作者：Josh Bycer

游戏难度是一个非常主观的话题，许多制作精良的游戏都希望能够呈现一个具有平衡性的难度曲线。

在这个设计师们都力图以更简单的游戏吸引玩家的年代，有些出色的游戏移除了关键路径上的难度障碍，有些游戏则向那些勇于挑战最困难任务的玩家提供奖励，还有些游戏则隐藏困难内容，让玩家自己探索发现这种挑战（游戏邦注：《Kirby’s Epic Yarn》就属于这种例子，这款简单的游戏将更具挑战性的路径设置成一种玩家难以轻易接触的自主选项）。

但是，也有些游戏却选择将玩家直接丢进遍布鲨鱼，危机四伏的水中——而这也不失为一种妙招。

这种方法为何行得通？

《忍者外传：黑之章》（Ninja Gaiden Black）以及《恶魔之魂》（Demon’s Souls）就是这种做法的典型。这两者都是备受嘉奖的好游戏，不少人都认为这类游戏从一开始就极具难度，在整个过程中从未降低水准。

《忍者外传：黑之章》开头的第一场战斗很可能会让新手玩家望而却步，许多玩家甚至无法闯过第一关。《恶魔之魂》略微“仁慈”一点，它至少在开头提供了一个10分钟的新手教程，不至于让玩家刚进入游戏就被敌人一次击毙。

乍一看，这种设置听起来极不合理，甚至可以说有点残忍，但换个角度来看，我们也可以将这种做法理解为“严厉的爱”。

这两款游戏从开头起就围绕一些关键机制而设计，《忍者外传：黑之章》的起步就要求玩家持续移动，破解敌人的玄机，知晓何时进攻何时转移。《恶魔之魂》与此类似，但添加了一个追踪玩家精力的机制，它允许玩家屏蔽或显示这个功能。

假如玩家在刚开始时不得要领，无法掌握这种机制的用法，他们就不可能完成游戏，因为这两款游戏的战斗模式与这些机制密不可分。

在刚开始玩游戏时设置一个较高的起点而非普通的难度，这种做法可以引申出“达尔文难度”这个概念，我们可以用“适者生存”来简述其含义。在这两款游戏中，玩家胡乱按键，静止不动或一直按住阻止键都是无效操作，它们都需要玩家采取强有力的进攻，并且会提示玩家他们是否已遭遇致命攻击。

让玩家通过这种“危险的考验”需具备一定要素。首先，这种游戏的难度曲线不同于其他游戏，如以下图表所示：

一般游戏最开始时都较为容易，然后会随着游戏进程及时间发展逐渐增加难度，虽然中间偶尔会有中断，但多数游戏都会让挑战越来越困难。但一开始就颇具挑战性的游戏则不然，它们的难度曲线就像上图的绿色线段。

达尔文难度一开始较为困难，而且从未中断，其难度曲线与一般游戏存在差别的原因是，随着玩家在游戏中的发展，游戏却似乎变得愈加容易，随着时间发展逐渐降低难度。这里就会涉及到一个所谓的“主观难度”这种概念，我们稍后再详谈。

达尔文难度还会迫使玩家掌握自己所有装备的功能和使用方法。动作类游戏的一个普遍缺陷在于，它提供了一个精心设计的战斗系统，但其功能却并未完全派上用场。玩家通常会依赖那些更为简单的动作（例如胡乱按键），这就会造成两种结果：玩家觉得游戏过于无趣，因为它缺乏挑战性，或者他们最后遇到一场让自己手足无措的激战，因为他们之前并没有去探索游戏机制。

《忍者外传：黑之章》开篇就会玩家提供了多数玩法动作，而这也正是这类游戏为何吓退许多新手的原因所在。在游戏第一关，玩家必须用到所有的这些玩法机制。这种游戏的玩法并不会在其发展过程中发生太多变化，玩家也不会在半途中发现彻底改变玩法的道具或者升级系统。

