• Add Review
  • Subscribe
  • Nominate
  • Submit Media
  • RSS

Difficulty

  • calunio
  • 11/07/2013 07:21 PM
  • 2687 views
I was pleasantly surprised that no one found any bugs in the game, even though I finished it on the last minute! So I had decided not to release any more versions other than the contest one.

BUT

Complaints about the game's difficulty have been almost unanimous. I really don't think it is that hard. What I think is happening is that people don't have much patience for minigames and challenging gameplay in story-based games. I don't take away their reason. I don't have much patience for games with a nice story but difficult gameplay getting in my way (like The Longing Ribbon - thankfully there was a cheat to disable battles).

For instance, people complained that the climb puzzle was too hard, and it took them TEN MINUTES to find the solution. Well, I wouldn't think 10 minutes is that long. It took me much more time to escape the final monster in Rust and Blood, for instance. And it was even worse, because I actually got gameovers and had to return to my previous save. And I didn't see anyone complaining about that.

But I guess in story-based games like Suzy and Freedom, 10 minutes of somewhat-frustrating gameplay get to be more frustrating because they break the story pace.

I just don't want players to ragequit the game because of those minigames, that's all.

So I'm thinking about significantly reducing the game's difficulty, namely that of the first two puzzles (the battle, and the climbing). And I'm not planning on making them slightly easier, but a lot easier. It's kinda sad that I'll take away ALL the challenge of the game, but in truth, I don't think anyone is going to complain about the game being too easy.

What do you guys think?

Also, is there any bug or spelling mistake I should also correct?

Posts

Pages: 1
What I think is happening is that people don't have much patience for minigames and challenging gameplay in story-based games.


Not the case at all. I have plenty of patience, I would have spent hours on a puzzle if it was good. Heck, your puzzle isn't long at all. It's just it takes 15-20 minutes when it should take 2 minutes based on its simplicity. It's just finnicky things that pose fake difficulty. Rust and Blood had puzzles that you had to strategise more than this puzzle. I'm not sure why you're not admitting that the puzzle doesn't require that much effort to complete, but still a lot of patience because it's just not well designed. I didn't mind dying and going back the previous save in Rust and Blood because it *worked for the game*. This doesn't work for this game. I don't mean to be harsh but this is just what I feel about the game. I don't like the puzzle because it's difficult, it's not very difficult at all. It's just difficult to finish because of finnicky controls, and silly design decisions. Sorry, man.
I actually DID get complaints about the last thingy in Rust and Blood being too hard, and I DID make some changes to it since then.

Either way, what you think is hard in your own game, which you know in and out, is obviously going to be different from your players (especially "new" players, aka people that don't play alot of games). One complaint can be ignored if you think it's wrong, but if a pattern starts to form you'd do well to listen.
SnowOwl: I listened. I changed the game. The puzzle is still there, but a lot easier. Looking in retrospect, I could have designed a different puzzle, something that would even match the "love" context better. But time constraints didn't leave me much space to think. I did what I came up with first that sounded reasonable. But now that I made it easier, maybe it's not what it could have been, but at least it's less frustrating.

thatbennyguy: What's still hard for me to understand are the parameters in which a statement like "it's harder than it should be" is made, because no, it was NOT meant to be easy, and it was NEVER meant to be finished in 2 minutes. Maybe the problem is that it looks like a simple platform game like Mario, but climbing in my puzzle is nothing like climbing platforms in Mario, and I'm completely aware of that. My puzzle is a bit of a trial and error thing. What you have to learn is basically from which spot to jump from. It's has nothing to do with timing like regular jumping minigames, and it has nothing to do with how you press the jumping button, like it happens in regular videogames. It requires trial and error, and it requires getting used to. If you say it's not fun, well, I can't argue with that. Though I have to say, I like the concept myself, and I came as close as to asking someone to design a level for me using my own mechanics so I could play in it, because that's my kind of game.

But it's not unpredictable. Jumping always follows the same pattern:
1-UP
2-UP/RIGHT
3-RIGHT
4-DOWN/RIGHT
5-DOWN (till you land)



Movement is broken if there are obstacles. That's all.

But well... I guess I never expected it would be that hard to get used to.
Pages: 1