Lacrymas
Arcane
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2015
- Messages
- 18,732
You need time to figure out how to overcome the challenge (otherwise it's not much of a challenge to begin with).
If the challenge is there, how you go about overcoming it (rationalizing/deciphering vs banging your head) ultimately matters. There is no time differentiation between the two approaches, the first one is just more productive, worthwhile and satisfactory, sometimes even the only way to do it. You are also more prepared for later challenges.
I don't think they preach that design per se, they just parrot what the sales figures point at. In a world where money talks, that's what's important, isn't it? :pThe mainstream design preaches that the player should not be inconvenienced by the failure, that the player doesn't play games to be fail but to be awesome. The hardcore design is the very opposite. It revolves around overcoming obstacles by figuring out the system and getting better.