There was a wall street journal entry lately that commented on how designers are purposefully cranking up the difficulty of their games. Thank-you , thank-you, thank-you.
I remember a long time ago I played the Avengers and the original X-men video game. It was across the street at 7-11, then around the corner at the bowling alley. I remember how I eventually beat those games. I brought a roll of quarters with me. I'd die, drop a quarter and continue. Yes, eventually I beat the game. I know it doesn't take a lot of skill, but it was one of those things I still felt good that I achieved success.
Now a days, that feeling of success is lacking. Not just in video games, but in the workplace and in schools. We go to work for eight hours. Do our jobs and come home. We go in the next day and do the exact same thing all over again. Occasionally if we finish early we get to leave early and man, that does feel like success like you actually finished something. I can't tell you what a success I would feel like if I was a child and I came home with my report card to show my parents that I met expectations. That screams success. Heck even exceeds expectations screams success after all whose expectations are they meeting? After all, as a parent I have no idea what level these expectations are set at.
So I am in favor of tougher video games that today's generation may feel like they succeed at something. Heck, a really tough game may either keep my son from thinking he has a "gift" for playing videos games or prove to me that he really does have one.
Have Fun and Be Great
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I have a tendancy to take on a few too many projects in the attmpt to feel successful at something. My husband tries to tell me I have a loving family and that should make me feel successful enough. I believe in well rounded success. Success in my personal life does not give me a sense of accomplishment when it comes to contributing to household finances or feeling like I have truly helped someone who needed it (you know, bailing out a friend as opposed to helping to pull up the pants on a potty-training toddler). Schools have had to make accomodations due to GW's no child left behind bill. It seemed like a good idea at first, but schools have had to lower their standards for the average student in order to show that they are "making improvements" from year to year so they don't lose their federal funding. Explain to me again how this is supposed to help?
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