Difficulty IS Content! A conversation with @TheElectricUnderground

From difficulty being integral to a game's design, to speedrunning being best left to the sidelines, and even to the role of game reviewers in shaping casual discourse, a lot of ground is covered in this conversation with Mark of @TheElectricUnderground! Check out Mark's documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7RY0FHTI68 Look out for Mark's forthcoming video called "RPGs Need Scoring Systems" by subscribing to his channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Fwhzr1yeoQ84yC3Isd4Lg Clubhouse Conversations playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN70PQ8mAOvWg1_xB5HVrEmZwYPoDU4rx Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DDTJZytcZYfoizAj1LKNw 0:00:00 Introducing Mark! 0:00:10 More freedom = less expression 0:05:02 The pitfalls of speedrunning 0:15:15 Reviewers are not tastemakers 0:22:37 Reclaiming the example of Dark Souls 0:31:08 Difficulty IS content! 0:43:05 Games often don't know what they are 0:58:51 Teaching players the competitive mindset 1:10:39 Story shouldn't outrank gameplay! 1:20:25 Gamification has poisoned game design 1:39:04 Learning from the great works of the past 1:57:32 Great premises make for great experiences 2:08:56 Most settings and plots are not designed for games 2:19:15 Addressing replayability problems intelligently 2:28:54 Looking outside your niche; dynamic difficulty 2:46:19 We live in a very ironic culture 2:51:00 Closing words Visit The No-Frauds Club! Website: http://www.fraudsclub.com/ Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/s5SKBmY Thumbnail font is "a Autobus Omnibus" #Podcast #gamedev #Indie #stg #shmup