen on the GameCube. Too bad the game was TOO HARD to enjoy all the cool content. Deisngers: don't build an awesome theme park and then erect a 50-foot wall of rote memorization of obstacles around it.
Game: The Adventures of Bayou Billy
Platform: NES
Developer: Konami
Year: 1988
Decription: You're a guy that looks like Crocodile Dundee, and you have to save your girlfriend. To do this, you must get through fighting levels, driving levels and shooting levels. I remember bringing Bayou Billy home and being really excited to play it, but about 15 minutes in, I was like, "What the hell?!?" The game quickly demonstrates the concept of "unfair" design, in the sense that no amount of player skill will allow significant progress. The house's odds are simply stacked against Mr. Billy. He can't fight, it's hard to drive, lose all your ammo and you lose a life. When does the fun begin? Answer: it doesn't.
What We Learned: If anything, Bayou Billy reminds us to try to avoid mixing our gameplay styles. Only the most clever have been able to pull this off. (I'm thinking of games like
Deus Ex, often called a "shooter/rpg" hybrid.) In other words, if you set out to make a fighter/driver/shooter, you will most likely do all of those things badly, instead of one thing really well.
Game: Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Platform: Various, Genesis
Developer: Capcom
Year: 1989
Description: Seriously, how could a game from the Ghosts 'n Goblins/Ghouls 'n Ghosts series NOT make the "most difficult" list? Only the leetest gamers have ever beat one of these games. I know I've never come close. But I did watch a friend of mine "beat" the Genesis version back in high school. When he defeated the last boss, we got to the end screen...and learned that the entire game was all a dream! Time to do the whole thing over for real this time. What?!? Oh, no you didn't...oh, yes you did. I think we gave his Genesis the finger, turned it off, and went outside.
What We Learned: This is true of almost any game, book or movie that isn't "The Wizard of Oz" or TV show that isn't "Newhart". Designers: don't tell us "it was all a dream" at the end, or we will feel cheated and hate you forever and then blog about you.
Game: Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space
Platform: PC
Developer: Digital Eel
Year: 2005
Description: Obscure game alert! I've written about this game
before. It's actually a game of the hybrid variety mentioned above. Sort of a strategy sim meets space shooter. What's cool about it is that the galactic map is randomly generated each time you play, and there is enough variety in the types of enemies and resources and obstacles (and so on) that it feels like a new experience each time you play. Thing is, you won't get very far! I've never actually completed a mission in this game. I always die!
What We Learned: Sometimes, repetitive failure actually inspires the player to keep playing instead of just giving up. There are a number of other games that demonstrate this principle, but I like to think of Weird Worlds as a really good example. If you can make failure fun, you're not necessarily making the game too difficult. Failure simply becomes part of the experience. Despite never really succeeding at this game, I continued to want to play it. I wish I still had it installed on my machine!
Anyway, there were other games that I wanted to list above, such as Blaster Master (NES), Viewtiful Joe (GC, PS2), Pokemon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire (GBA), even GTA San Andreas (PS2, XB). But I need to get back to work!
I just gave some of my colleagues personalized storybooks from My Child Book, and they were a big hit! Aviella received one of these from a friend, and when I was thinking about what to do for work gifts, I decided this would be perfecto! I got a Justice League one, and a Marvel one, a Scooby Doo one, etc. You enter the recipient's name, their age, their hometown, a few friends, and this is the result: "John, age 32, from Atlanta, Georgia, was hanging out with Batman and Superman at the amusement park!" And so on. Great fun!