如何利用达尔文难度设计游戏？

如果要围绕达尔文难度设计游戏，就需要事先考虑一些因素。首先，这种游戏必须以动作为重心，这样才好激励玩家不断提高技能，让他们意识到自己才是成功与否的最大决定因素。

此外，这类游戏不能有太多需要玩家应付的抽象元素。在传统的RPG游戏中，角色等级和属性通常会决定玩家的输赢。而达尔文难度需要的是一种RPG游戏无法提供的特殊挑战。即使是roguelikes（游戏邦注：根据维基百科的解释，这是一种角色扮演游戏的子类，起源于1980年的电子游戏《Rogue》）这种难度极高的游戏，也不能划入达尔文难度之列。因为roguelike挑战性取决于随机性和角色属性，而非玩家技能。

另一个考虑就是，这类游戏还是需要提升玩法。假如玩家从头到尾都在做同种事情，那么游戏就会变得极为枯燥乏味。但我们可以通过提高角色技能来增加这种层次感。在《忍者外传：黑之章》中，玩家可以增加自己的最大健康值，升级武器，提高攻击力和连击的持续时间。

增加新敌人和场景是提升玩法的捷径，在设计之初就需要引进这些元素。《恶魔之魂》中的boss变化很值得借鉴，每个boss都会给玩家带来独特挑战，例如二对一的食人族大战，或者与Old Hero这个只能通过声音识别玩家的无眼boss。

虽然说玩法也要有所发展，但也要警惕添加太多内容的危害，这就会引申到下一个考虑:

不可让玩家获得取代其技能的升级或能力。因为玩家技能才是决定游戏进程的主要因素，如果提供其他会贬低玩家技能的辅助内容，就会破坏整个游戏体验。在《忍者外传》中，开发者赋予玩家在前几个台阶的还击能力。通过把握好阻碍的时机，玩家可以避开所有的损害，并将其返还给敌方。开发者认为这种设置让游戏过于简单，因此在《忍者外传：黑之章》中移除了这项功能，因为他们希望玩家发现持续的移动才有望获胜。

这也正是健康升级机制最为保险的原因，这个机制为玩家提供了生死之间的缓冲时间，但却不会影响其发挥技能。《恶魔之魂》中有许多boss随便几招就能让玩家丧命，但如果有了更强大的健康条，玩家就有更多幸存的机会，但如果玩家不趁缓冲时间掌握技能，避开敌人的攻击，最终也还是难免命丧黄泉。

这种设置还需考虑到另一面，即开发者不可更改之前的游戏机制和技能，以免玩家无处施展之前投入大量心血磨炼的技艺，从而让他们产生自己白费精力的受挫感。

在《魔兵惊天录》（Bayonetta）中，玩家刚开始会接触“Witch Time”这个机制，他们可以在特定时刻躲过攻击，游戏进程开始放缓，以便玩家进攻身手比自己更矫捷的敌人。

但游戏半途中，设计师突然又引进一种“刀枪不入”式的敌人，“Witch Time”对他们的攻击豪无影响，而“Witch Time”正好又是玩家在多数时候仅有的两种可躲避攻击的途径之一，遇到这种敌人时，玩家只能束手无策，自认晦气。

最后一个考虑是，即使这些游戏都比一般游戏更困难，但也还是可以设置一个可选择的难度系统。通常来说，这种达尔文难度游戏的“简单模式”也还是会比普通游戏更困难，但为了让缺乏经验的玩家继续探索更困难的设置，还是可以给他们“开个小灶”。《忍者外传：黑之章》就设置了多种难度关卡，例如非常简单、仅限高手等级别。

防御

将所有的考虑综合在一起，我们就可以更深入地理解《忍者外传：黑之章》以及《恶魔之魂》这类游戏充满挑战性的原因。

《忍者外传：黑之章》中的敌人主要是为促使玩家不断移动而设计，设计师让游戏中的每一个敌人（包括boss）都采取抢攻行动，玩家几乎无法阻止这种会造成巨大损害的攻击手段。有些抢攻并非无法提防，但也有些抢攻会在玩家阻止敌人的一些攻击之后立即闪现。

