作者：Charles Salmon

近年来，许多玩家似乎达成了一个奇怪的共识：现在的游戏比过去的游戏更简单了。很多游戏确实是更简单了，这并不是值得大惊小怪的事，毕竟激烈的市场竞争要求游戏必须能让玩家一按下开始键就上手。结果是，许多老玩家和部分新玩家认为过去的游戏更困难。Wii U玩家在老一代主机游戏中遇到巨大挑战就是证据。

是新游戏确实更简单了吗？还是电子游戏的设计理念发生变化了？

与那些可怜人一样，玩超任的《超级银河战士》多年之后我直到最近才穿上Varia Suit，准备接受Zebes星球的挑战。在这个过程中，我想到8位游戏和16位游戏的难度有多么大。那些游戏的挑战通常超过现代游戏的通常难度（游戏邦注：需要快速反应来打败BOSS或整屋子的敌人）。相对地说，我们小时候的游戏确实挑战性更强。在这些游戏中，BOSS当然难打，但理解如何进展往往还更加困难，不仅需要反复实验，重新开始更是家常便饭。

super-metroid(from takesontech)

在过去，我们习惯于期待出乎意料的结果，可以任意处理的空闲时间再加上没有游戏竞争，意味着年少的我们可以把无数个小时倾注到某一款游戏中，不顾一切地努力看到结局。

恶化

唉，时过境迁。今天，教程和加载页面的提示相结合，已经使上手新游戏成为一件更加轻松简单的任务。老一代游戏已经把我们培养成敏捷的游戏机器，我们对通关充满源源不断的渴望，然而，因为现代游戏的过度简化，今天的玩家可能变得更自以为是。那种曾经让我们纠尽脑汁、迫使我们翻阅游戏杂志或在课间聊天中寻找通关点滴的难度，已经被友好的NPC和网络FAQ取代了，甚至在我们还没想到问题，就已经能通过它们得到答案了。

现在我们必须问：这对我们的游戏嗜好到底是好还是坏？

尽管这是一个难以回答的问题，但也许难度并没有超过我玩《超级银河战士》。我为自己经常玩困难模式的游戏感到骄傲，但甚至我都为这款诞生19年的未来派冒险游戏的难度感到震惊：游戏的终极挑战不是打败太空海盗，而是辨认通向各个新区域的神秘地形。

我个人认为游戏中具有两种“困难”。在一般的困难中，玩家被敌人打败，或盯着谜题想：“我知道我能行，我只是需要不断尝试。”另一种困难比较少见，也更加棘手，即玩家难以置信地盯着屏幕，默黙地想：“我不知怎么地玩砸了。我胡涂了，不知道怎么继续下去了。我得重新开始。”

第二种困难是我在《超级银河战士》中经常遇到的。我甚至耻于承认，我咨询了好几次FAQ——我并不喜欢做这种事，但如果我不那么做，我也许仍然困在游戏的某处，怀着渺茫的希望哪里会出现一个秘密通道。

多困难才是太困难？

尽管我不介意漫无目的的游荡，但是当FAQ告诉我的解决办法是我从来没有尝试过的时候，我还是会觉得沮丧。游戏不给我任何暗示，却期望我理解或尝试一些非常特殊的事，这令我感到困惑。我认为如果现代游戏中也出现类似的谜题，游戏肯定会提供某些形式的提示，以便玩家能够顺利地进展下去。

虽然这是件恼人的事，但我必须承认我感谢任何教会我怎么玩的努力，理想情况下，任何游戏都应该保证玩家在进入主要体验以前理解必要的游戏玩法，就像《塞尔达传说》那样。当训练和尝试达到绝对平衡时，游戏不仅不会让玩家觉得不知所措，而且能不断地向玩家传递信息。

The-Legend-of-Zelda(from fanpop)

然而，问题是现代游戏把平衡严重倾向简单的进展，尽可能让玩家顺顺利利地完成整个体验，甚至不给玩家思考的时间。这种倾向的产生是必然的，因为老一辈玩家已经没有时间玩游戏了，但也冒着牺牲我们克服严峻挑战时产生成就感的风险。

