Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a game that came out recently from From Software, recently notorious for the punishing Souls game series, and it has certain people clamoring for an "easy mode".
Various reasons emerge why they want the option for an easier difficulty, such as 'it'll widen the audience', 'it'll increase accessibility', 'there's no reason not to do it!'.
The question is: should I make an easy mode for my game? And the answer, like many relating to video games is... it depends. What is your goal for making this game? How are you making this game?
What is your goal for making this game? Determining your goals is an important part of making a video game, as making a video game is not a simple matter. If your goal is to simply make your first video game, full stop, then making an easy mode for your game will just add in development time and be more of a headache than simply finishing your very first video game which has already brought several headaches you never expected. Adding an easy mode means extra numbers, even if they're smaller, and planning the easy mode numbers that they're actually easier.
If your goal is to simply move copies and make a short
term profit, it's hard to argue with adding an easy mode, but blindly chasing
accessibility is a trap. Chasing after immediate sales profit will
hamper long term growth, and is akin to eating the seed corn.
How are you making this game? Rather, are you tailoring your game towards an audience, or are you making your game first and letting the audience come to you? Both approaches change things drastically.
Either way, it's clear that a lot of the divide in opinions on whether Sekiro should add an easy mode, stems from a difference of opinion of what From Software's goals should be. Those in favor can't understand why anyone would not want their game so that anyone could enjoy it, and those against can't understand why anyone would want to devalue the prize.
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