Dynamic Difficulty Adjusting, “Flow,” and Making Gamers Feel Great.

Not Taking Sides

I’m writing this mostly because of the whole kerfuffle around Sekiro: Shadows die Twice, and whether or not FromSoftware needs to add an “Easy Mode.” Every time FromSoftware releases a new game this same debate comes up. I’m not going to take a side on the Sekiro Easy Mode debate, because FromSoftware has built its brand and reputation by making games that literally taunt players to win or die trying. Gamers with masochistic tendencies are free to enjoy the games. But the truth is, most of us gamers are not as good as we think we are.

Games are hard

The truth is that most games are incredibly hard, and there is the thing that game developers use to help and, in some cases guarantee that a player will win the game: Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment. This tool has been part of the game developer’s arsenal since at least 2001. Gamers have been playing “your mode,” not “easy mode” because of DDA in nearly every single player or PVE title you have ever picked up, no matter the platform or genre.

What is Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment?

Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment or DDA does not actually refer to the difficulty level you selected at the start of your game. The difficulty level sets the “minimum” and “maximum” of the difficulty, and DDA is the sliding scale between those two points to ensure that the game will remain challenging to play and…