Yes and it is marketing driven. They want to target the widest possible customer base.
And the result is always the same: A designed by committee experience that lots of people buy, but few people really love.
I can see why, it’s because most gamers are pretty casual. They’ll buy a handful of games over the life of the console and play them to death. They just want a reliably average experience, like people that go to McDonald’s. They don’t want to cut themselves on Dark Souls or the madness of Death Stranding.
That’s why, e.g. Kingdom Come Deliverance (2) is so much fun. It doesn’t even try to appeal to everyone.
To be fair, that game does a lot of stuff.
But yes, its extremely focused too. It’s so medieval it hurts.
They also lucked out picking CryEngine, as (for their use case) it works unbelievably well. Many AAAs fall into development hell wrangling engines, and they easily could have done the same.
I want more katamari-like games. Just roll the ball.
Bandai Namco patented most of katamari’s game mechanics. so you can’t!
Sincerely a sore indie dev
I’m surprised Katamari isn’t old enough that the patents ran out.
That makes me sad :(
I had only played the first 2 Katamari games (and then recently replayed the “Reroll” versions on PC) and was really looking forward to the newest Once Upon a Katamari. Unfortunately, I mostly hate the newest game and since instead of addressing any of the common complaints - like uneven level distribution, severely cluttered UI in levels, wonky physics compared to previous titles - the only developer announcements are for 2 more paid DLCs that are basically just music packs.
So, I’d also love some Katamari-like games if the official series is going to be handled so poorly and as frustrating to play.
As far as the new one, it certainly handles differently. The only thing I really didn’t like was the power up/bonuses. Admittedly I’m a casual gamer. You did inspire me to pop in reroll (make a star for 1 min was absurd…).
It’s not exactly the same, but have you played Donut County?
I will probably check it out, but the Steam reviews give the impression it’s really short and lacking in replayability so I’m not very hopeful it’ll scratch the same itch. Thanks for the suggestion though :)
It is very short and not replayable, but the gameplay and story telling has a similar vibe. I wouldn’t pay much more than $5 for it, but it does seem to be on sale right now.
There’s wonderful end of the world, but it’s a very old indie, and you don’t roll a ball.
I don’t want to craft, I don’t want to have 1000 different materials in my inventory for crafting, just make up some cool weapons please.
Play call of duty, then?
There’s 40 years of RPGs that didn’t need to have crafting in every game, they could make more. It just adds so much fluff to the game.
I think this is an overly generalizing perspective at best. Sounds a bit like someone just listening to the Billboard Hot 100 and complaining about music trying to appeal to too broad of an audience.
Sure, AAA publishers might often try to create games which appeal to everyone and end up being worse for it. But that‘s completely ignoring independent developers. And claiming that Balatro, Megabonk, Silksong or Ball x Pit aren‘t focussed enough would simply be untrue. And it‘s not like these games aren‘t successful enough to matter.
I think the person was talking in general about AAA games. Used to be people liked AAA games, there was variety. Now it’s all open world GAAS with gliding
Aren’t balatro and the others you mentioned indie games? I think the person in the article was talking about AAA games.
Yes, exactly. I didn‘t get that he was talking only about AAA from the article, but haven‘t watched the video. If these are the only games he meant, I agree with him.
Old man yells at cloud: “whatever happened to text based games?!?”
He’s saying “not every game needs a fishing minigame or crafting”. Where’s the lie?
Are RPGs not mainly looting and story telling? If you’re not crafting anything most looting is going to be pointless. I agree with fishing and hunting and stuff like that. If I wanted to focus that much of my health id play a survival game. But I was on my 3rd or 4th playthrough of fallout 4 before I actually put any effort into the settlements, and now it’s like, my favorite part of the game. Sometimes those things you initially think of as a chore can actually wind up being the most rewarding.
