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High blood pressure. Teeth marks in keyboards. Keyboard marks in monitors. Millions dead. These are only a few of the symptoms typically associated with gamer rage, but as with any potent malady, thousands of talented men and women are racing to find a cure. Recently, however, two groups picked up the pace and sprinted to the head of the frustration-fighting pack. Their names are Bethesda and Nintendo.
Both companies are currently developing games that, in a manner of speaking, play themselves. They are -- to put it in cynical, crotchety, “back in my day” terms – finally handing players a Win Button. Bethesda has applied the name “SMART A.I.” to its get out of frustration free card, but it merely gives you the option of taking a breather while the A.I. controls your character’s movement toward a specific location. In other words, encounter anything with an itchy trigger finger and you’re S.O.L.
This is nowhere near as extreme as New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s approach, which will – according to Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto – do everything for you at your behest. Free from the slippery grasp of your feeble fingers, Mario will cut a swath through Bowser and his cohorts as though possessed by the reptile-battling soul of Steve Irwin. He will have his revenge. But will you enjoy it?
Well, I’d say it depends. Videogames, one could argue, have been subtly moving toward including this completely non-interactive option for quite some time. Whether it be auto-aim in console FPSes like Halo or guided jumps in games like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and inFAMOUS, developers funnel players into eventual success by shaving away little bits of interactivity from their games. If done well, these techniques help the player feel empowered, fitting perfectly into their in-game character’s role of, say, a nimble, sharp-shooting super human. In addition, this causes frustration to rear its ugly, screaming head less frequently, since by and large, the player feels like, well, a badass. Sure, that feeling of badassery – that form of empowerment – isn’t exactly a reflection of the player’s real skill level, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.
It’s important to note, however, that if the player is given too much power over the game world – say, for instance, if a fighting game allows combatants to pull off their best moves effortlessly – then the player is likely to get bored. All the power’s been handed to you on a silver platter; what is there to strive for? When the developer guides the player through an experience, empowerment becomes an illusion to varying degrees. The developer, as the magician in this example, should never show all of his or her tricks. Now you might be thinking, “Isn’t a Win Button a big, red example of that mistake in action?” Again, as I’ll explain in further detail soon, it depends on what type of game we’re talking about.
At this point, it’s pretty clear that the kind of satisfaction one earns from games that actually put up a fight is markedly different from that of those that simply ask you to close your eyes, hold out your hands, and receive An Experience. Here, any of the above in-game assist features only serve to make the player feel coddled. After all, in this case, empowerment surges through your synapses not while you’re doing the deed, but after you’ve conquered a tough level or finally outsmarted that boss that infuriatingly tossed you around as a cat would its broken, helpless prey. So sure, there’s an element of frustration involved, but so long as you tough it out, satisfaction and empowerment eventually flow like so much celebratory champagne.
Comments are closed on this article
Dulock
July 02, 2009 at 3:18pm
Nothing like the good old "choose your own adventure" books, right?
Wrong. Sure back in my ankle biting rugrat days I found some level of enjoyment from pointing the story in a certain direction but as I move closer and closer to my days as an elder statesman I find I want more and more of a challenge from my entertainment.
I have nothing against an "easy mode" for those gamers with slower fingers, bad eyes, and/or those sporting an IQ that makes getting to the cookie in the ziplock bag an exercise in frustration - but a "one setting fits all" type of game gets avoided like the plague.
The games that have given me the most amount of trouble are all at the top of the list of games I've replayed as well.
So tack on your "no fail" mode for those who want to play through the movie, get the cutscenes, and trick themselves into believing they could have beaten the game if only they had been willing to try. Then line up those thousand enemy grunts I've got to get my unarmed explosive laden dune buggy through and don't bug me until it's time for work in the morning.
quantumnerd
June 20, 2009 at 2:20pm
Just like someone who posted earlier, I don't play games to be stressed out and mad. I play games to unwind.
I think that games should remain interective, but help you out in tough parts. I remember several games where I had to run from a checkpoint, die nine out of every twenty times on a ten minute long path, then fight a boss that I beat after 20 tries. It wasn't fun, it was annoying, and after the battle I didn't feel like I had accomplished something. I felt like it was finally over with. Another example of completely NOT FUN? A level in trauma center where you had to effectively defeat three boss viruses in fifteen minutes. I could never do it, so I rage quit. If I was helped a little bit, by, say, more time, I could have continued with the story, but I had to quit because I couldn't.
