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TimovieMan · 10-28-2011, 04:30 PM

Wow, I totally forgot MI2 and CMI had difficulty settings. Probably because I clicked "Mega-Monkey" immediately...

I like the idea of a hint system (like in the Professor Layton games, and didn't Phantasmagoria and The 7th Guest have one too?), but a hint system should be applied to the game itself, apart from any difficulty setting. It's a way to avoid having players reach for walkthroughs all the time, and that goes whether or not the game is difficult or not.

Anyway, if there are different difficulty settings, then they should just be about finding more items for your inventory and needing a few more steps to solve the exact same problem. They definitely should never make you feel like you'll miss out on half the game.

The difficulty setting in first-person shooters doesn't affect the story at all, just how many bullets it takes to kill a bad guy, or how many it takes for you to die. The same rule should apply to adventures with a difficulty setting.

Heck, you can even restrict them to the difficulty of any timed puzzles or action sequences.

What I'm basically trying to say is that a difficulty setting could be a good way for more casual gamers (or older gamers with slower reflexes) to get through tedious parts a bit easier without it affecting the story that's being told...
Also, reaching a wider audience in doing so isn't a bad thing, especially in a niche genre like this...

Edit: Conspiracy (or KGB) also had an option where Donald Sutherland would give you a hint (I think he played your character's dead father).

10-28-2011, 04:30 PM	#3
TimovieMan Filmfreak Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Belgium Posts: 1,049	Wow, I totally forgot MI2 and CMI had difficulty settings. Probably because I clicked "Mega-Monkey" immediately... I like the idea of a hint system (like in the Professor Layton games, and didn't Phantasmagoria and The 7th Guest have one too?), but a hint system should be applied to the game itself, apart from any difficulty setting. It's a way to avoid having players reach for walkthroughs all the time, and that goes whether or not the game is difficult or not. Anyway, if there are different difficulty settings, then they should just be about finding more items for your inventory and needing a few more steps to solve the exact same problem. They definitely should never make you feel like you'll miss out on half the game. The difficulty setting in first-person shooters doesn't affect the story at all, just how many bullets it takes to kill a bad guy, or how many it takes for you to die. The same rule should apply to adventures with a difficulty setting. Heck, you can even restrict them to the difficulty of any timed puzzles or action sequences. What I'm basically trying to say is that a difficulty setting could be a good way for more casual gamers (or older gamers with slower reflexes) to get through tedious parts a bit easier without it affecting the story that's being told... Also, reaching a wider audience in doing so isn't a bad thing, especially in a niche genre like this... Edit: Conspiracy (or KGB) also had an option where Donald Sutherland would give you a hint (I think he played your character's dead father).