#56 The problems with "difficulty" in gaming
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
MORE PLACES TO FIND US
Crubscribe ► https://bit.ly/Crubcast
Get the show early and get exclusive content at our Patreon ► https://www.patreon.com/crub
Our Crubcasts are recorded LIVE at https://www.twitch.tv/crub_official every Tuesday at 7pm Eastern, with EXCLUSIVE Pre- and Post-Shows
Join our Discord ► https://crub.org/join
Bird App ► https://twitter.com/crubofficial
Podcasts are available on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms are available at ► https://crub.org
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