BIG TIME MASTER wrote:
I for one, cannot think of any way to make DKS more accessible to a broader range of people without detracting from the games defining characteristics. I'm a pretty good gamer, but I certainly struggled with DKS my first time. If, for the sake of the less abled gamers, the game had compromised its difficulty for me, like given me extra health after so many deaths, or gave me more hints, or better starting gear, or any of the myriad of ways to make the game more accessible, it would have been an entirely different experience. It wouldn't be an experience I cherish.
OP seems to be speaking about an ideal fantasy game, where every person of any skill level can pick up the game and enjoy it, but the hardcore types who play the game for its defining challenge find it as hard as ever. The only way to accomplish this is to have adjustable difficulty settings, and thats a whole different subject. There simply isn't a way to have DKS be accessible and retain it's integrity as well.
Again, the thing about accessibility is that it has very
little to do with the targeted core audience. If the accessibility design of a
product is executed well, then whatever features are implemented will be
features that are optional, and can be ignored by the originally targeted core
audience.
If after we spoke to the fallen knight in the Asylum a note
was pinned to the corner of the screen reading "Make your way to the boss
and then exit the asylum" and was accompanied by a floating marker that
guided you to where you need to go, that would help the unskilled bozos, but it
ruins the experience for the gamers.
I’m not implying that it needs to be that explicit or
outright. I’ll bite though: it would only ruin YOUR experience if you were
forced to use that feature. If that was the case, then blame it on bad design,
not the principle of accessibility.
If you got a handy dandy map at firelink and you could see
all the little nooks and crannies, you wouldnt feel any success in finding the secret
area with three chest. If you were hinted at not going into the catacombs
before you went in, you would lose the adventure of getting stuck down there
and feeling hopelessly screwed.
Again, this is an exaggeration. It doesn’t need to go that
far. And again, good accessibility design is always optional, so if you don’t
want a map, don’t use it.
If the crestfallen warrior’s statement about ringing the two
bells was jogged down in a journal, we wouldn't pay attention to what he was
saying and keep a mental journal in our own minds that keeps us thinking and
wondering about the game long after we are done playing it.
No, I don’t see how that follows. Whether you chose to just
keep it in your head, or just write it down on a piece of paper lying around
your room, good story design is what makes the player think about it long after
you are done.
And I’ve read that definition before. The problem is that
just looking at a simple dictionary fails the traditionally broader
understanding of the word when it comes to the business world (and the game
industry is a business, don’t you forget it).
And I’m not sure what you mean by asking me to find ways to
make a game accessible and inaccessible at the same time. That’s a clear contradiction,
and it’s based upon the common misunderstanding that one of Dark Souls key
strengths is its inaccessibility, which is not true. If Dark Souls was truly a
universally inaccessible game, NOBODY would ever be able to surmount it. Ever.