More Games Need A Very Easy Mode
Hideo Kojima has announced that Death Stranding will have a Very Easy Mode for movie fans, and more developers should take a page from his book.
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Video game auteur Hideo Kojima made an announcement recently, saying that his upcoming game Death Stranding will have not only the standard difficulty settings, but will also have a “very easy mode” for people who want to experience the game as a narrative, even if they haven’t had experience with action games, or even video games in general. This increases the accessibility of the game’s story, and is a feature that should be implemented in more story-heavy games.
Kojima stated that he added the very easy mode because the game has “real actors,” including Mads Mikkelsen, Norman Reedus, and Léa Seydoux. Kojima wanted movie fans to be able to see their favorite actors in the full story of the game, even if they’ve never played a game in their lives. He said that even co-writer Kenji Yano, who has never even completed the first stage of Pac-Man, was able to complete the game on very easy mode.
This is a good decision for a story-heavy game like Death Stranding. As comedian Dara O’Briain pointed out in a live stand-up show, video games occupy a very odd place as a narrative form. They are, he says, the only medium that will “deny you access” to the entire story if you’re bad at the game. It’s not just that you can be bad at a video game – most film buffs or music snobs will agree that its entirely possible to be bad at watching a movie or listening to an album – it’s that video games won’t go forward if you’re bad at the video game. It’s the only medium that does this.
In a game where the story isn’t really that complex, like Mario, this isn’t a problem. Most people don’t play Mario to figure out whether he’s going to rescue the princess, they play for the gameplay itself. Being good at video games is the reward from the game. But for games that put the emphasis on the story, it does present a problem. It creates an issue with accessibility, creating a story that is only able to be experienced by certain people.
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t just to tell people to “git gud.” While this might work for Mario, where the gameplay itself is the appeal, it doesn’t work for a story-based game. Various problems, including muscle tremors or fine motor control issues, can affect someone’s ability to play video games.
Death Stranding isn’t the first game to implement a feature like this. Mass Effect 3 implemented “Narrative Mode” that made combat much easier and allowed players to focus on the story elements of the game. It allowed players to focus on the role-playing elements of the game without having to focus on whether or not the AI enemies would kill them every time they walked into a room with waist-high strategic cover. It was useful for players that couldn’t play harder modes and players who didn’t want to waste time on combat when there were important story choices to make.
The best part about accessibility features like very easy mod or narrative mode is that if you’re the type of person who absolutely despises the idea of playing a game that didn’t challenge you with its gameplay, this will not affect you in any way. You don’t have to play very easy mode. Getting mad at the existence of very easy mode is like getting mad at the existence of audio books because you like to read.
Hideo Kojima made a bold choice incorporating a very easy mode into his game, but ultimately it was the right one. It allows all players to enjoy the story, while not changing anything for players that enjoy the challenge of gameplay. It truly is a win-win feature.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/more-games-need-very-easy-mode/