Tom Coxon | Cassette Beasts dev
@tccoxon.bsky.social
Game Co-Director @ByttenStudio.bsky.social 🎃 I work on: BAFTA-Nominated British Game #CassetteBeasts 🎃 He/Him
Mostly posting at: 🐘 @[email protected]
Mostly posting at: 🐘 @[email protected]
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November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
If you find this thread interesting, consider following me on mastodon, where I post more often - including about my custom vpet electronics project. mastodon.gamedev.place/@tccoxon
- items that widen the window of parries and are more likely to drop the lower your parry success rate is
- enemies that get stupider the worse you're doing, or even have a low chance to swap sides
- enemies that get stupider the worse you're doing, or even have a low chance to swap sides
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
- items that widen the window of parries and are more likely to drop the lower your parry success rate is
- enemies that get stupider the worse you're doing, or even have a low chance to swap sides
- enemies that get stupider the worse you're doing, or even have a low chance to swap sides
More illusory difficulty mechanics come to mind now:
- a hidden luck stat that biases RNG in favour of the player, and increases each time they die. Karmic dice in BG3 are sort of like this (but I don't think high dice rolls make a game difficult unless the player can influence them)
- a hidden luck stat that biases RNG in favour of the player, and increases each time they die. Karmic dice in BG3 are sort of like this (but I don't think high dice rolls make a game difficult unless the player can influence them)
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
More illusory difficulty mechanics come to mind now:
- a hidden luck stat that biases RNG in favour of the player, and increases each time they die. Karmic dice in BG3 are sort of like this (but I don't think high dice rolls make a game difficult unless the player can influence them)
- a hidden luck stat that biases RNG in favour of the player, and increases each time they die. Karmic dice in BG3 are sort of like this (but I don't think high dice rolls make a game difficult unless the player can influence them)
Devs need to think about what experience they want the player to have, not "how difficult should this be"
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Devs need to think about what experience they want the player to have, not "how difficult should this be"
Unlike parachute mechanics that catch the player as they fall, the goal with dynamic difficulty is usually to keep the player near a fall, but not fully going over. The nice thing about this is that when it works, in theory everyone gets a similar experience of difficulty regardless of skill/smarts.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Unlike parachute mechanics that catch the player as they fall, the goal with dynamic difficulty is usually to keep the player near a fall, but not fully going over. The nice thing about this is that when it works, in theory everyone gets a similar experience of difficulty regardless of skill/smarts.
Dynamic difficulty is usually a system that adjusts the encounters according to how well the player is doing. L4D is the best known example, but it can be done through self-correcting mechanics as well. “AI Director” isn't the only option.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Dynamic difficulty is usually a system that adjusts the encounters according to how well the player is doing. L4D is the best known example, but it can be done through self-correcting mechanics as well. “AI Director” isn't the only option.
I think of these as parachute mechanics because they catch the player as they fall.
I know that was all pretty vague, but there aren't many examples of the exact thing I'm talking about (that I know about at least). Check back in a couple of years.
I know that was all pretty vague, but there aren't many examples of the exact thing I'm talking about (that I know about at least). Check back in a couple of years.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I think of these as parachute mechanics because they catch the player as they fall.
I know that was all pretty vague, but there aren't many examples of the exact thing I'm talking about (that I know about at least). Check back in a couple of years.
I know that was all pretty vague, but there aren't many examples of the exact thing I'm talking about (that I know about at least). Check back in a couple of years.
But the players who do need it, receive the experience of surviving *by the skin of their teeth*, which is itself extremely rewarding. If the mechanic is perceived as a miraculous low-probability event, this doesn't even affect *the experience of difficulty* for the player who received assistance.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
But the players who do need it, receive the experience of surviving *by the skin of their teeth*, which is itself extremely rewarding. If the mechanic is perceived as a miraculous low-probability event, this doesn't even affect *the experience of difficulty* for the player who received assistance.
The goal would be for the player to not even know it's something that can happen until it's needed. Players doing well enough on their own don't receive the assistance, so it doesn't form part of their experience of the game's difficulty.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
The goal would be for the player to not even know it's something that can happen until it's needed. Players doing well enough on their own don't receive the assistance, so it doesn't form part of their experience of the game's difficulty.
One thing you can do to engineer a less-demanding experience of difficulty is a sort of catch up mechanic that aids a player as they begin to fall behind, sort of like the items in Mario Kart, but far less overt.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
One thing you can do to engineer a less-demanding experience of difficulty is a sort of catch up mechanic that aids a player as they begin to fall behind, sort of like the items in Mario Kart, but far less overt.
With illusory difficulty, I mean that the difficulty *in the player’s experience of the game* can be higher than the *actual demand the game makes of the player*. Those are two completely different things - think about it.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
With illusory difficulty, I mean that the difficulty *in the player’s experience of the game* can be higher than the *actual demand the game makes of the player*. Those are two completely different things - think about it.
Grind is just bigger numbers that demand more time from the player. It's a test of patience, not skill or strategy.
And then there are two more aspects I've been thinking about a lot lately: illusory & dynamic difficulty. The answer to difficulty isn't always to just add more sliders.
