Off course RPGs are easy

by Raincrystal

A recent editorial touched on the fact that what we consider "difficulty" in RPGs is really not difficulty at all, but rather the need to spend a lot of time leveling up. This struck me as extremely true, and I think I know the reason why.

First of all, as a gamer I absolutely hate leveling up. I don't like to walk around a dungeon fighting monsters in a silly repetitive way; it usually results in a bored Raincrystal repeatedly pressing the O button (or whichever) while thinking about something else. Difficulty challenges which can only be beaten by the strategy of leveling up (e.g. the Ruby and Emerald Weapons in FFVII) are tasks which I avoid whenever possible, no matter how much I love the game. However, there are times when one simply has to level up in order to beat the next boss and continue with the story. I endure these with resigned patience, because I want to see what happens next, and I know that if I level up enough I will eventually get there.

Now think about what happens in a skill-oriented game when gamers get stuck with really no ability to pass a stage. They really can't beat the game, so they simply don't. If, after repeated tries, it proves to be a task beyond the player's ability, that doesn't mean the gamer will judge it as "bad." The label is more likely to be "fun, but too hard for me."

It's no giant loss to be unable to finish G-Darius; playing the first stage is enough to understand the game. But imagine how much gamers miss out on if they don't finish FFVIII. RPGs are meant to be judged as a whole, and one can't really appreciate them without playing the entire game. Many editorials on this site have included a comment like, "If so-and-so had finished the game,..."

If a gamer plays only the beginning of an RPG, it will not make a very great impression. Developers know this. They want players to finish RPGs. Consequently, they can't make the games impossible to finish. They can hinder and annoy gamers, but they can't provide any real obstacle, or anyone who can't pass it won't be able to fully experience the game. This is why games are becoming easier, to the point where they are criticized for being little more than interactive movies. Games sell when they go in that direction, but making them difficult only frustrates and turns off players and public opinion.

In a way, RPGs have the most difficult task of any game genre. They must deliver not only exciting gameplay and challenge, but also a complete and interesting narrative. They have to satisfy both the players who are looking for a game and the players who are looking for a story. The game-seeking players will want the game to be as hard as possible, while the story-seeking players will want to be able to pass to the next part of the story as smoothly as possible. Of course, it is impossible to make a clear-cut division of players, and there is a huge grey area ˆ la old-school/new-school gamers, but these are the two extremes of gaming debates over difficulty.

So game-seeking players, cut the developers a break: they've got to create a game which anybody could finish. Story-seeking players, remember: it is after all a game, not a movie. And most of all, kudos to the gaming industry for pulling off such a delicate balance so successfully many times.