mainstream video games becoming dumbed down

[Gavin]

It's a trend that has pros and cons.

Take the Grand Theft Auto series for example. Think about how tricky and frustrating some of the missions from earlier games like Vice City and San Andreas were. Then think about how easy GTA5 is. GTA5's difficulty has definitely been dumbed down to appeal to a wider audience and there is a bit of "hand holding" at times that make some parts of the game so easy it ruins what should have felt like a challenge.

Which makes me wonder if I should make my levels easier to appeal to more players? My CheeseT1 set for CC1 had levels so difficult even I felt the difficulty actually ruined the fun and some levels in that pack I've only ever solved once because they just took so many attempts. But if a level is too easy and can be solved first attempt with little problem then it has little appeal and little replay value.

Getting the fun:difficulty ratio balance just right can take a lot of practice.