Comments on: About the Difficulty

By: Sutibu

Sutibu — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:31:40 +0000

I like the idea of the decreased difficulty, but I also think difficulty settings would be a nice addition. With that aspect, you can please the new gamers that play easy games, and the veterans that love the hard ‘old-school’ games of past generations.

Speaking of which, I’ve heard rumors that Hell’s Sanctuary in the WiiWare version is going to be MUCH harder than the original version. I really hope that’s not true.

By: Samuel Wright

Samuel Wright — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:35:12 +0000

why don’t you just have different difficulty levels like easy normal and hard, so how are you working with nicals who have made cave story.

By: 3up

3up — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:15:58 +0000

The special thing about La Mulana is that the puzzles have a “context” in the ruins. Understanding this context leads to the solutions, rather than just “flip that switch” or “push the block onto the pressure plate”.

So long as “reducing the difficulty” doesn’t mean making the game about following a set of rigid instructions given to the player, then I think the game will be ok.

By: Namo

Namo — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:56:31 +0000

Since its going to be extremely evident that La-Mulana is inspired by old-school games, I think having to refer to some sort of manual should be kept in tact.

By: Aegeus

Aegeus — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:36:22 +0000

The changes you described sound good. It seems like you’re trying to keep the difficulty the same but reduce player frustration. For example, you are making it easier to pick up and play by explaining how to open doors (which I don’t think was explained *ever* in the original) or how to use certain items, so that the player doesn’t have to read the manual just to play the game. Also, said you would reduce infuriating and repetetive puzzles like the Tower of the Goddess, where a missed jump or dodge sends the player back to the bottom. Similar infuriating issues would be the breakable walls (which I only figure out in hindsight) or the numbering system (which comes out of nowhere for two puzzles and then is never used again).

One big idea about the difficulty could be having more hints on where you can use certain items or where you can’t go until you have some. For example, once you get the Bronze Mirror you have up to 9 new places to go to, but no clue which one you need to visit first. Metroid: Zero Mission does this really well by occasionally having statues that give you a general idea of where your next upgrade is coming from, but letting you figure out how to get there (or even letting you sequence break past it!).

By: Nicholas

Nicholas — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:16:47 +0000

Clearing up confusion is definitely something that needed fixing at the beginning of the game, however to tell the player where to go and what to do later in the game might ruin the whole Indiana Jones exploration feel. None the less, does sound like you know what you’re doing.

By: Artemus Harper

Artemus Harper — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:15:29 +0000

The instant death puzzle that is guarding the woman figurine item needs to have a bigger warning on it that you cannot escape this puzzle with the grail. Since for most of the game, the player learns to explore the various areas and teleport out when their health reaches a low level.

By: FirePhoenix

FirePhoenix — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:29:59 +0000

A lot of difficulty things have been mentioned by people already but one in particular I would like to point out is the fight against the bird sub-boss in the Confusion Gate. I’ve always disliked fighting him not because he’s hard, but because his movement patterns are very random and you have very tiny platforms to stand on while fighting him, and if you get him and fall, it’s a 5 minute walk back to be able to try fighting him again. I think a bit more leniency in this fight would be nice because I know I’ve gotten frustrated at it plenty.

Other than that, I’ll agree with others’ suggestions about the mantras, 2012, Confusion Gate logic puzzle, where you must take key fairies to, and how many coins it costs to buy things initially.

As an aside, I’m confused about one aspect. Since the original was a PC game, we had a keyboard for typing things like spells and warping with the Grail. How is this being addressed in the transition to a console? Hopefully you’ll have an update explaining this at some point in the future.

By: Namo

Namo — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:35:14 +0000

Ah, thanks for clearing this up, Naramura. I was a little worried by what you meant.

So, its not like Japan’s game will be harder and US’s game easier, they’re both the same difficulty, but just not as hard as the original.

I shouldn’t get so worked up.

By: Abster

Abster — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:54:22 +0000

I think what Nigoro is saying here is that the difficulty will be adjusted to appeal to both US and Japanese audiences. I don’t think they’ll disappoint us.