玩家越早掌握躲避技能越好，随着游戏发展，敌人进攻速度会越来越快，“固定和移动”的挑战性也会越来越大。

有两种方法会让游戏挑战性达到颠峰状态。一种是镜战。具备一定技能的玩家可以挑战更具难度的关卡，并与自己的同行者决战。同行者会使用与玩家一样的武器，以及玩家所有的招术和技巧，能否取胜完全看玩家如何与实力不相上下的敌人过招。

第二种是不考虑难度级别，在玩家将挑战最后一个boss之前，设置一场严酷的boos战和竞技战。如果玩家之前已经受到太大损伤，他们在这些战斗中就会处于劣势，迫使他们尽量“完美发挥”技能。在更困难的级别中，游戏还会引进更多战斗和boss的严酷考验，包括玩家之前从未遇到的挑战。

一般来说，特殊的boss就是游戏中最难对付的敌人，把握时机以躲避攻击是进攻和防御都需要具备的技能。这个boss头目的主要手段就是使用能量光束，玩家只有在她使出这一招前快速闪躲才可逃过此劫。更棘手的是，只有躲过她才能让自己的攻击生效。若要安然无恙地通过这场战斗，玩家技能需达到“大师级别”的水准，而这也表明玩家实力已足以通关。

再看《恶魔之魂》，游戏要求玩家理解所有的防御选项。为了避免损害，玩家可以阻止攻击，躲出敌人攻击范围，或者进行反击。阻止和躲避都要消耗一定的精力，而精力则决定了玩家能够进行攻击的频率。

当玩家采取阻止动作时，其盾牌的强度决定了玩家是否会受害。攻击力越强，精力耗损就越多。躲避耗损的精力更多，但其成本却固定不变。躲避的另一个好处在于，玩家不会遭遇任何损害，方便玩家找机会进攻敌人弱点。

最后一个选项就是还击，它要求玩家在碰撞之前揪准移动的时机。采取这种行动无需消耗精力，而其后继的还击也会给敌人造成额外损伤。但如果丧失时机就会遭遇惩罚——敌人的攻击就会接踵而至。

玩家最沉重的一课就是学习掌握躲避的技能，并且在最后一招时才使用阻止功能。在对付boss和更强大的敌人时，玩家无论如何都不要使用阻止功能，因为这个时候会让精力耗损得更快。当游戏引进火力和魔法攻击时，再强大的盾牌也无法保护玩家，在这种情况下，玩家更需要采取躲避行动。

与《忍者外传：黑之章》一样，游戏中的最后一战甚为关键。《恶魔之魂》的最后一个boss每一击都会造成巨大破坏性，而玩家如果阻止其行动就会耗损大半部分的精力。如果吃下对方的连击就会很致命，敌人最频繁使用的攻击手段就是冲撞，玩家此时就只能在其靠近之前躲避，但躲得太早或太晚都会让玩家被击中。

这个boss还有两个极强大但很少使用的攻击力，其一就是轰炸，它会让整个受到影响的区域变成所有人的死亡之地，只有穿戴强大护甲的玩家才能幸免。此时玩家就只能选择逃得越远越好，或者去攻击这个boss，让战斗早早划下句号。

其二就是近身抢夺手段，使出这一招时的boss会让玩家不断地丢失经验值。要对付这个boss，玩家得有精湛的躲避技巧，并且明白何时才是最佳进攻时刻。这两款游戏都是达尔文难度的典型代表，同时也可以说明这种游戏设计的优点和劣势。

优点

达尔文难度的优点要先从前文提到的“主观难度”说起。由于此类游戏一开始就让大部分的游戏机制登场亮相，随着玩家技能的提升，他们玩游戏的时间越长，就会越觉得游戏简单。

原因在于，游戏中所有的敌人、boss和形势都与核心机制紧密相连，只有玩家在游戏中的遭遇有所不同。

掌握了游戏核心机制，玩家就知道如何适应新的挑战。游戏开始之初的经历对技能得到提升的玩家来说也不再是难题。

以达尔文难度设计游戏可以让设计师站在玩家角度，深入了解玩家的技能水平，掌握更多的设计自由。而在普通的动作类游戏中，设计师经常难以把握玩家在特点环节的水平如何。

有些玩家可能在半途中就掌握了所有的连击方法，有些则还是只会胡乱按键盘。而从达尔文难度的角度出发，设计师就会知道通过第一关的玩家已经理解所有的机制，他们就可以从容设计下一个环节。

