GamesRoguelikeSpelunkyDeveloper behind legendary roguelike Spelunky says games shouldn’t get too easy too fast: “You can rob people of that experience"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRoguelikeSpelunkyDeveloper behind legendary roguelike Spelunky says games shouldn’t get too easy too fast: “You can rob people of that experience"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Mossmouth)
In a recent thread on Twitter, Yu referenced an online discussion about ‘God Mode’ difficulty levels, which typically make players invulnerable while it’s active. While the discussion ends with the suggestion that these modes should be available to players to adopt when they want to, Yu doesn’t entirely agree. Instead, he suggests that there’s an argument to “sometimes not include God Mode if you would like to push players out of their comfort zones.”
There are plenty of times, he continues, where “you want to meet player expectations,” but as with plenty of other artforms, “sometimes you don’t” want to do that.
Interesting discussion about god mode.To me, the reply is actually an argument in favor of sometimes NOT including god mode if you would like to push players out of their comfort zone. Often you want to meet player expectations, but like any other artform, sometimes you don’t. pic.twitter.com/l44cYWLMq5July 7, 2024
Interesting discussion about god mode.To me, the reply is actually an argument in favor of sometimes NOT including god mode if you would like to push players out of their comfort zone. Often you want to meet player expectations, but like any other artform, sometimes you don’t. pic.twitter.com/l44cYWLMq5July 7, 2024
Yu goes on to explain his thoughts in a little more detail, saying “I can’t count the number of times I’ve felt ‘truly stuck’ only to get some sleep or try a new tactic. The amount of satisfaction one gets from succeeding eventually is incredible.” As a result, he says that you risk ‘robbing’ a player of that satisfaction if it’s too easy to dial down the challenge.
“Not every game is designed around the extremes of frustration/satisfaction,” he admits, “and for each person that you motivate to persevere there are people who will simply quit.” As a result, he argues that “God Mode is fine for most games, but not including it is a designer’s tool as much as including it.”
As a name on our list of thebest roguelikes, Yu knows a thing or two about difficulty.
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