#56 The problems with "difficulty" in gaming

Crubcast

This week we wanted to have an easy going talk about difficulty in games. What makes it great, what makes it difficult to design and plan around for, and some cases where it's just a necessary part of a game's core identity.

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SHOW NOTES
Path of Exile's skill tree, mentioned later in the show:
https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree

Here's some of the games we mentioned that you may be curious about:
Cyberhook: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1130410/Cyber_Hook/
Selaco (disclosure, Trav edited their launch trailer): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1592280/Selaco/
Another Crab's Treasure: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1887840/Another_Crabs_Treasure/
Lisa: https://store.steampowered.com/sub/77828/

TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Justin: https://www.youtube.com/@WorldFamousJtart9
Moriarty: https://www.youtube.com/@reallycool
Trav: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatTravGuy

CHAPTERS
00:00 What's up with difficulty in games?
08:34 Starting games on Hard difficulty
13:16 Why should games be difficult?
33:32 Design versus designing for difficulty
40:50 Harsh realities of game development
46:28 Guides and completionism relating to difficulty
55:54 Games that use difficulty as a narrative tool
1:09:24 RACROX's Crubscriber Question of the Week