Let's Discuss What is the ideal difficulty of a level?

I think it should be solvable by both beginners and experts. Some designs were deliberately made challenging in the sense that they are "artificially difficult", i.e. being complex for no reason but to be time-consuming. An example would be those modular mazes that require you to rearrange seemingly random draggable blocks to complete a pathway towards the goal. They are fun if you are totally new to such kind of puzzles, but they don't require much creativity to build or solve, which quickly become boring in my opinion.

I'd say the best ones would be those that appear to be difficult at first glance, but readily solvable once you figured out the solution. The wow factor is what keeps Mekorama fun

 

I guess it depends on what is the target players are. To the majority, medium difficulty suits more I think because mostly they seek for entertainment but allow having little brain exercise at the same time. Having fun and learn at the same time.A too challenging level may do opposite effect. On the other hand, puzzle game lovers would like to look for challenges. Solving the 50in game levels is not satisfying enough. I would consider myself as a puzzle game lover=P, and have werid taste too. More complex the level is, more excitement it has. Levels that make you do reseach to solve it are the best . But of course not l the "artificially difficult" as @cpw mentioned.

 

There are many factors that contribute to the difficulty of a level, e.g. time, types of exploits/bugs used, visibility of hidden compartments, logic/reasoning etc. And I think that the ideal difficulty of levels depends on which factor(s) (mentioned above) they are based on.

For example, puzzle levels, I think the ideal difficulty should be at least 'Medium', as too easy will repeal their identity and qualification as a puzzle. Too difficult is also not recommended, it will make them un-enjoyable to many people as different person has different flow of reasoning.

For levels using tricks/bugs, it should not be too difficult. To know how to use some tricks to solve a level, one has to play quite a number of levels based on tricks to accumulate knowledge and experience and this certainly takes time for beginners. <- This is not a problem. However if a beginner keeps on stumbling upon really difficult trick levels which requires him/her to play some levels beforehand, he/she may lose interest. For instance, to solve level A a player has to solve level B first. Then to solve level B, he has to solve C, then again to solve C, he may/may not have to solve D. It will be really frustrating because this will make playing Mekorama levels more like a task rather than to have fun. So some people may play the level just for the sake of completing another and not out of interest or for fun.

Not to forget, the definitions for 'Easy', 'Medium' and 'Difficult' differs from person to person, regardless of experience, interest etc.. Some might find a level easy but others may find it difficult, even if they share a common interest for example, time limitation.

Finally, a level's difficulty is not the only thing that determines its enjoyable-ness. Another element that influences the enjoyable-ness of a level to a player is the player's interest/preference and his/her original intention of playing Mekorama. Like for me, I play Mekorama for fun and to exercise my problem solving skills a little. Hence, I won't find levels with tricks and time limitation as its basis really enjoyable, even if they are easy. Unless, they are really unique. Levels with hidden compartments are also not my cup of tea as they are sometimes really time -consuming, although sometimes they also surprise me.

Sorry for the long comment, hope it helps All these are just my opinion.

 

Agreed that trick levels should be relatively easier especially if introducing a newly discovered trick. Many of @richardfu_ 's levels are good examples of this -- they introduce new tricks while also being approachable so you focus on learning the new trick itself without being put off. I'd also like to point out that each of his level usually consists of 3~4 different key "moments" that add variety to the level without making it too time-consuming and off-putting. These "moments" are not repetitive as they either utilize the same trick in different ways, or combine different tricks to create a nice flow. The result is a level that is not just novel and challenging, but also keeps you entertained for an optimum time span.

 

I'd rather there to be scaling in levels rather than a uniform difficulty, in my opinion, level designers should either use tags or should type in the level description the difficulty level of their posted levels, that is to make it easier for the players.

 

I said it's not the most important part, but also I even enjoy different difficulty levels at different times. Sometimes I want a good challenge, other times I just want something simple and fun.

 

I am guilty of not doing this, but yes having a set of tags to choose from would be very nice.

 

@meko
While it is true that difficulty is relative, there should be a gauge or a benchmark to follow and in my case it would be the original game levels, advanced techniques and exploit based levels should be considered as tricky or advanced at the least since not all the players know the different bugs of the game.