这种设计的另一个优势是，它可以激励玩家。克服困难或挑战可以让人产生一种满足感。靠自己的技能通关的玩家通常也很享受这种满足感，这种满足感就是一种强大的刺激因素，因为它实际上就是玩家的一种本能。

另一个长处就是重复可玩性。由于这类游戏要求玩家掌握较高的技巧，如果玩家很长时间过后再返回游戏，就可以获得一种新鲜感。就好像是举重训练，如果很久不练，运动员的肌肉就会开始松驰，他就得重新练起，然后恢复以往的水平。达尔文难度游戏也同此理，玩家通关之后过了数月再玩游戏，就会发现自己技艺生疏，功力大减，必须重新学习技能。

劣势

达尔文难度也有些劣势需要设计师铭记在心。首先，游戏开头这种高级别的难度会降低游戏对大众的吸引力。当今许多游戏的设计宗旨就是获得大众用户，所以它们的难度相对较低。而一款玩家在任何时候都可能丧命的游戏通常并不招人待见。《恶魔之魂》其及续集《黑暗之魂》（Dark Souls）虽然占据了许多媒体报道版面，但它们并非主流游戏。

其次，鼓励玩家提升技能是个不错的刺激因素，但也存在一些风险。“主观难度”这个概念的核心就在于“主观性”（一千个玩家就有一千种不同看法）。某位玩家可能不费吹灰之力就通过某项挑战，但对另一名玩家来说，这个挑战可能会让他萌生退意。不管怎么说，因为设计问题而输掉游戏，玩家心里总会好受些。但如果是因为自己技不如人而失手，玩家心里总是难免不快。

比起RPG游戏，玩家更容易在基于技能的游戏中手足无措。因为在RPG游戏中，玩家还有其他可救自己于水深火热之中的选择，例如刷任务机制，或购买更强大的装备。而在基于技能的游戏中，玩家基本上没有这种选择，只能凭自己的实力一步步熬过去。

在这种情况下，玩家很容易因受挫而退出游戏，这个阴影也会让他们怯于再次尝试游戏，最后就会影响他们对游戏开发者后继作品的看法。

达尔文难度是一个很难设计游戏的机制，它要求设计师投入更多时间润色游戏玩法。其设计要旨不在于创造一种不平衡的体验，而是为玩家提供所有的工具让他们获得成功。但玩家是否能够使用这些工具却是个大问题。可是当设计师能够成功把握难度的平衡性时，玩家就能够获得今天只有少数游戏才能提供的非凡体验。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Darwinian Difficulty: How Throwing Players In Headfirst Can Work

by Josh Bycer

Game difficulty is a very subjective topic, as many of the best-crafted games strive to deliver a balanced difficulty curve.

In an age where designers are attempting to attract more gamers with easier games, some of the best games move their difficult moments off of the critical path. Some games offer achievements for those that brave the hardest setting, while others hide the difficulty for the players to discover (see Kirby’s Epic Yarn as an example of an easy game that hides its more challenging paths in optional, hard-to-reach areas).

However, there are games that throw the player into shark-infested waters from the get-go — and that can be a good thing.

How Does It Work?

Ninja Gaiden Black and Demon’s Souls are two such titles. Both games are considered by many gamers to be among the best out there, garnering numerous awards. One area that everyone can agree on is that these games are hard from the minute they start and never let up.

The first group battle in Ninja Gaiden Black can easily take apart a novice player, and many gamers couldn’t even get past the first level. Demon’s Souls was kind enough to give players a 10 minute tutorial… before introducing them to an enemy who kills them in one shot.

From the outside, this sounds unfair — maybe even cruel. However, there is a method to the madness, and that method is “tough love.”

