Hello Geosword X reporting in .
Happy 2014 New Year!
I recently became a new Atari 2600 owner (
) and pondered about the AI difficulty on the Atari 2600 against the difficulty settings on modern video games.
I learned that the Atari has many modes that cater to every gamer (or those with different learning styles), those who are looking for a challenge, looking for two player/co-op competition or something for the youngsters to have fun with (Defender, Asteroids, just to name a few).
In comparison to modern games those setting exist, but most games I have you have to go through a "learning curve " to figure out how to play the game with ease. Some games I have may give you a quick tutorial then throw you out into the main game and you may not have enough time to learn the new moves or have enough practice to get through the first level (took me a while to get it on Fur Fighters, Knuckles Chaotix and other modern games). There are even some tutorials that repeatedly make you learn a move to get it right when you want to move on (which can be frustrating to the player).
I personally find the Atari to be more open and modern games to be more restrictive to those with different learning styles. On the Atari you have a choice to change to a easier game type and switch to a more challenging set up when you feel ready. In modern games, you either learn as you go or give in after trying so many times.
Now if the Atari has difficultly set ups that can change "on the fly" and variations of games that can cater to different learning styles, how come we switched to tutorials, and "learning curves" in modern games? Is it a way to bring greater challenge to the player despite eliminating the convenience of multiple game variations? Or have the outlook of modern games changed so drastically that game variations are no longer needed?
What is your insight on this?
