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"To be seen as art, games need to be easier. A lot easier. They don't have to be only easy. They can provide Elite Super Awesome levels for the enjoyment of those who love to be challenged." Eesh, I don't know. I think there needs to be easier games – hell, games are getting easier all the time – but a super-hardcore game like Psyvariar does _not_ need a built-in easy mode. Its purpose is to be hard. Not convinced by this article at all, unfortunately.
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"Because stupidity is such an unthinkably terrible thing in our culture, the students will then spend hours constructing arguments that explain why they are intelligent yet are having difficulties. The moment you start down this path, you have lost your focus."
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"Innovation seems to mean doing something so significantly different that you alienate the userbase that should be familiar with your product. More applaudable, in my mind, are those games that smuggle in small amounts of unique and exciting gameplay that enhances the experience without fundamentally redefining it… Warhammer Online is a game that abounds with this kind of innovation. From elements that are purely new and thought provoking, to small gameplay tweaks that subtly push new perspectives on tired MMO cliches, there is a lot of good stuff to be found in the game." Brandon Reihnart takes a look at WAR.
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4chan /b/ thread on the American economic deficit, which explains things quite well, and has stick-man-anon illustrations to boot.
James | 17 Sep 2008
I like the Alderman article. She’s not saying every game needs a ‘built-in’ easy mode. She’s saying there need to be more games that aren’t either finger-twitching racers/shooters/platformers or intense, long quests.
Hard games can take the part of ‘difficult’ art, but I feel the need for games I can dip into in the way I can dip into great music, or great painting. Longer exposure can and should be more rewarding, but it shouldn’t be a prerequisite.