A Difficulty Situation

Just last night I had an experience that inspired me to write this post. No, I'm not bad at grammar. I wrote the title like that on purpose. This post is about difficulty settings in games.

I bought Dragon Age 2 the day it came out, but due to my STLF trip mentioned in my last post, I had about a 9 day break from playing it. Not long after I got back and finally had time to just sit down and lose myself in it, I found myself in a boss fight that I just couldn't get past. I repeatedly got my ass handed to me.

F*ck this guy.

It was getting irritating.

And I was only on the Normal difficulty setting.

I tried over and over again to emerge victorious but I could not. I stopped playing for the day and resumed the next day, still to no avail. It was looking as though I would have to turn the difficulty down to Casual in order to get past this boss.

In the end it's what I decided to do.

And I don't feel bad about it.

My roommate was very disappointed in me for giving in like that, but I had had enough. Dying over and over again was clashing with how I like to play my games; I like to enjoy them.

Losing over and over again isn't fun. I don't have a problem with turning the difficulty down on a game if it means I'll have less frustration and irritation in my life.

You shouldn't be afraid to turn the difficulty down in a game either. I want you to be happy, and if you're sitting there pulling your hair out in frustration, something can, and should, change.

One of my favorite elements of RPGs, and Bioware games in particular, is the story, and you'll still get the same story regardless of what difficulty you play on. You'll likely just have more fun and experience a story punctuated with less 'Game Over' screens if you play on a lower difficulty setting.

Some will argue that they like the challenge of playing a hard game, and that’s great, I do too now and then. I've beaten Mass Effect 1/2 on the hardest difficulties.

A game should always present you with some challenge, or else it won't feel as rewarding.

But for now, I plan on playing through Dragon Age 2 for its story and not for its challenge. When I play through it again and again, then I'll turn up the difficulty.

[Note: I did end up putting the difficulty back up to Normal after defeating the boss that was giving me trouble.]

Don't be afraid to turn down the difficulty if it means eliminating frustration from your life. 

Enjoy your game.

Enjoy your life.  

Personalization and a Blizzard.

To preface this post I would like to note that I wrote this on Friday the 11^th of March. It was the first day of my 2^nd STLF PIF tour. I didn’t bring my laptop along on the trip, so I wrote this post by hand. If you’re not familiar with STLF, follow this link. It is an incredible organization.

[Brackets indicate notes I’m making now and didn’t write by hand.]

Hello dear readers. I find myself in quite the scenario right now. I’m sitting on a charter bus with 42 other college students.

No big deal.

The thing is, we’ve been sitting on the side of the road for… 8 hours already? [9 total by the time we started moving again] There is a terrible blizzard that stuck us here, and apparently we’re not getting out until the National Guard comes in the morning. [In the end it took us 16 hours to drive from Fargo, ND to Bismarck, ND, normally a 3 hour drive. Yeah. Thanks winter]

So in the meantime, I thought I’d write out a new post.

I could probably write a whole blog post on just sitting in this bus, but that’s not what this blog is about. It’s about being happy and video games.

Who are you?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I will surmise two things about the answer: 1: you’re cool because you’re reading this, and 2: you’re you.

No shit you say.

But think about it, you are you. You are no one else, so don’t try to be.

The cool thing about you (at least one of the cool things about you) is that you’re the only you in the whole world; and that’s pretty cool I think.

I also think it’s important for you to express yourself.

Luckily for us, more and more games these days allow for personalization. Personalizing your in-game persona is fun.

It’s likely not an accurate representation of yourself but why should it be?

Personalizing your character in a game is just another world in which you can be unique. And the more options you have for creativity in your life the better. Self expression is a wonderful thing, don't be afraid to express yourself in whatever ways you can. 

Being unique is a great thing. What’s the fun in being the same as everyone else?

Let me note though, that I feel that the level of personalization allowed in a game should be restricted to the setting of the game (so no rainbow afros in a serious setting, though I say serious, so that would be ok in CoD).

In any case our snowed in bus is finally moving again so I’ll leave you with this:

Be yourself no matter what.

Enjoy your game.

Enjoy your life.

Get lost in a Game

The joy of playing alone.

In my last post I spoke about the importance of sitting down with a friend and playing a game together. Today I'm going to write about why it can be a great experience just to sit down and play a game by yourself.

Before you accuse me of just promoting the opposite of what I talked about in my last post, let me clarify that this will be about single player games. Playing multiplayer games alone is never as fun or fulfilling than it is playing with someone you know.

Personally, I really enjoy a game that has a great single player experience; one that really pulls me into the world. My favorite games that do this include Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption, and others.

Which games have you played that have really pulled you into the world?

I think that when you find a game that does this, it really changes the way you experience a game.

Reading is wonderful. A good book will pull you into it; keep you interested and intrigued.

A good game will do the same, but even more.

For if you were reading a book about someone experiencing an adventure, you're just a passive observer, watching the events unfold from beyond the page. 

A game can be so much more captivating because rather than observing the main character do amazing things, you ARE that character. You are the one making the decisions, moving the action forward. Once you let yourself become the character in the game, your experience will change. It will get even deeper. 

You need to go deeper. 

Play a game within a game within a game. Ha sorry, got distracted. 

Anyway, moving on...

It’s much more fun and rewarding to run across an alien planet or a fantasy world or  renaissance Italy than it is to sit on your couch and use your thumbs to control a fictional character into doing the same thing. 

 All of us need to find times when we can disconnect from the world and just relax and get taken away. Whether that means just napping, going for a walk, getting lost in a good book, or in this case, getting sucked into a good single player experience.

One way to help with this is to find a time where you likely won't be bothered by anyone. Turn off your phone or silence it if you need to. Also if you need to, disable any notifications that might distract you.

Now you can start your game and give it all of your focus.

If you can do this you will get the most out of the game.

Don't forget about reality though. Its nice. Set a timer, or give yourself a certain amount of time that you want to be disconnected. After that time is up, check for messages or anything important.

If you don't set a certain amount of time for yourself you could get sucked into the game forever! And then I would have to explain to your loved ones how I'm responsible for that... 

Reality can be wonderful, but sometimes we all just need to escape into a game and save the galaxy, dawn the robes of an assassin, or strap on our gunbelts.

Whatever it may be:

Enjoy your game.

Enjoy your life.