挑战仍然存在

虽然我可以理解友好型游戏出现的趋势，但我更推崇那些专注于挑战玩家的游戏，如From Software的《黑暗之魂》。这款游戏中的挑战和神秘感经常使我回想起《超级银河战士》。这两款游戏都要求玩家认真研究各种新敌人和环境，以便理解危险——没有提示告诉你怎么赢，你只有靠耐心和观察才能取胜。但撇开我对它们的偏爱，我得承认，如果玩家缺乏理解某些元素的洞察力，这两款游戏确实很困难。

达到平衡当然不容易，虽然面对像《超级银河战士》或《黑暗之魂》这样的游戏的挑战时，玩家会因为失败感到生气，但克服这些挑战时产生的成就感往往让玩家觉得付出是值得的。在指导和吸引玩家的同时保留游戏难度上，这两款游戏还有很大的进步空间。我不同意玩家退出是因为觉得困惑或生气这种说法。

在把玩家引向下一个目标和期望玩家尝试任何事物最后靠运气成功之间，必须有一些中间地带。

尽管不考虑我的想法，我们可以清楚地看到，现代游戏能为渴望挑战的玩家提供挑战。尽管今天我们会在饮水机周围而不是在运动场上寻找指南，在每个回合都挑战玩家的游戏却是很少见的。必须记住，我说的这两款游戏只是作为无数款这类游戏的代表。

多样化而不是简化

通道射击游戏如《使命召唤》因其紧张的节奏和线性属性被嘲笑，而许多经典游戏却比现在的很多游戏更呈线性，我觉得这是一种有趣的现象。例如，热门的《超级马里奥兄弟》就是相当快节奏的线性游戏，玩家要做的就是从一个二维平台的左边跑到右边，并适时地跳跃。

回到这个问题：现在的游戏更简单了吗？不是的，我认为不是。而是我们可玩的游戏各类更丰富了。确实有许多游戏为了吸引新玩家而降低了难度。但我们还应该看到，仍然有不少难度巨大的游戏让我们想破脑袋。

就像这个世界上存在好游戏和坏游戏一样，也有困难的游戏和容易的游戏。虽然现在的一般游戏都可以更快通关了，但那是因为它们“更容易了”还是因为更多开发者在制作游戏时更多地是考虑让玩家享受乐趣和通关而不是逼我们绞尽脑汁？

问题的答案取决于你询问的是什么样的玩家。所以，你怎么认为？现在的游戏更容易了吗？（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）

Are modern games easier or simply designed better?

by Charles Salmon

In recent years, an odd consensus has arisen where many believe that games are easier than they used to be. In many cases it’s true, and it isn’t surprising, as extreme competition between titles has created the need for games to be immediately entertaining as soon as you press the start button. As a consequence, many older — and potentially newer — players consider these games of yesteryear much more difficult. The immense challenge Wii U owners have experienced with virtual console games is evidence of that.

Are these newer adventures really easier? Or has the design philosophy for video games improved instead?

Similarly to those poor souls I linked from the MiiVerse, I too recently donned the Varia Suit for the first time in years, ready to take on the challenge of planet Zebes in the Super Nintendo classic Super Metroid. Along the way, I was reminded how demanding 8- and 16-bit games were. The challenge in those titles regularly transcended normal difficulty whereas modern games simply require quick reactions to overcome a boss or room full of foes. Comparatively, the games of our childhoods actually challenged every fiber of our being. In these games, beating a boss was tough, sure, but actually understanding how to progress was regularly far harder, demanding bizarre experimentation, not to mention the possibility of a game over forcing you to restart.

In years past, we were conditioned to expect the unexpected, and a combination of absurdly disposable free time and a lack of gaming competition meant that our preadolescent selves poured countless hours into a single game in a desperate struggle to witness the ending.

A turn for the worse?

Oh, how things have changed. Today, an amalgamation of tutorials and loading-screen hints have made approaching new games a far simpler and enjoyable task. While older generations molded us into sharp gaming machines wielding an insatiable appetite for completion, players today have potentially grown plump and arrogant due to the simplicity of modern games. The difficulty that pushed our minds to breaking point, forcing us into magazines or conversations at school for any shred of guidance, has been replaced by friendly non-player characters and Internet FAQs, each giving us answers before we’ve even considered the questions.

Now we must ask: Is this for the better or worse of our hobby?

