What I Learned from Making Kids Cry
Whenever I meet gamers who played Maximo: Ghosts to Glory they will often tell me that they never finished the game because it was just too hard. And you know what? It is. It demanded players make pixel-perfect jumps and be combat ready the minute they landed in front of an enemy. It has a needlessly cruel save system. It’s been called one of the most difficult PS2 games of all time4. It’s a difficult game. And after making that game and reading the reviews, I learned my most important lesson as a game designer: The difference between difficulty and challenge.
Difficulty = Promotes pain and loss
Challenge = Promotes skill and improvement
A difficult game does whatever it can to punish the player. A challenging game confronts the player with obstacles that can be overcome with skill and knowledge. I believe a challenging game is much more rewarding than a difficult one.
Some gamers absolutely love difficult games. The list of ridiculously...