Both Ninja Gaiden Black and Demon’s Souls, from the very beginning, are designed around several key mechanics. With Ninja Gaiden Black it’s constant movement, reading enemy tells, and knowing when to attack and when to move. Demon’s Souls is similar, with the added mechanic of keeping track of the character’s stamina, which allows them to block and roll out of the way.

If the player doesn’t learn these mechanics at the start of the game, there will be no way for them to finish the game, as both games’ combat models are designed around these concepts.

Starting the game at a higher than normal difficulty introduces the concept of “Darwinian Difficulty”, which can be summarized by the motto “adapt or die.” Button mashing doesn’t work with either title, nor does standing still and holding the block button down all day. Both titles rely heavily on telegraphing strong attacks, cluing the player in that if they get hit, it could be fatal.

Putting players through a “trial by fire” does several things. First, is that the difficulty curve for a game like this is different from other titles. The following chart shows the differences:

Normal game difficulty starts out on the easy side and gradually gets harder. There may be a lull here and there, but for the majority of the game, the challenges will be getting progressively more difficult. The difference is that in a game with a higher starting difficulty, such as the games mentioned in this article, the difficulty curve looks like the green line.

Darwinian Difficulty starts out harder, and there aren’t any lulls. However, the difficulty of the game doesn’t curve up as a normal game. The reason is that as the player improves at the game, the game will becomes easier for them, lowering the curve over the time. This act of basing the difficulty off of the player — otherwise referred to as “Subjective Difficulty” — will be looked at later on in the article.

Darwinian Difficulty also forces the player to learn all the tools in their arsenal. One common pitfall of action titles is offering an elaborately-designed combat system that goes completely underutilized. Players will often rely on simpler actions (button mashing, for example.) This leads to two results: the player will find the game boring because it’s not challenging, and they’ll eventually face a fight where they don’t know what to do, because they didn’t explore the game’s mechanics.

Games like Ninja Gaiden Black offer the player the majority of gameplay actions available from the start, which is one of the reasons why these games are so daunting for newcomers. Within the first level of the game, the player will be asked to make use of all the available gameplay mechanics. In a game like this, the gameplay doesn’t change as much over the course of the experience as compared to other games. The player is not going to find an item or power-up that completely changes how the game is played halfway through.

How Do You Design For Darwinian Difficulty?

In order to design a game around Darwinian Difficulty, there are several considerations that the designer needs to keep in mind. First, in order to build a game around this concept, the game has to be predominantly skill-based. The reason is that in order for the player to be motivated to improve, they need to realize that they are the biggest factor to their success or failure.

Design-wise, there need to be as few abstractions as possible for the player to deal with. In a traditional RPG, the character’s level and attributes determines who wins a fight. Darwinian Difficulty requires a specific type of challenge that RPGs don’t have. Even roguelikes, which are known for their high degree of difficulty, don’t fall into the category of Darwinian Difficulty. The reason is that the aspects that make a roguelike challenging are randomization and character attributes, not player skill.

The next consideration is that there still needs to be gameplay growth. If the player is doing the same exact thing from beginning to end, then the game will become boring. There are several ways to introduce growth, such as improving the character’s abilities. In Ninja Gaiden Black, players can increase their maximum health and upgrade their weapons, which in turn improve damage output and combo durations.

New enemies and situations are the easiest way to implement growth, and they must be implemented in the design. The boss variety seen in Demon’s Souls is one of the best, with each boss providing a unique challenge for the player — such as the two-against-one Man-eater battle, or fighting the Old Hero boss, who is blind and can only detect the player via sound.

Even though there should be gameplay growth, there is a danger in adding too much — which leads to the next consideration.

The player should not earn any upgrades or abilities that supersede player skill. Because the player’s skill is the main factor in the game, giving the player something that undervalues skill can break the game. In Ninja Gaiden, the developers gave the player the ability to counter-attack after the first few stages. By timing their blocks, players could avoid all damage and deal it back to the enemy. The developers saw that this was making the game too easy and removed the feature for Ninja Gaiden Black, as they wanted the player to see that constant movement was required to win.