It’s a difficult question to answer; although, it’s probably not as difficult as I found Super Metroid. I pride myself on regularly playing games on hard, but even I was shocked at how absurdly challenging I found this 19-year-old futuristic adventure, where the ultimate challenge wasn’t beating space pirates but deciphering the cryptic terrain to reach each new area.

I personally think there are two types of “hard” in games. The normal hard, where you are defeated by an enemy or stare at a puzzle and think, “I know I can do this, I just need to keep trying.” Then there is the other, rarer, and arguably worse type of hard, where you stare at the screen in disbelief and quietly think, “I’ve broken the game somehow. It’s bugged and it’s impossible to progress. I need to restart.”

That second, horrifying form of hard was something I experienced roughly every hour in Super Metroid. I’m even ashamed to admit that a couple of times I had to consult an FAQ — something I hate to do — but if I hadn’t, I may still be drifting through Maridia scanning every wall in the bleak hope that one would reveal a hidden passage.

How much is too much?

Although I didn’t mind aimlessly wandering, I was frustrated when the FAQ revealed a solution I would’ve never attempted. I found it confusing that the game expected me to understand or attempt something so immensely unique with zero indication. And I believe if a similar environmental puzzle was present in a game released today, it would almost certainly offer some manner of hint to grease the wheels of progress.

Considering this annoyance, I must admit I genuinely appreciate any effort made to teach me in a game, and ideally, every game should take the time to make sure you understand as much as necessary before thrusting you into the main experience, such as the approach in the Legend of Zelda franchise. The exquisite balance of training and trials works well to never overwhelm the player while continually feeding them more information and powers.

The issue, however, is when games skew the balance too heavily toward assuring progress, smothering the wheels in numerous lubricants until you can slide through the whole experience before you’ve even had time to think — the most intellectually stimulating section being the credits. This attitude has been born from necessity, as aging players have far less time to dedicate to games, but risks sacrificing the sense of achievement so many of us look forward to when overcoming severe obstacles.

The challenge is out there

While I can appreciate this trend toward more amicable games, I commend any title where the focus is to challenge the player, such as From Software’s Dark Souls. The illusive challenge and sense of mystery in Dark Souls reminded me a lot of Super Metroid. Both force you to carefully study each new enemy and environment so as to understand the dangers — no cinematic or hint will explain how to win, and only patience and observation can lead you to victory. But despite my love of both titles, they can be bizarrely obtuse, expecting nothing short of clairvoyance to understand some elements.

It’s certainly tough to hit the balance, and while it’s annoying to feel lost or obsolete when facing the challenges of a game like Super Metroid or Dark Souls, the sense of accomplishment felt when overcoming such challenges is often worth it. Still, a lot could be done in both titles to teach players and retain their interest while maintaining the difficulty. I say this because they’re fantastic and intricately crafted experiences, and I hate the thought of players quitting because they found it too confusing or annoying.

There must be some middle ground between a magical line pointing to the next objective and expecting players to attempt everything, everywhere until success is achieved through luck instead of judgment.

Regardless of my thoughts, though, we can clearly see that there are modern games ready to provide a challenge for those who seek it. And although today we look for guidance at the water-cooler instead of on the playground, it’s refreshing to see a game that challenges you at every turn. But it’s important to remember that these two titles only represent a small sample of the thousands that exist.

It’s variety, not simplicity

I find it amusing when corridor shooters such as Call of Duty are scorned for their twitchy and linear nature while many classic titles — those loved for their difficulty — are arguably far more linear than anything we see today. For instance, take Super Mario Bros., a great game but incredibly twitchy and linear, where the only challenge is running from left to right on a two-dimensional plane and jumping at the right time.

So to return to the question: Are games now easier? No, I don’t believe so. Instead, we actually have an insanely wider variety of games available to us. It’s true that many have cranked down the difficulty to remain appealing and exciting to new fans. But we also see many titles that push our minds to collapse due to their immense difficulty.

Ultimately, just like there are good and bad games, there are also hard and easy games, and while games can be finished quicker today on average, is this because they’re “easier” or because more developers make games that they want us to consistently enjoy and finish rather than pushing us to a breaking point?

The answer to that will change depending on whom you ask. So, what do you think? Are games easier today?(source:venturebeat)