Difficulty

Between Players podcast cover art
Between Players
Difficulty
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Episode 002

Easy, Normal or Hard.

When games were younger, it seemed like there was one level of difficulty. And apart from secret codes, there wasn’t much you could do to improve your chances of success other than practice.

Is the challenge what makes a game compelling, interesting, or even valuable?

What are we getting out of the experience as a whole, without consequence?

Why does there appear to be an obsessed recently with the difficulty?

Do you remember the first game you played where you tried to crank it up to hard and decided it was too much?

Somehow, the notion of difficulty has migrated into the realm of modern game mechanics. Or more appropriately, difficulty has been sort of singled out in some cases as a pseudo mechanic.

What do you think about difficulty?

Tell us about your harrowing tales of game difficulty via electronic mail or on twitter @betweenplayers

Games we talked about

Special Thanks

Illustartion Evan McIntyre
Audio Consulting Josh Hunt
Music Anamanaguchi – Dawn Metropolis

A Strong Female Protagonist

Between Players podcast cover art
Between Players
A Strong Female Protagonist
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Episode 001

Everything about the gaming industry in its current state is very clearly built around appeasing their primary audience or whom the industry sees as the largest audience.

Gender representation, and more specifically, the portrayal of women is a big topic right now in video games. Within the vast library of content we have to pick from, how is it that the portrayal, roles, and playable options for female gamers and game characters appear to be so narrow?

When I refer to narrow options, I am referring to how these characters look and interact with the environment they are confined to. Not just as a different skin on a model 3d model, but a wholly unique character.

As a male gamer I have a myriad of well designed options to choose from when representing myself in a game. But I am rarely impressed with what publishers produce as a Strong Female Protagonist.

In this first episode I sit down and have a chat with my buddy and fellow gamer, Stacie about her thoughts on female representation in games.

Special Thanks

Illustartion Evan McIntyre
Audio Consulting Josh Hunt
Music Anamanaguchi – Dawn Metropolis