That is why health upgrades are the safest bet; they give the player a greater buffer between life and death, but don’t get in the way of player skill. Many of the bosses in Demon’s Souls can kill the player in a few hits; having a greater health bar may give the player a little more of a chance to survive, but if the player doesn’t learn how to avoid the attacks, they’ll lose no matter what.

The flipside of this consideration is that you should never change the game in a way that negates previous mechanics and skills. Getting rid of a mechanic that the player spent time learning and improving at will make the player feel like that wasted their time — and this hurts the design.

You can find an example of this in Bayonetta. At the start, the player is introduced to the concept of “Witch Time”. By dodging attacks at the precise moment of impact, the world slows down for the player, allowing for an increased window for attack. Slowing down time also allows players a chance to hit enemies which are more agile then the player.

However, halfway through the game, the designers introduce “gold-plated” enemies, whose attacks will not trigger Witch Time if the player dodges them. Because Witch Time is one of the only two ways of avoiding damage for much of the game, players are left severely handicapped while fighting these enemies.

The last consideration is that even though these titles are harder compared to other games, it is alright to throw the player a bone by implementing a difficulty selection system. Granted, an “easy mode” in a game with Darwinian Difficulty is still harder than in normal games, but it does give less experienced players a chance to “pump up” before trying the higher settings.

Ninja Gaiden Black featured multiple difficulty levels, ranging from very easy to experts only.

It’s All About Defense

Putting all the considerations together, we can take a closer look at Ninja Gaiden Black and Demon’s Souls, and what makes them challenging.

Ninja Gaiden Black’s enemy design is built around forcing the player to keep moving. The way the designers did this was giving just about every enemy (including bosses) a grab attack. Grab attacks are unblockable and do immense damage. Some grab attacks are telegraphed, while others are used immediately once the player blocks a few attacks by an enemy.

The sooner the player masters the dodge roll, as oppose to regular blocking, the better. As the game goes on, enemies will become faster, and the challenge of “sticking and moving” will become greater.

The challenge culminates in two ways. First are mirror battles. Players who are skilled enough to play on the higher difficulty levels will run into battles with their doppelganger. The doppelganger will use one of the player’s weapons, and all the same tactics and techniques the player has, and it will be up to the player to deal with an enemy who is their equal.

Second, regardless of the difficulty level, before the player can fight the final boss, they will be put through a gauntlet of boss fights and arena battles. Taking too much damage early on will leave the player in a bad position to finish the fights, forcing the player to get as close to a “perfect run” as possible. On the harder difficulty levels, the gauntlet is extended with more battles and bosses, including one that was never shown to the player until now.

The unique boss is easily one of the toughest enemies in the game, as mastering the timing needed to dodge attacks is required for both offense and defense. Her main attack is a beam of energy that can only be avoided by dodging just before she uses it. To complicate matters, only attacks issued after dodging her moves will connect. Getting through this fight without a scratch requires “master level” play, and is a sign that the player is good enough to finish the game.

Moving onto Demon’s Souls, the game also requires players to understand all defensive options available. To avoid damage, players can block attacks, dodge out of the way, or attempt a riposte to counter. Blocking and dodging will consume stamina, which also affects how often the player can attack.

When the player blocks, the strength of the shield will determine if any damage “leaks through”. The stronger the attack, the more stamina is drained. Dodging uses more stamina with each individual use, but its cost remains fixed. The other benefit is that dodging guarantees that the player will not take any damage, and it can be used to set up a follow-up attack from the enemy’s blind side.

The final option is the riposte, which requires the player to time the move just before impact. Pulling this off uses no stamina, and the following counterattack will do extra damage.

Missing the timing will punish the player — the full hit from the enemy will connect.

The toughest lesson for the player to learn is to master dodging and only use blocking as a last resort. Blocking should be avoided at all cost against bosses and larger enemies, as the stamina drain is intense. When fire and magic attacks are introduced, normal shields will not absorb either damage regardless of their strength, signaling the player even more that dodging is needed.

