Fake Difficulty: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:flipsvillegrns3 3719.jpg|link=Super Mario Galaxy 2|frame|Gravity follows the arrows. Do you know exactly where to drop to be lined up with the little green star in the back? Neither do we.<ref>Here's a hint: the spin jump is your friend.</ref>]]

 

{{quote|''"This is one of the hardest games I've ever played, but for '''all the wrong reasons!'''"''|'''[[The Angry Video Game Nerd]]''', playing ''[[The Problem with Licensed Games|The Wizard Of Oz]]''}}

# '''The outcome of the game is influenced by decisions that were uninformed at the time and [[Lost Forever|cannot be undone]].''' (Unless the game is heavily story-based and unforeseen consequences of actions undertaken with incomplete information are legitimate plot elements, or the game offers some way of mitigating or eliminating those consequences.) A game that offers a [[Joke Character]] and is clear about the character's weakness has real difficulty. A game that [[Crutch Character|disguises a joke character as a real one]] has fake difficulty.

# '''The game requires the player to use skills or knowledge that are either [[Did Not Do the Research|incorrect]] or have nothing to do with the genre.''' A football game that requires you to describe the position that Jerry Rice played for a power-up is real difficulty. A football game that forces you to do multi-variable calculus in order to train your starting lineup is fake difficulty, not to mention just plain silly.

 

It is important to note that just because a gameplay feature is annoying and frustrating does not make it fake difficulty. For example, placing a large number of [[Invincible Minor Minion|invincible minor minions]] between the player and the [[Plot Coupon]] is extremely annoying, but they can be avoided by skilled movement - thus, the difficulty is real.

See also [[Fake Longevity]], [[Classic Video Game "Screw You"s]]. For its cousin, see [[Fake Balance]]. For the player variant, see [[Fake Skill]].

 

* [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard]]

 

== Difficulty due to technical aspects of the game ==

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