Difficulty or Fun?

[Michael]

I play for fun! After I beat the game, I play for difficulty.

 

[Guardian]

I definitely play for fun. Sometimes easy is fun. Sometimes hard is fun. Also depends on the game.

 

[Benji]

I play first for the fun, and then for the difficulty. I Play games as a means of entertainment and especially when I feel bored. At the same time, I don't enjoy easy games. I like to be challenged. I do not usually return to play easy games, but I always return to play difficult games. The game has to be difficult and not impossible. I say this because I have tried impossible games. There has to be a balance between them. The game should not be easy, and it should not be impossible.

 

[Lex]

Yep, fun first then difficulty second. If I played on an impossible difficulty from the beginning it'd be hard for me to focus on progressing in the story and I'd lose interest quickly. I just leave the difficult modes for after finishing the game on normal mode.

 

[xpictoc]

The perfect example of difficult but fun would be Dark Souls 1 and 2. Every time you die it's your own fault, because you were reckless or did not feel the need to prepare yourself for what you may encounter. Except when you're invaded by a parry spammer - HATE those guys!

 

[Lohengrin]

It varies. Both.

 

[Nemesysbr]

I think difficulty should be there to help making the game fun, not as a opposite force. While I can understand people saying frustration is inevitable, that's not what difficulty is for, difficulty exists so you feel good when you win, the crushing feeling after losing is just a symptom. If a game ends up being more about "bragging rights" than having a good time, then I do not want any part of it.

 

[lexinonomous]

When going into a game, I am hoping to enjoy myself. I never go in looking forward to being frustrated or irritated. I would rather enjoy myself while I play, with a little bit of a challenge on the side. I'm not big on extremely difficult games. If I am into a game that happens to be difficult, that's awesome, but there really needs to be some form of entertainment tying in with my anger.

 

[guruproto]

I think my best answer would be that difficulty is fun for me. I am a competitive, intrinsically motivated person. The enjoyment I get from a game comes from mastering the game's mechanics and overcoming the obstacles the developers have placed. I get a sense of enjoyment from mastering the skill needed to be good at a game, and applying it to master the game itself. Because of this multiplayer, RPGs, and strategy games are my favorites.

Multiplayer games satiate my competitive itch, and provides a skill level that I can always strive for. RPGs have multiple systems in place that need to be learned if you hope to beat the game, and strategy games have some of the same challenges to it as well. Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy relaxed, easy-going games from time to time, but I prefer a game that will test my skill and give me a challenge.

 

[bored_1]

I've actually begun to err towards easier games. That said I still played and loved the Dark Souls series, but I sometimes will drop a game immediately after getting 'stuck'. It's a bad habit, I know, but I don't feel like I have the time to repeat sections of a game over and over. It gets boring very quickly for me.

 

[jeffreyk]

I guess it depends on the kind of game it is, but most of the time I choose fun over difficulty. I don't like it when I have to play through a part of a game over and over, but at the same time I don't want to just steamroll through the game. If it is a game like Dark Souls, that is meant to have that sort of difficulty, I don't mind as much.

 

[lamanlupa]

Fun, fun, fun all the way! That will always be a choice for me. I mean, it's nice to challenge yourself every once in a while, to test your limits and mettle, but it should not always be about toughening yourself. First and foremost, you are playing for the amusement it gives you. You're doing it because you like it and not something you do mechanically like some robot. You do it for fun, as simple as that.

 

[paigeswan]

Fun is obviously an important factor in gameplay. If a game were not fun, no one would play it at all. However, most would not consider a game to be fun if it is easy to breeze through every level and you finish it in a few hours. It is more fun and rewarding to be presented with a challenge that you have to use skill to complete. If a game is too hard and you can barely get through the first level, it often leads to frustration and generally makes you stop playing. A game that has the perfect combination of fun and difficulty is the best game to play.

 

[Kitty Reeves]

The fun of a game depends on the difficulty of it. If a game is just too difficult, I'm not going to find it fun. I'm just going to get angry with it, and probably stop playing it permanently. Though if a game is NOT difficult at all, it becomes boring. If there's no challenge to it, it becomes something you do mindlessly. I like games that give you challenge, but not so much you become frustrated.

Which is why I love when games let you choose the difficulty, lol!

 

[Sino989]

It depends what type of game it is. For shooters, I usually prefer difficulty but games like roller coaster tycoon or anything like that I prefer fun because that's a game you play to just relax.

 

[lilac123]

I like a bit of both, but probably fun over difficulty since I play games to destress and take my mind off other things. This is probably the reason why I don't like puzzle games, as I don't want to be sitting there thinking for hours, I just want to have fun. However, if the game is too easy then I would probably get bored easily so ideally it would have some elements of difficulty to keep me interested.

 

[Corzhens]

Entertainment is my main objective in playing. Although I am challenged by the levels of difficulty, it is not entertaining anymore when I am stuck in a certain level. When playing with someone, it is a great feeling to win and disappointing to lose. But I have come to terms that playing involves winning and losing. The best part of playing is when there are audience at my back who are advising me what to do just like watching a real game and I am the player. Even when I lose, I am truly entertained.

 

[Xilkozuf]

For me difficult games are lot of fun (I love Dark Souls, and that game is known for its difficulty) but many others might find frustration when a game is too hard. I'd say fun is most important, since it can comes in different ways: with a game being difficult for those who enjoy if, or with a game being simple for those who enjoy it that way. Maybe for the difficult there should always be a choice, so every kind of gamer can have his fun without any problem. Masochists will play the Impossible difficult level, and gamers who just enjoy simple fun will go with easy.

 

[Zyni]

I don't think it's an either/or thing. I think a bit of challenge makes a game fun. I don't want super hard every second, but I don't want super easy mode either. I like to think. I like to have to try. If it's too easy, like some games have gone then I have no reason to keep playing.

 

[Kamarsun1]

Do you play the game for the difficulty or just for the fun of it?

I play for pretty much both. I enjoy having a challenge so I always put it up to max difficulty.

I would say fun over difficulty, hard games will cause me to stop playing, as I don't have the time to try and figure out how to pass a board, that's why I enjoy sports games, because they are fun to play.