And then there are two more aspects I've been thinking about a lot lately: illusory & dynamic difficulty. The answer to difficulty isn't always to just add more sliders.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Grind is just bigger numbers that demand more time from the player. It's a test of patience, not skill or strategy.
And then there are two more aspects I've been thinking about a lot lately: illusory & dynamic difficulty. The answer to difficulty isn't always to just add more sliders.
And then there are two more aspects I've been thinking about a lot lately: illusory & dynamic difficulty. The answer to difficulty isn't always to just add more sliders.
I debated whether to include grind here because I don't think it's really an aspect of difficulty, but here goes anyway: a lot of (particularly old) RPGs use grind to make their bosses feel bigger and badder in the absence of new (strategic difficulty) mechanics.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I debated whether to include grind here because I don't think it's really an aspect of difficulty, but here goes anyway: a lot of (particularly old) RPGs use grind to make their bosses feel bigger and badder in the absence of new (strategic difficulty) mechanics.
(Silksong and E33 are great games overall, even if they're not for me. Don't get me wrong, they deserve their praise.)
There's a lot more to difficulty than just punishment, skill, and strategy.
There's a lot more to difficulty than just punishment, skill, and strategy.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
(Silksong and E33 are great games overall, even if they're not for me. Don't get me wrong, they deserve their praise.)
There's a lot more to difficulty than just punishment, skill, and strategy.
There's a lot more to difficulty than just punishment, skill, and strategy.
That was one of my frustrations with Expedition 33. I found the RPG elements (strategy) on their own easy, but I couldn't parry (skill) for shit. Except for some reason E33 has only one difficulty slider, so my only option was to make the already easy RPG even easier at the same time?
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
That was one of my frustrations with Expedition 33. I found the RPG elements (strategy) on their own easy, but I couldn't parry (skill) for shit. Except for some reason E33 has only one difficulty slider, so my only option was to make the already easy RPG even easier at the same time?
Like I said before, difficulty is multidimensional. Skill difficulty & strategic difficulty move along completely different axes. Players who are good at reflexes, rhythm, and coordination are not necessarily good at puzzles, planning, and technical understanding, and vice-versa.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Like I said before, difficulty is multidimensional. Skill difficulty & strategic difficulty move along completely different axes. Players who are good at reflexes, rhythm, and coordination are not necessarily good at puzzles, planning, and technical understanding, and vice-versa.
Team Cherry’s stated goal with the difficulty was to encourage the player to explore alternative routes, but the corpse runs and traps actively work against that, so I speculate that they've mixed up difficulty and punishment.
Silksong isn't the only recent hit that IMO has misunderstood difficulty
Silksong isn't the only recent hit that IMO has misunderstood difficulty
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Team Cherry’s stated goal with the difficulty was to encourage the player to explore alternative routes, but the corpse runs and traps actively work against that, so I speculate that they've mixed up difficulty and punishment.
Silksong isn't the only recent hit that IMO has misunderstood difficulty
Silksong isn't the only recent hit that IMO has misunderstood difficulty
Some N++ levels are absurd in their difficulty, especially when you're going for all the gold, but because losing costs nothing and restarting is instant, I stick with it, and I love it.
IMO, there wouldn't be half as much frustration at Silksong if it had just been less punishing.
IMO, there wouldn't be half as much frustration at Silksong if it had just been less punishing.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Some N++ levels are absurd in their difficulty, especially when you're going for all the gold, but because losing costs nothing and restarting is instant, I stick with it, and I love it.
IMO, there wouldn't be half as much frustration at Silksong if it had just been less punishing.
IMO, there wouldn't be half as much frustration at Silksong if it had just been less punishing.
Difficult games *don't have to be punishing*. In fact you can make games far more difficult when they're not, because players won't bounce off the game as quickly.
Look at N++. Despite my crappy reflexes and motor skills and the fact that it's a precision platformer, it's one of my favourite games.
Look at N++. Despite my crappy reflexes and motor skills and the fact that it's a precision platformer, it's one of my favourite games.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Difficult games *don't have to be punishing*. In fact you can make games far more difficult when they're not, because players won't bounce off the game as quickly.
Look at N++. Despite my crappy reflexes and motor skills and the fact that it's a precision platformer, it's one of my favourite games.
Look at N++. Despite my crappy reflexes and motor skills and the fact that it's a precision platformer, it's one of my favourite games.
Permadeath (in the absence of meta-progression, at least) is the ultimate punishment. But being set back to a checkpoint 15 minutes prior and made, through fear of losing yet more stuff, to replay the same segment of the game is also punishing.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Permadeath (in the absence of meta-progression, at least) is the ultimate punishment. But being set back to a checkpoint 15 minutes prior and made, through fear of losing yet more stuff, to replay the same segment of the game is also punishing.
Let's separate difficulty from punishment. If difficulty is the height of the hurdle, the punishment is how much it hurts your shins when you smack into it. It's the stuff that gets taken from the player, whether that's time or some in-game resource.
November 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Let's separate difficulty from punishment. If difficulty is the height of the hurdle, the punishment is how much it hurts your shins when you smack into it. It's the stuff that gets taken from the player, whether that's time or some in-game resource.