What are some things that just get under your skin about games?
For me, it’s games that do not allow controller rebinding. I have neuropathy and my fingers don’t all work. If I can’t rebind buttons so that I have necessary moves (for example: parry) be on buttons I can reliably press the entire game becomes unplayable.
And on console, where I can’t refund a game after I downloaded it (fuck you Sony) then it really screws me over wasting what limited funds I have on games I just can’t play.
I’m souring on difficulty options lately. How am I supposed to know the ideal difficulty of a game without having played it before? You’re the developer, you designed it and if you’re confident in your game balance you should pick the default difficulty. Better yet, get rid of discrete difficulties and add customizable assist mode instead.
Whilst I didn’t enjoy the mechanics of Control, I was very impressed at the settings it offered. I could essentially turn off combat if I wanted. Yes, it won’t be the same game experience, but if I choose to play that way - let me!
In the old days we had cheat codes for this stuff. I cheated my way through a lot of games and then revisited later without cheats. Some of those became my favourite games of all time (Theme Hospital and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 both spring to mind).
“ideal” difficulty is whatever you get the most enjoyment out of. Nothing more or less.
How am I supposed to know which one that is
By playing the game and adjusting as needed to the experience you are having. That’s what difficulty options are there for. Only you can decide what that is. No one can or should dictate that for you.
While I do change them if I feel things are seriously off, I don’t think changing the settings mid-playthrough is the solution. It is normal for the same game to have different difficulties at different times so if you’re adjusting difficulty mid fly on a first playthrough you probably won’t get the same highs and lows as intended. It is impossible to know from the first stages how the difficulty ramps up, sometimes they are easier, sometimes they are just mechanically simpler and sometimes they are purposefully difficult so you have to learn key mechanics.
Difficulty options are like consumable potions to me if that makes sense
That metaphor doesn’t make sense to me, sorry.
Gaming experience is subjective. The highs and lows are entirely dependent upon the player and their preferences/capabilities.
It’s your experience, no one else’s. The experience is either fun or frustrating. If it is frustrating, then adjust until it is fun. It’s just that simple. For some, a brick wall challenge is fun and enjoyable, for others, it is time consuming and tedious. Both players are valid and both should have the option to play a game the way they want
The “highs and lows” should come from the storytelling, not the gameplay loop. The gameplay loop should always be fun, engaging, and enjoyable for the player.