Todd's Confessions of Mediocrity

[Thrasher]

Q: What's your favorite part of game development?

A: It's the small victories, when the game is really working, you're playing it and you see an opportunity to make something more fun, by either removing something, adding something, or tweaking a game balance number.

Q: Tell us one of your recent professional insights.

A: 'Fun' does not mean 'challenge.'

More at http://www.interactive.org/features/todd_howard.asp

Spotted at RPGWatch.

 

[Squeek]

I thought it was a boring interview, but I did smile at his answer to the first question. How do you want to be remembered? Like some kind of game-making saint, of course.

Well, it was a pretty lame question, really.

 

[Thrasher]

It's all very lame. One might say it's the definition of lame, in scope - breadth and depth.

 

[Straight elf]

"A: 'Fun' does not mean 'challenge.' "

That's actually true.

 

[Thrasher]

Yes, for underachievers.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

"A: 'Fun' does not mean 'challenge.' "

That's actually true.

'Lack of challenge' does not mean 'fun' either.

 

[Thrasher]

It usually means boring, for me, at least.

Too much challenge (especially if the wrong type, or simply tedious) can mean boring too.

It's an art to get it right.

 

[Straight elf]

True. But challenge just for the sake of challenge leads to frustration and it's simply not fun. I never finished GTA 3 because of some incredibly frustrating assignments and because failure meant yet another boring 5 minutes long drive across the city.

 

[Thrasher]

Tediousness is not a challenge in my book.

It's bad design.

 

[Squeek]

"A: 'Fun' does not mean 'challenge.' "

That's actually true.

I can imagine how that could be true, but in a good CRPG I think you usually want the fun to be associated with some kind of challenge. Not to be nitpicky about it, either. He didn't elaborate, and so that answer struck me as maybe accurate and ok but maybe odd and not.

It's like how some women are better lovers than others and some are actually better off just laying there. The ones who are better off just laying there aren't the good ones, but they can still be enjoyed.

That probably has nothing to do with games, but that's how I see it anyway.

 

[racofer]

Q: Tell us one of your recent professional insights.

A: 'Fun' does not mean 'challenge.'

There's the heart of the problem.

 

[McShifty]

Todd Howard is a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. He will speak at the D.I.C.E. Summit® in 2009. He works for Bethesda.

They write like children. How appropriate.

 

[Ion Flux]

Mediocre is the new awesome. Didn't you get the memo?

 

[bat_boro]

Mediocre is the new awesome. Didn't you get the memo?

FO 3 is the new sexy

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

True. But challenge just for the sake of challenge leads to frustration and it's simply not fun.

Not really. There is a reason why survival mode is so common in slashers. You do need to have solid mechanics and varied enemy types in your game to pull this off successfully, though.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Actually, i'm pretty sure challenge equals fun. Lack of challenge is the real problem with modern games.

 

[someone else]

PST wasn't that challenging, but it is fun. Challenging is more for strategy/tactic games for moi. RPGs can be fun with just story.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Well, story isn't what Bethesda can pull off.

 

[Lyric Suite]

PST wasn't that challenging, but it is fun.

Not really. Torment was pretty fucking boring in anything except setting, story and dialog, and all those were quite challenging in so far as setting, story and dialog can be challenging.

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

Maybe he just meant that not all fun is about challenge, which is pretty obvious anyway. He can't be stupid enough to think that no challenge whatsoever in a game is fun, even if they suck at creating challenge in their games.

Or maybe this means TES5 will take the Molyfaux route and you can't die in it.

 

[ushdugery]

He's found other ways to provide stimulus Fat Lootz and Shiny Graffix both provide the endorphin hits that a rewarding story or progress through an engrossing challenge used to and all it is is a matter of adding some numbers and getting someone to draft you up a new Killinator Mk.4 gun.

 

[Barrow_Bug]

What about really Good adventure games? Not always that challenging, but pretty fun otherwise. Oh I get it, everyone wants to a ubermensch here. Shame about that.

 

[nomask7]

Women are genetically unable to enjoy challenge and have no idea what they're talking about when talking about challenge. This is probably one of the main reasons why they never excel as scientists, composers, artists, writers, explorers, generic heroes, or game designers.

edit: Todd Howard is very feminine and probably gay.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Well is Annie then just the exception that proves the rule, or are our hopes crushed and she's actually a man?

 

[Shannow]

Actually, i'm pretty sure challenge equals fun. Lack of challenge is the real problem with modern games.

Mass Effect, Oblivion, Fable 2, Fallout 3 sold well on consoles. These games prove that console gamers can enjoy deep western RPGs, not only Japanize so called RPGs.

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6451