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Absolutely. From my personal experience, I've never met someone who was frustrated with Resident Evil 4, and I think that's what separates a rewarding and challenging game from a frustratingly difficult one. Designers need to create situations where if the player fails, it's their fault, not the creators’."
You’re right; it sometimes comes down to how you play games. I have various reasons why games engross me, but what I described above is the feeling I most desire. Some of my friends prefer seeing the story, being able to destroy anything in their path, or simply collecting and discovering everything the game has to offer. My one friend hates the feeling of being cornered, which is a huge part of Resident Evil games.
As far as difficulty settings go, I totally understand why they’re there. When playing Halo, I don’t choose Legendary on my first go, but at the same time, I don’t choose Normal because it’s too easy. I’m really getting back into classic gaming where there’s one difficulty and you just have to deal. (God I hated the Grim Reaper in Castlevania.) However, that kind of locked out players from enjoying games.
Guess it comes down to preference in the end. Thanks for commenting."
I wasn’t too excited when I heard what the true ending of Braid was. I enjoyed the normal story, though, even if the twist had been pulled in two very popular games in the previous console generation. The books before each world were fairly confusing, I’ll give you that. I totally agree with you on all of your actions and the conflicts you go through during gameplay contributing to the overall narrative."
I definitely see where you’re coming from. With video games, there are so many variations that it’s tough to pinpoint what the best solution is. You’re absolutely right that dying in a game really hurts the immersion and eliminates some emotional value. You also make a good point in saying how for certain games, dying won’t kill immersion, or it’s built into the game. Limbo is a great example of this, since dying is part of the game mechanic.
That’s why I have so much respect for games like Resident Evil 4, Zelda: Link to the Past, or games that don’t have a difficulty setting (I know it makes games more accessible, but it takes balls to only have one setting and have it work out). You don’t die often in RE4 or LttP, but there’s always that sense of fear and looming danger, making success so sweet and immersive. It makes surprises that much more startling. I vividly remember running away from the giant stone statue in RE4. I just barely managed to clear that section in one go and it was exhilarating.
In the Resident Evil Remake, I didn’t want to enter certain rooms because I was low on ammo and health, and I wasn’t sure if I left a Crimson Head lying on the ground, ready to pounce up and kill me. You don’t get that feeling in any other medium, and it comes from great pacing and handling the difficulty well.
Obviously, knocking pacing out of the park is one of the developer’s biggest challenges, but when they pull it off, it creates classics in my eyes."
You look at old classic games and a lot of the thrill and excitement came from overcoming the challenges the games presented. It made finishing the game that much sweeter.
I absolutely see where you’re coming from with Football Manager. Some of the greatest stories in history come from two teams competing against each other. Seeing the Flyers overcome all the turmoil of their 2009-10 season and eventually make it to the Finals was incredible. A team like that is far more interesting than one that cake-walks to the Finals.
You look at movies like Inception, and the film wouldn’t be half as great if everything went according to plan. If the characters didn’t go through all the crap that they did, then you’d end up with The Twilight Saga where nothing happens for two and a half hours.
With Braid, it’s interesting because you can’t die, but the game is quite complex and challenging. I personally thought the challenge made the story that much more vibrant. Obviously, clearing a puzzle with no help is gratifying, but I thought it worked so well alongside its theme in the end. But I see where you're coming from."
With how diverse and unique video games have become, I think there's a place for Mass Effect's dialogue trees. I can't wait to see how my choices affect the story in Mass Effect 3.
But even though I don't think every video game story has to be presented the way you envision, I feel that, more often than not, following your way of thinking results in the most memorable moments in gaming. I hope that Left 4 Dead never has a traditional story tacked on to it because what makes the game so special and enthralling is that every campaign you tackle is different and tailored around the way you play the game via the AI Director. Hearing a horde approaching while you limp to the safe house with what little life and ammo you have left is something unmatched by most modern games.
If you haven't yet watched it, I suggest checking out Egoraptor's Sequelitis YouTube episode on Mega Man X. It reinforces what you've talked about.
Again, nice job!"
I felt that the lighting in the original Resident Evil was very unsettling. And like I mentioned in a comment above, I always felt a true sense of horror while playing the remake when I needed to pass through a hallway where I left a zombie lying on the ground, possibly mutating into a Crimson Head. The chanting and rituals present in the second part of Resident Evil 4 always sent a chill down my spine. Obviously, Silent Hill is also up there as far as scare-factor goes. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel more terror when engrossed in a good video game as opposed to a solid horror novel or film.
Still, neither you nor I can say what medium establishes the best feeling of horror, so I feel that statement in the article is valid."