People cry loudly over dark souls not having easy mode
We’ve reached a level of insanity where if your game excludes anyone, even someone born without hands, you are an evil ableist company
Profit seeking companies are making games for the lowest common denominator. Very few games are art anymore
I think there’s quite a big gulf between “adjustable settings” and “lowest common denominator”.
If it was a book I might use an ereader and adjust the text size. I wouldn’t change the words to simpler words.
Adjusting the difficultly is not changing the text size.
It is altering the game. You might think that’s ok or worth it for accessibility but it is still altering the game.
Plenty of games have difficulty sliders and plenty don’t. Both are 100% ok
imagine dark souls was so easy you get bored. Wouldn’t you ask for a difficulty slider? Let people ask their needs to be fulfilled. And definitely, avoid being contrary to them only because their need is alien to you. They are not even asking anything from you.
imagine dark souls was so easy you get bored. Wouldn’t you ask for a difficulty slider?
No? What? I’d play something else.
I’m not out here like “stardew needs to add permadeath and player invasions”. I don’t find stardew very fun so I don’t play it.
Adding more options is usually fine but I don’t accept the premise that every game needs to be fun and completable by every player.
If someone made Calculus Souls, I know I wouldn’t do well at it. I wouldn’t demand that they change it to be Arithmetic Mode just so my bad-at-math brain can finish it. if they add that, fine, maybe even good, but I don’t feel entitled to that.
FURTHERMORE: Difficulty options can be changed in ways other than a meta game slider. You need basically zero reflexes to finish elden ring with a tower shield and spirit ashes. Is that good enough? Or do people want it so everyone can finish the game in naked parrying dagger mode.
It’s also different games for different occasions.
Sometimes I just want background static for my thoughts → Stardew Valley
Sometimes I want to casually explore a whimsical world → BotW
Sometimes I need a constant flood of adrenaline to drown out the pain → Dota2
Dark Souls is amazing, and it would suck if it was easy. Everything about it is punishing and that’s part of what makes it such a standout experience. Same with Silksong.
My issue with this way of thinking is that difficulty is not always a gradient thing, it can be about what you have learned and are able to apply. If a game is very focused around the player developing specific skills, and repeated practice until they are able to figure it out, an easier version where you can get through it without learning the prerequisites would not be the same game at all, and requesting that could amount to the same thing as asking for its erasure.
Make your own game then 🤷♀️
If I see a movie and it was boring I don’t ask for a more exciting version
You’ve never watched a different cut of a movie?
I’ve never watched a different cut of a movie made specifically because people didn’t like the original
I’ve only seen director cuts that more closely align with their vision. Which is what fromsoft essentially does
I’ve never watched a different cut of a movie made specifically because people didn’t like the original
Personally I’ve been meaning to watch Terminator 3: The Coming Storm for precisely that reason. I’ve also enjoyed plenty of modded games that change the original because the developer’s vision wasn’t all that great in many people’s opinion.
I’ve only seen director cuts that more closely align with their vision. Which is what fromsoft essentially does
Project 4K77 is Star Wars as it was originally released but the director doesn’t want that version to be available anymore.
Just throwing that out there.
“Altering the game” is unhelpfully broad. Changing the gamma level is altering the game, allowing subtitles is altering the game, swapping the enemies for teletubbies is altering the game.
We’re getting into ship of Theseus territory, coupled with authorial intent, death of the author, and stuff like that.
Plenty of people would like an easy mode. It’s up to the developers of they get one. I think it would be a better product with more options for difficulty but you seem to feel it would be bad…?
Perhaps more helpfully I draw the distinction between game modes that alter the mechanics in some ways but not others. As in, some games have difficulty levels that change not just the damage mechanics but also the numbers of enemies, the objectives the player is required to complete, the available routes through the world, and any number of other things.
Other games just adjust things like damage mechanics and timing windows, without touching other stuff. The latter I feel falls under accessibility.
Conflating the two to me seems strange. Can’t play the game for as long as someone else? No game for you!