Like Ninja Gaiden Black, this lesson culminates with a final battle. The last boss in Demon’s Souls does immense damage with each attack — along with a major stamina drain if the player blocks. Taking its full combo attack is fatal. One of its most frequently used attacks is a dash that requires the player to dodge just as it reaches the player; dodging too soon or too late will result in the player getting hit.

The boss also has two powerful attacks that it uses rarely. The first is an explosion with an area effect that is fatal to all but the most heavily-armored players. The only options available to the player are to get as far away as possible, or to hit the boss, canceling the attack.

The second is a close range telegraphed grab. If it connects, the boss will permanently remove one experience level off the player. Beating the boss requires players to have mastered dodging and fully understand when there is an opening to attack. Both games are clear examples of Darwinian Difficulty and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the design.

The Advantages of Darwinian Difficulty…

There are several advantages to Darwinian Difficulty. Let’s return to the concept of “Subjective Difficulty”. Because the majority of the mechanics are available from the start, as the player improves their skills, the game should become easier the longer they play.

The reason is that all the enemies, bosses, and situations are based around the core mechanics. The only changes that happen in the game are the encounters the player will face.

By learning the core mechanics of the game, players will learn to adapt to the new challenges the designers throw at them. Sections that gave the player a lot of trouble at the start of the game should no longer challenge the player once their skill has improved.

Developing the game using Darwinian Difficulty gives the designers a greater understanding of the skill level of the players, allowing them more freedom with their design. In a normal action game, the designer can have a hard time determining how good the players are at specific points in the game.

One player may have mastered all the combos by the halfway point; someone else may still be button mashing. With games designed with a Darwinian view, the designers know that anyone who got past the first level knows all the mechanics at hand, and can design around that.

The other advantage is motivating the player. Overcoming hardships or challenges brings a sense of a satisfaction. That sense of satisfaction can be felt by gamers who got through a game by their own skill. That satisfaction is a great motivator, as it is intrinsic to the player.

Replayability is another plus, because of the high degree of skill required; coming back to a game with Darwinian Difficulty after a long time can be a fresh experience. Similar to how if someone lifts weights, then stops for a long time, the muscles will atrophy, requiring the person to start small again and work their way up. This can also happen with games based on Darwinian Difficulty. Someone who beats the game, then stops playing for several months, will come back to find that they’ll have to relearn those skills again.

Demon’s Souls

…and the Disadvantages

With all this said, however, there are a few problems with Darwinian Difficulty that the designer has to keep in mind. First, is having such a high degree of difficulty early on hurts the appeal of the game. Games these days are being designed around having as much appeal as possible, which in this case means having a lower difficulty. A game where the player can die at any moment is not something a lot of people enjoy. Demon’s Souls and its sequel, Dark Souls, may have created a lot of buzz, but they aren’t truly mainstream hits.

Second, requiring the player to improve their skill is a great motivator, but there is a risk involved. The concept of “Subjective Difficulty” is just that: subjective. A challenge that one player breezes through without any effort can be a brick wall for another, stopping all progress. Losing a game because of issues with the design is easy to take. Losing a game because the player themselves was not good enough is a harder pill to swallow.

Getting completely stuck in a skill-based game is easier than in an RPG, due to gameplay abstraction. With an RPG, the player has other options of getting out of a tough spot, such as grinding levels or buying better gear. In a skill-based game, however, those options are not available, forcing the player to keep trying until they get past the section.

In this scenario, it’s quite possible that that the player will get discouraged and stop playing. Stopping because of a brick wall will leave a bad taste in the player’s mouth that will discourage them from playing again — or outright quit the game — which can leave a negative impression for future games from the developer.

Darwinian Difficulty is a hard mechanic to design around, requiring the designers to put in extra time fine-tuning the gameplay. The design is less about creating an imbalanced experience, forcing the player to climb out of a proverbial pit, and more about giving the player all the tools they need to succeed. Whether or not they’ll be able to use them, however, is the big question. When designers successfully pull off the balance of difficulty, players will get an amazing experience few games these days deliver.（source:gamasutra）