The solution to that wouldn't JUST be an instant win button... I think it should be in gradual steps. After a few deaths, you should get hints. After a few more, the AI becomes easier. Die more? Get the chance to turn on minor cheats, like 20% extra chance of getting no damage when hit. Then you could let the computer charge you through. In my opinion, watching your character charge through a level destroying those obnoxious, invincible enemies who've stumped you for an hour is more fun that plain skipping.
A lot of people here are of the opinion that the game is no longer fun if you charge through the difficult parts, but often, the only alternative to being helped through is rage quitting. Plus, the story is half of the game.
hostacle fifer
June 17, 2009 at 6:58pm
Seems like a cheap cop-out for poor level design.
And another example of the touchy feely "we're all winners" philosophy that catches my attention a lot lately.
Like others have said, if I'm truly stuck I'll find a cheat code (we've been doing it since Nintendo Power)... but it gives me no satisfaction whatsoever... nor should it.
dracx619
June 17, 2009 at 12:25pm
if i get super stuck, i prefer to turn on a cheat and get through the part and t hen go back to regular. that way im at least playing it and ifeel better doing it. watching it go by itself is pretty much like watching a cartoon something....meh.
Queenof1
June 17, 2009 at 12:37pm
what you said. I have ragequit many a game because I kept dying or got stuck. Unlike some, I have a family to take care of and a fulltime job. I play games to unwind and have fun. Dying for the 20th time and starting over at the beginning of the level is not fun. Not sure if I want the game to play thru the level for me but I would rather have a cheat like invisibility to get thru the mine fields.
Cache
June 17, 2009 at 11:15am
I dunno, it seems rather pointless to me. I mean, on the PC you can always enable certain cheats and stuff on the console to help you through a game in tight points, but this just seems.... pointless? Yeah, pretty much pointless.
MeTo
June 17, 2009 at 10:58am
For instance a game has thirty levels you get stuck at level 12 and can't get past it no mater how hard you try. Out of frustration you never play that game agin and forget about sequels. If i could turn on the AI get to the next level take over control agin say at the beginning of level 13. At least i would be able to continue till i finished the game and see all the levels. I think this should be a option and could sell more games.
Linux Mint,Dual boot/Vista,AMD Athlon+ x2 5600,3 Gig ram,500 Gig HDD,ATI 1300 Video.
nekollx
June 17, 2009 at 11:11am
heven knows Mega-Man levels kick my ass at times but then i pwon the level boss (with the mega buster no less). Then i end up goign back anyway to get the energy tanks and upgrades or whatever but a easy patch to the boss would make me play megaman more for sure.
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Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
smashingpumpin
June 18, 2009 at 1:38pm
I played Megaman8 and a few Rockman games yrs ago, ragequitted from the infamous "slide-slide!, jump-jump! level" (Frost man) and had other mega/rockman games unfinished. Man, I wish this "feature" was present back in the day where mid-saving was nonexistent and this was available for a particular "hard part" of any game lolz.
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he's pwning with a trackpad? oh really? oh reheheheeally?
the_crowbar
June 17, 2009 at 10:43am
It depends on your definition of fun. I'v got an friend with A.D.D. and he is still sitting around playing Halo single player, thinking he's real badass, and believing that he's the one actually blowing up giant aliens and such. He doesn't even consider the fact that master chief is nearly invinsible and has an auto aim function. I, on the other hand, find Halo to be easy and rather dull after the first play through. I prefer games that present a challenge and smart, evolving A.I., such as Stalker. From a business standpoint, it really just depends on who will be playing your games.
Logisys area-51 case, SLI nforce 570, 3GB ddr2 RAM, Pentium D 3.0GHz, Geforce GTX 260 Core 216, OCZ modXtreme psu.
nekollx
June 17, 2009 at 10:31am
is it fun? That's all that matters.
*this post written by Auto-blogger*
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Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
GFC
June 17, 2009 at 11:49am
That's why i don't like singleplayer games, you just get stuck, frustrated, ragequit. On one side, this kind of 'feature' would be good (or at least better than rage quitting), but on another one.. you wouldn't get the same kind of satisfaction when you complete a level.. I'd have to say - it probably would depend on a game. You just have to look at every game, case by case. Helping is great, just leave it at minimum level, try to give hints to player more, not add 'insta-win' buttons everywhere.
*oops, didn't meant to write as a reply*
