The Escapist Bulletin: The n00b effect

Apparently Sega’s upcoming action game Bayonetta can be played one handed. Playing Bayonetta on Very Easy removes the need to control the character’s movements and lets the player focus solely on attacking.

Ignoring for a moment the wide range of jokes you could make about having a free hand while playing a game whose protagonist’s only nod to modesty is having incredibly long hair, it’s an interesting addition to a game that until now seemed to be firmly entrenched in the ‘hardcore' camp.

The natural reaction of the gamers in said camp was to roll their eyes with equal portions dismay and disgust. “Games are too easy now,” they intone sagely, “They were better when I was a kid.”

This hypothetical group of naysayers is forgetting two key points, however: firstly, that they’d have killed for an option like this back when they were playing Super Ghouls & Ghosts, and that Bayonetta’s Very Easy mode isn’t designed for them.

When your experience with video games stretched back so far that you have wistful memories of loading them from tapes, it’s easy to forget that the ability to play video games well is an acquired skill. You might be able to no scope an opponent from half way across the map with your eyes shut, but unless you’re some kind of gaming prodigy, that skill is the product of countless hours of practice.

It’s very easy to forget that video games have a pretty steep learning curve these days. Games might not be as difficult as they were twenty years ago, but they are so much more complex. A gamer with twenty or so years under his belt will have no problem with a DualShock 3, but to a neophyte modern controllers carry a dizzying amount of buttons on them and even moving around can be tricky.

It’s not hard to see what Sega’s thinking was with this new mode. The biggest success story of this console generation is the Wii, and at least part of that success is that its simple controls make it very accessible. Your dad might not be able to pull off a dragon punch, but he’ll kick your ass at bowling on Wii Sports every time because the controls are simple and intuitive even for a complete novice.

Sega is clearly hoping that making its game easier to play will help secure a wider audience. The only confusing part is why it chose Bayonetta to debut it in, as outside of gamers the market for Sarah Palin look-a-likes fighting the armies of Heaven has to be pretty slim. Bayonetta seems a little too potent to be a gateway drug.

It’s easy to scoff and mock when something like this comes around, but it’s important to remember that Very Easy modes aren’t for people like us - it’s for the people who see a controller for what it really is: a fairly complicated and specialist piece of entertainment equipment.

The next time a mean-spirited comment leaps to the tip of your tongue, try to remember that everyone is a n00b when they start.

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