Your opinion on why gaming has gotten easier

[rpellumbi]

So I am playing through the Max Payne series right now, and I am currently on the first game. I didn't start gaming until around 2005 and at the time games were not extremely challenging, but they weren't to easy either. The first Max Payne game is giving me a really hard time, as I am used to having checkpoints that save my progress every 5 minutes. In this game if you forget to save throughout the mission you restart. So anyways, my question is, Why do you thing games have gotten easier throughout time. My opinion is that "gamers" are now teens who do not want to be bored by challenging games.

[TheMail]

Generally, they're trying to make everything more mainstream, and so that even the stupidest person could understand and follow the storyline.. and when they play it, they get a sense of accomplishment.

[rashdanml]

I've noticed a trend.

 

The only people who claim old games are "easy" are those who have played it multiple times. After the first or second, anything and everything is easy because you can predict the outcome every time. The first time is always the hardest, and for those who claim the first time was easy, they're blatantly lying. 

 

At the time of release, games were certainly hard. Take Half Life. The problem I see, though, is that the difficulty is so hard to the point where it's frustrating. Personally, I've had trouble with the control system causing me to plunge to my death more so than the enemies. Not to mention the enemies being ridiculously unbalanced.

 

Games should be hard, but not frustrating. Frustration pushes players away from the game, not keeps them playing to get through the challenging content. 

[KaareKanin]

It hasn't, not universally either way... It has changed. After a decade and a half away from SMB3, I booted it up just recently, and my skills now were a lot better than back in the day when I played it a lot! Okay, there were some hard games back in the day, but they were sometimes really short and thus needed to be hard to give enough play time. But then again, It might be that I don't play a lot of modern "easy games". 

 

I would guess that Max Payne is hard for you because it's dated and a lot of the refinement in game controls that's lacking in the older games makes it weird to you (even if you don't realize it). Max Payne was also pretty hard back in its day (to my recollection)

[Mac]

So they can make a game quickly then get working on the next one for a 1 year release cycle.

[gibbsy81]

To make room for all the noobs that are taking over the world.

[Hyydrah]

Games should be hard, but not frustrating. Frustration pushes players away from the game, not keeps them playing to get through the challenging content. 

Some games are fun because they're frustrating. Take The Impossible Game for instance. There's a place for "easy" and frustrating games, diversity is key.

[Xelithium]

Gaming has become mainstream. That is the only reason.

[kol]

Gaming has become mainstream. That is the only reason.

Call.Of.Duty

[pcexplosion]

they want to sell more games to more people.

[Dragontail]

To much "Go here do that and come back" or "See the dot on the map, fast travel kill and get back!" not enough immersion in the games, feels more like movies(Tomb raider) not enough incentive to actually pay attention, see skyrim! Want more games like the elder scolls before skyrim where I actually found quests reading through books, could follow a story  that were pasted down through the NPC telling you stuff.

[Inkz]

Since many people would not have the patience to endure hard games not as many people would complete it. So in the end they might sell more copies if the average Joe can pick up any game with ease.

[Joshua]

People are so spoilt that when they can't get what they want (Completing the game) They won't like it, and they'll tell all their friends that the game is shit. So, the developers make them so easy that any idiot can complete them to they make them more enjoyable.

[Beskamir]

can't they use the difficutly settings to please the idiots that don't have a clue about gaming but could aso cater to the gamers? Also I WANT intellignet AI!! I don't like killing brain dead AIs...

[Split-56k]

can't they use the difficutly settings to please the idiots that don't have a clue about gaming but could aso cater to the gamers? Also I WANT intellignet AI!! I don't like killing brain dead AIs...

That would be fine if most developers didn't half ass it and change health and damage values at higher difficulties, at least in shooters.

I'd really love it if the AI changes with higher difficulties and not just health values.

[Prettyfinej]

So they can make a game quickly then get working on the next one for a 1 year release cycle.

 

Games take longer to make now than they did 20 years ago... And games take more than 1 year to release, even yearly releases (at least 2 years, having two teams in order to have one a year)

 

I think it largely has to do with improved controls and ai for why games seem easier. A lot of older games are fighting with the controls (like leap of faiths from ridiculous camera angles). There's also a lot more hand holding in the introduction of games. 

 

Also, a lot of us now have 20+ years of gaming experience, games get easier with experience. Though, I don't remember that many games from my childhood actually being all that hard, unless they were arcade games where they are trying to kill you to get you to pay more. 

[ThatLazyPickle]

Make a hard game, the mainstreamers lose interest.

Make an easy game, sell to every mainstream player.

 

It's all based on profit. Games really have gotten ridiculously easy this past decade.....

 

In my opinion ^

[Khrass]

They want to appeal to the mass market.  That's why when a company strikes gold with a gaming formula (COD is the first one that comes to mind) they can milk it for ages.

 

Side Note: Below is a great (and funny) video based loosely on this topic.  There is some language that may offend, just a heads up.

[Deleon.David]

what games should have
- complex story line
- simple UI which anyone can use
- simple game mechanics but needs skill to master them (eg. guildwars 2, simple game mechanics but need skills to master it)
- amazing art work
- interactive environments and AI

[pewpewmerica]

I like how games are "easier" because they are less frustrating, easier to get into, and just a better experience in general But there still are hard games around... just look at dark souls for example...

[MdX MaxX]

Games back in the day were all about the challenge.  Immersion wasn't a thing with 16-bit graphics.  I mean yes, you still had story, but the idea of a "cinematic" experience was nonexistent.

 

Nowadays, people want to just kick back and experience a game.  It's more letting the game happen to you than you trying to beat the game.  I mean, it wouldn't make sense if you ran out of lives in something like BioShock and had to start over.

 

I can't say it's necessarily a bad thing.  But it has spoiled people to the point where certain genres just can't be successful in certain places.

 

Like music games, for example.  Music games are HUGE in Japan.  But in America, they're virtually nonexistent.  Why?  Because they're hard.  You have to grind to get good at them.  And in Japan, people seem to be more willing to grind to get good at something.  You could dumb them down to try to appeal to the American audience (Guitar Hero, Rock Band) but you just end up with something that isn't all that fun.

[Minjon]

So I am playing through the Max Payne series right now, and I am currently on the first game. I didn't start gaming until around 2005 and at the time games were not extremely challenging, but they weren't to easy either. The first Max Payne game is giving me a really hard time, as I am used to having checkpoints that save my progress every 5 minutes. In this game if you forget to save throughout the mission you restart. So anyways, my question is, Why do you thing games have gotten easier throughout time. My opinion is that "gamers" are now teens who do not want to be bored by challenging games.

Thats not harder, they just used a worse system back then.

[techswede]

Complexity had to make way in order to appeal to a wider audience..

But there are still some gems out there that aren't too old yet^^

[Beskamir]

That would be fine if most developers didn't half ass it and change health and damage values at higher difficulties, at least in shooters.

I'd really love it if the AI changes with higher difficulties and not just health values.

Don't even get me started on how much I despise bullet spongy enemies...

[Skcorpion86]

Gaming now days can be hard. Just start playing on the hardest difficulty if you want a challenge. Most games now days have a setting to change difficulty. 

 

Also, Back in the good old days of arcades, the games were made very hard so people would use more quarters for more lives. Since arcades are not around anymore, they don't have to do that. Developers make there money on making there game Graphically and Climatically pleasing. Rather than making them hard to beat.