Do you think it would be better if my RPG is slightly too easy, or slightly too hard?

[Wade12345]

I'm making an RPG Game for pen and paper. I just want to know. I know Final Fantasy is popular for being too easy. I just want to know what you'd rather play with your friends in a vs gaem or a player vs environment game. is it more fun to be challenged, or more fun to just clobber some bad guys?

Slightly too easy is more fun

Slightly too hard is more fun

Updates

+1 y

I wanted the game to be "semi-realistic" so that if you get hit by a Sword or a Shotgun, there's a strong chance you're either dead or maimed.

Updates

+1 y

I posted a MYTake for the new RPG engine.

The old one I posted 2 days ago is too similar to the West End engine, so I made something new from scratch, and I think it will work better anyway.

[oh_k789]

If you want semi-realism, then you'll have to make the game seriously challenging.

[Wade12345]

In the current version, you start with 100 to 200HP, depending on how much you put in Vitality. A shotgun does up to 85 damage per hit and has +5 chance to hit, and a level 1 spell can kill you in one hit if it hits you.

The goal is to save up money and buy a Dragon Suit which keeps you alive a lot longer, and allows you to kill dragons and the bosses. The real game begins once you can afford to buy the dragon suit.

[oh_k789]

That's the old school of game design, in terms of challenge.
The point is, difficulty is like clothing sizes. No setting is intrinsically better, or worse. You need to choose what kind of player you want to play and enjoy the game.

(I am not exactly aware of what a +5 chance to hit is. +5... with respect to what?).

[Wade12345]

All actions involve a roll of 2d6 vs a base difficulty of 7. If there are difficulty modifiers, the difficulty could be higher than 7. Then you add your attribute modifier (attribute/3) to your roll. If your roll beats the difficulty, you successful. so +5 to hit is very goodd.

[Wade12345]

Here's my new RPG Engine. This is entirely my own, no similarity to any other RPG engine. This still needs to be organized more. ↗

[oh_k789]

I am unable to follow the details. However, choose what percentile of players you want to be able to enjoy playing, and design accordingly.

Of course, it's a marketer's lie that less challenging games "are for everyone". They are not for anyone who'd be suited by a higher degree of challenge. So it's just about choosing what level of player you want to play your game.
Then, after the challenge level is set, it's about offering that challenge in smart ways.

[007kingifrit]

hard gives people a reason to come back and grow. also a reason to explore the world to find new things to help them win

[Wade12345]

Yeah, I feel the same way.