I feel the developers should release games as they see fit, that’s it.
Your opinion is that your opinion doesn’t matter because you’re not the developer? 😆
Miyazaki personally designs the levels according to his specific vision of the experience.
So his vision for the experience is that only some people are worthy to play? I mean, it’s allowed but it’s not an opinion I’d personally go to bat for.
And i think that criticism is a fundamental part of interaction with art. I’ve been playing Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn lately (wife got on an fe kick and I decided to try out the series) and the entire time I’ve been discussing what I like and dislike about the decisions they made. I shouldn’t get to force their hand, but from what I hear a lot of my complaints were addressed in future (and past) games, while unfortunately many of the kudos I have for it didn’t roll forward.
To engage with games (or movies/tv) without asking what was done well or poorly is fine, but I’d really encourage doing it. The internet can be very loud about their opinions, but artists do well to learn which opinions to consider or reject.
No that’s part of interacting with products, not art.
Some games are just art and not a product, they’re not there to be negotiated with only presented as the artist made it. Some games are both and the developers care about what people want, movies also sometimes use focus groups. The best movies don’t.
But people don’t actually know what they want and that’s part of what makes actual art like film or fashion exciting…and what makes it art.
I find it troubling that you’ve described a consumer feedback cycle as having something to do with art
And yet to ask questions about what was done well or poorly and what resonated or didn’t and what made something easier to get into or didn’t is part of analyzing it, just like trying to determine themes. In an art gallery I often have an initial like/dislike reaction, from there I ask why.
The best movies don’t care what the masses think, but they do care what the critics who they respect think. The best movies are often made by people who saw a movie and were inspired by what they liked or didn’t like about it to do their own thing that they thought they could do better or their own way.
And I agree that it’s good and exciting when artists do their own thing and create something unique and cool. And when it works it’s fucking amazing, and it’s really easy to only remember the things that did work. I have a lot of respect for the music of Yoko Ono, she said “fuck you” to the critics and everyone else and did her own thing, but I also wouldn’t call myself a fan of her music.
Miyazaki does his own thing, he acts as an artist who feels that the difficulty of his games is a fundamental piece of the experience. I can respect that. And I can also respect the people who hear these games are very good, are interested in them, and acknowledge they don’t have it in them to “git gud” enough to truly enjoy them and are saddened by that. I see the people wanting an easy mode in difficult games as similar to my wife who complains about the lack of a hard mode in most Nintendo games.
You haven’t even looked at any games if you think very few are art anymore.
Stop playing call of duty and nfl-whatever.
lol lmao are you ignorant to the corporate and gambling cancers in gaming?
What do you think I was referring to in my last sentence?
Games you think I play to win the insult battle?
Cause you certainly seemed to ignore the very real point that of all the dollars invested into gaming almost all of it is going to corporate and gambling games
And this shows in what games are produced and not produced. Hence the very few
You’re just full of great takes today. I would step away and reassess.
Man, what’s with people seeing others complain about something, and using “cry about,” “screech about,” and other words implying strong unpleasant emotion to describe their expressions of discontent? It reads very much not just as “I disagree and do not think they are right,” but as actively dismissing and wanting to minimize the complaints and make the complainers look bad. I’d like to let people have opinions, even wrong opinions, about media without considering them an overemotional baby/spoiled child/other insult here.
Second time I saw this happen on peaceful gaming communities that mostly get all their posts from Agent Karyo in two days, it’s kind of disheartening. I want a peaceful discussion space, not a circle of X group SLAMS other group, and people who disagree with each other portraying the other side as screechy babies, spoiled brats, and whatever insult.
