Is it bad I'm bad at my own game?

T

The Green Dev

Guest
Does that mean the game isn't good or something like that?
 
N

Nexusrex

Guest
Hmm..Actually, it depends on the other players. Maybe you aren't good at the genre. Like, sometimes. I wasn't good at TDS..So when i've tried to make a simple tds, i've failed.
 

Ninety

Member
It's concerning, yes.

As developer, you've probably played your game more than anyone else, and you know how it works intimately. There's a reason most game design resources recommend your "hard" levels are ones which you, the developer, can still complete in a relatively few number of attempts.

Consider why your game is hard to play for you. Is it because you have poor reflexes or timing? In that case, I wouldn't worry too much - there's always going to be someone better than you at your own game. But if the game is too hard no matter who's playing, that's a cause for concern.
 
M

MishMash

Guest
You should atleast be decent at your own game, for example a game like 10 second ninja, I can't imagine the dev was the best in the world, but atleast good enough to get top 10 percentile scores. (This varies depending on how popular the game is).

You could be falling into a trap of your game being unfairly difficult, but it really depends on the type of game. For example, RTS AI at its harder difficulty is often better than most players and it is mentally challenging to beat. If you are a developer, you probably dont want to be exhausting your mental state by playing the game in the hardest possible setting, though having said that, you should still be able to beat it when you are trying hard. If it beats you frome time to time, that's well balanced difficulty.

IMO, if its to do with reactions, even if you have bad reactions, you should eventually get good at predicting enemy behaviour, after all, you should know exactly how they behave :p
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
I'd say that for any PvE style game where the leveldesign or simple enemies are the worst threat, not being able to effortlessly clear every level without taking damage (on the intended difficulty setting) means it's too hard. I've noticed this when going back playing old games for nostalgia's sake that a lot of my earlier works had some really shaky design, and now when I'm not in the loop anymore things like untelegraphed bottomless pits get a lot more annoying.
 
R

Rusty

Guest
Being a good game developer is not the same as being a good player. They are two different skillsets. That's why developers usually hire game testors to test the games out for balancing and bugs and things like that.
 
P

Paolo Mazzon

Guest
Get someone else to play it, preferably a fan of the genre, and hear them out.
 

Phoebe Klim

Member
Common mistake is having too low starter HP. Increase that.
Players must not fail on very first level.
Make first few levels easy and keep hard stuff for endgame, players at the endgame will have good understanding of game's mechanics and will probably want something more challenging.

Unless you're making one of those mobile Flappy Bird-esque games. In that case, I don't want to talk with you.
 
Top