The Couch Mercenaries



				Game Difficulty, do you really miss the good old days?
				Monday, November 17th, 2008

				by Murphys Law


















				I have read many articles and listened to more than one podcaster complain about the
				difficulty (or lack of ) of modern games and how “It’s not like the good old days”. You
				know those days, back when you pumped quarter after quarter into the arcade machine to
				keep “continuing”. The days when you started off with 3 lives and earned extra lives as
				you went along, all the while the difficulty level was going off the charts!

				So what happened to those days? What happened to those mindless hours of wave after
				wave of quarter eating pixels? I think the shortest and simplest answer is the industry
				grew up.

				Story became an important element in gaming, almost more important than the game itself.
				In fact some might argue it did indeed become more important. Developers of RPG games
				began weaving intricate stories that were worthy of our time. They were not alone,
				Platformers, Shooters, RTS games all began putting forward story and CGI cut scene			--------------------
				after cut scene to help draw us in. The video game medium began striving to break free			The Mercs
				from “kids toy” image and move into a more adult distinction of an entertainment media.			Chops-Suey
							(Webmaster)
				Gamers too got more involved with the games story lines and clamored for more bigger			BigSmooth8
				and better stories to be told. Quickly only the “Elite” gamers were being treated to the			(Podcast Manager)
				final cut scenes of games as the difficulty still remained high. It was somewhere along this			Highclass 1979
				path that the industry began to shift and create games that allowed users of all skill levels			(Graphics)
				to play the whole game. In game saves became the cry of the industry and a standard for			GothicMike
				today. No longer did you get just 3 lives but now you got 1 life with a rewind button,			(Entertainment)
				ensuring that all who put the time in would see the outcome of the story told.
							The Recruits
				With all that said, is this really an issue to debate? Do you really care one way or another?			Murphys Law
				I for one am fine with the way things are trending. Give me the opportunity to make the			(TCM Ambassador)
				game as challenging or easy as I please and still allow me to experience the whole game			B1gBadDaddy
				when story is involved. Arcade stuff? Sure, fine make it ramp up and up to crazy levels of			(Retro Corner)
				tough. I just ask that I get my fair shake at seeing the story through. I want to be engaged			F and A Eternal
				and entertained for my dollars spent and not just frustrated.			(Editor in Chief)
							Weediman
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