Take for example @trids's tutorial 2: in my opinion it should be considered advanced or hard given that he doesn't provide the detailed steps with the level.

In short, we should be considerate of the newer players, & calibrate the difficulty based on them rather than us the seasoned players.

Spoiler: Keep in mind

Remember that not all of the players finished the original levels by themself

 

I think all of the levels in this forum should be categorized according to their types, like puzzles, tricks etc. In this way, it will be easier to find levels that suit one's interest. Can the usage of tags also be made obligatory for players if they want to post new levels?

 

The concept of difficulty is too relative to provide anything but a personal and subjective opinion. For example, i personally have no time for challenges that feature randomness: some folks enjoy that sort of thing; others don't mind; and others avoid them.

So, for me, it's randomness that will make me consider a level too difficult. But someone else will enjoy the level for the same reasons that i don't, and consider something else as difficult (timing maybe) that i might enjoy.

I think the best we can hope for is some kind of objective evaluation of how much a puzzle features or relies on certain characteristics, like :

• Chance / randomness
• Timing
• Exploits
• Aesthetics
• Etc

There was a designer recently who assigned a rating of his levels with a series of black and white stars. Something like this..

Level_A:
xxxoo - Chance
xoooo - Timing

Level_B:
xxxxo - Exploits
xoooo - Aesthetics
ooooo - Timing

I don't know how he created the stars, but if necessary we could even use plain old numbers...

Level_A:
3 - Chance
1 - Timing

Level_B:
4 - Exploits
1 - Aesthetics
0 - Timing

This would allow the player to judge for himself how difficult a level might be, based on the designer's objective ratings by "stars".

It also allows designers the freedom to design without the pressure of satisfying a host of subjective and conflicting opinions of difficulty.

 

It is a good idea to list out the characteristics of a level, but just like the level of difficulty, the number of 'stars' or the extent to which a level uses a particular feature is also a subjective opinion. Players and designer will most probably have different opinions about this. However, I won't deny the fact that it can give players a rough idea of the level before playing.

 

I like this idea, I will imply it to my future reviews :3

 

I voted medium, but I love simple but brilliant (machines, gadgets, themes, etc) levels just as much

 

When making a level, I assume that any behavior I've run across in the original levels is known to players.

At first, I was gung ho on hidden movables, but it just seemed unfair, if I ever decided to share levels, to stick someone with something they can't deduce. I also have levels which rely on a free camera, and I just hate for someone to get stuck just because they haven't stumbled across that option.

My favorite levels are the ones which are challenging while eliminating any possible place for hidden mechanisms.

 

In my home opinion, the level of difficulty of levels is increasing with the age of this forum. Perhaps because designers get bored of similar ideas or because there is an implicit competition to do the "better" or "impossible" level. And I think this is an error because a difficult level design doesn't mean to be a good level.

Let me give some examples I have observed last days to illustrate the idea...

Important note: this is just a personal opinion and I hope the authors of the examples don't misunderstand my words, in fact I am follower of two of them because their levels are among the best in this forum.

• "Square one II" by @vince: it is an amazing level, it has logic, story and incredible ideas but... 90% of players will get stuck at the beginning of the level, abandoning it. Why? Because the second step is based on falling trick, an exploit which honestly is not logical and nobody will pass without knowing it. Result? They will miss one of the best levels created at that moment.

• "Escape from Alcatraz" by @Michal: it is a promising level but... first step of the level is based on a hidden (invisible) draggable with zero tips of its existence. So? 99% of players will leave. What is the objective of such level of difficulty? Check that nobody did it? I disagree.

• "Best friend - Hidden win" by @Muslim Arizzy: amazing level with a great balance of logic, ability and story. And at the end... the visible win is a fake, and there is another one hidden (invisible) with zero tips about it. Result? Players frustrated although the level until that moment was really amazing.

In summary, and again it is just my opinion (there is a world of different opinions), I think that a wrong decision on difficulty level will break potentially great and amazing levels. I really encourage designers that in case of using such kind of "impossible" features should be warned to avoid players abandon the level and perhaps the game if they have bad luck and try three or four levels like this in a row.