I also do not think it is such a bad thing that we’re pushing for more accessibility. The example of someone without hands is a bit prohibitive for games now as far as I know, but although you intend it as a ridiculous example of accessibility gone too far I cannot help but think it would be really nice for someone without hands to some day have a game made for them. I am not sure why I’m supposed to view that as a bad thing. Including those on the fringes is good! Of course, harassing an indie dev with fewer resources and time over lack of accessibility options super isn’t it. You cannot expect everyone to have the time and resources necessary to do all the work needed to make games accessible to those with various disabilities all with different support needs. But a big AAA company raking in the bucks can afford to help.
And of course, some games are meant for certain audience to the exclusion of others and that is okay. A game to test or improve your typing skills is inherently inaccessible to those without hands (as far as I know) and that’s okay. Shooting games are designed for people who like them, and that’s okay. But overall valuing inclusivity and including more people where you can is a good thing, not a bad thing. I saw your Dark Souls comment and I would not mind if they added easy modes. I also think the core of that series is being omgwtfdifficult and also would not have a problem if they never added it. (No idea what actually happened since I do not play Dark Souls.) I understand some games are made for specific audiences and this one might be made for people who like hard games. I don’t think we should harass them to add an easy mode. But if they wanted to add one, why would it be such a bad thing for them to get an optional easy mode?
And going more general, not just about accessibility for the disabled, I do not personally think every game needs to be for everyone ever. The core problem isn’t about every single game not being accessible to everyone, it is about how some populations have very few games available to or aimed at them at all. Not every game needs to be playable by the blind, but if they have just 1 or 2 available that’s not very fun for them either. Not every game needs a female protagonist, but as women make up a lot of gamers we think it would be nice if there were some (and indeed there are, more games have female protagonists nowadays and that’s nice).
L take. Article is about focusing on key game play, rather than making every game a smorgasbord of features. Nothing about easy modes or accessibility.
It’s also, umm, really insightful that you recognize the call for an easy mode in dark souls is about accessibility and you come down on the side of ableism. “Yeah, people with any kind of disability shouldn’t be able to play the games I enjoy, cause that would ruin those games for me”.
Oh sorry. You framed it as the opposite, but the opposite isn’t the case. No one’s calling From Software ableist for not having an easy mode, they’re saying that adding an easy mode in no way diminishes the game and makes it more accessible.
There were a lot of really creative bands with unique styles in the 1960s, and a lot of really creative movies with unique looks in the 1970s. Both came from the same place; the executives at the music/film companies had no idea what was going to sell, so they threw money in every direction.
I… are we saying dark souls was a flop that did bad? Cuz… boy do I have news for you.
Like yeah people complain and there are people who don’t like it but also the franchise is extremely popular and no one is cancelling from soft over this….
Just because people cry about something doesn’t mean it isn’t good.
They actually tried to cancel fromsoft as ableists but it simply didn’t work. It was a deluge of internet blog posts and hit pieces about accessibility and ableism, many legitimate grievances, but misdirected at fromsoft.
People should be mad at companies with no creative reason for not including quality accessibility settings
Otherwise we will have to agree to disagree whether the mechanical playing of a game is itself a particular art. Fromsoft seems to think so and I agree
No, they didn’t. Google “FromSoftware Ableist” or ableism and you find a handful of blogs from personal websites calling out FromSoftware for the practice. Nothing about canceling them
The actual call, for including an easy mode as an accessibility issue, is advocacy. It’s not a demand under threat of “canceling”. The loudest advocate for the cause, James Stephanie Sterling, has always framed it that way and that’s the only way I’ve ever actually seen it framed. Hell, they love the games more than most and just wish that more people had the capability/ time to play them.
Claiming that people are calling for dark souls to be canceled is a way for you to frame them as victims of something so you can feel heroic defending the status quo. You’re not some white knight, dude. FromSoft makes games without easy modes, and probably always will, and no one benefits from you loudly protecting them from nothing. Worse than nothing, because you’re just arguing that whoever gets to play those games now should be the only people to play those games forever.
Stop listening to people who want to make you angry about everything and actually listen to people you disagree with about petty shit like this. You might learn something about the world and about yourself.
