@kelly @turbodragon@awoo.space i think there's value in difficult video games - mastering challenging video games is how some people with particularly overactive brains survive dysphoria as children, for one - but there's not really an excuse for gating people from experiencing the game by not including some sort of difficulty knobs as needed.
i'm also not sure what to do about games that use difficulty as a storytelling mechanic, like the merciless route of Undertale - an invincibility switch set to on would actually *prevent* you from experiencing it properly.
(also don't mind my excited flailing over Even the Ocean coming up in a conversation without me yet in it~)
@lifning @turbodragon and I could write a whole book about Undertale from this lens so for now I'll just say:
1. harmony between mechanics and theme is much, much more structurally crucial to Undertale than most games, to the point of offering few lessons for other game developers... like I don't think even Toby Fox could pull that off a second time in a direct sequel
2. every designer now competes with free streaming and longplays so devs might as well let their paying players play to the end.
@lifning @turbodragon I have so many thoughts but I gotta go to sleeeeep... in short, I fully understand the value of overcoming challenges, but the thing about difficulty is that like so many things, it is subjective. My brain and hands are just slow, so my skill ceiling is just lower than average. I got (presumably) the same endorphin rush from beating Mega Man 2 on Easy as 'most gamers' got from finishing on Normal but it's the only one I've beaten BECAUSE it is the only one with an Easy mode.