It's a real shame that so many games never get finished. I once read a stat once showing that only about 20-30% of all games ever get finished. Even in a relatively short game like Bioshock, which could be completed within 10 hours, the developers were thrilled that almost 50% of gamers actually reached the ending. Which is a shame, because so much effort from developers goes into creating a whole experience, and few people really get to enjoy the later levels and the full story. I can't imagine reading a book, or watching a movie and never getting to the end.  

However as the gaming industry expands beyond the core gaming market, an interesting trend is now happening. More and more games are touting features that aid gamers in actually completing the full game. While it's clear these new features are designed to help typical gamers who don't have the time or skills to complete a long and difficult game, it has some distinct benefits to all gamers.

Best of all, these new featuers don't dumb down the experience for more seasoned gamers, who can still play the game on harder settings. They do address the biggest reason why someone doesn't finish a game - Because at a particular point, you simply get stuck, and can't get pass a specific point. I know you experienced that before. I certainly have. What really made us here at The Kartel open our eyes to how revoluntionary this game design evolution has been was the recent release of New Super Mario Bros for Wii. The fact that you can let the computer take control of the game to help you finish a level sounded like a silly design decision, but in actual implementation, it's brilliant.

So we decided to highlight some innovative things that game developers are doing today that make games more accessible to more people, without the sacrifice of a great core experience. Quite frankly, we'd like to see more of these features in more games:

The Super Guide as Luigi (New Super Mario Bros. Wii)

Although the Mario series has already been labeled as one of the more challenging platform games around, this new Wii game ramps it up significantly after World 3. As is the case with many of the classic Mario games, if you lose all your lives in a stage, you are forced to go back and replay stages you've already beaten. Perhaps finally recognizing that Mario is enjoyed by a wide variety of gamers of varying gaming skills, Nintendo has introduced a new feature called "Super Guide." Basically, once you end up dying eight straight times, you can activate the Super Guide. A computer controlled Luigi then starts playing for you, and highlights how to play the entire level. Best of all, if you feel like you got a handle on it, you can then press any button to disengage the mode and continue where Luigi left off. It's an interesting dynamic added to the game and certainly a trend that was clearly made to iron out frustration levels for both casual and hardcore gamers.  

Lowering The Difficulty Setting Mid-Mission (Modern Warfare 2, Trine)

As I mentioned in my post-campaign article last week, with MW2 you're actually able to pause the game during the campaign mode and lower the difficulty setting if you get stuck. Most gamers will still have problems playing the game under the regular difficulty setting so this is certainly a nice feature. This type of feature encourages gamers to try their hand at a much more difficult setting, without feeling like they are locked into something they can't hack later on. Another great game, Trine, which  we recently reviewed, also had this feature. Which was great, because the end level was so difficult for many people, that without this feature, it seemed like many people would have simply given up. Best of all, gamers can then reset the game back to the more difficult setting once they feel more comfortable.

Ability To Purchase Hint Tickets And Lives (Zack and Wiki, Professor Layton)

Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure is one of the best games on the Wii. The game introduces a series of clever puzzles, all of which are tied together in one level. Some of these puzzles can take an hour or two to complete, which can be a long time to play through if you have to do the same level over and over again as you try to figure out how it works. Luckily, the game provides an in-game hint system, assuming the player has purchased the requisite hint tickets. By minimizing deaths and completing a level fast enough, your character will earn enough credits to buy these hint tickets in the game. You can also use credits to purchase extra lives in-game. A similar feature was also available in the Professor Layton puzzle games as well. By finding coins hidden around the level, you can use these coins to unlock 3 levels of helpful tips to try and solve puzzles. This sort of feature allows a gamer to balance the need to help vs trying to play the game to the best of their ability.

Dynamic AI Director (Left 4 Dead series)

This highly touted feature was really a key cornerstone of the game. The AI Director dynamically alters numerous things in-game. It'll change spawn locations of monsters, item locations, even the music based upon each player's current situation, status, skill and location, creating a new experience for each playthrough. Some emotional cues such as character communication and visual effects are other ways the AI can dynamically alter throughout a level too. For example, if your characters are weak and near-death, the game will usually ease up the amount of enemies heading your way and lower the music to a standstill. If your party is fully stocked and ready for anything, it'll begin to throw everything your way just to keep the excitement level high and output fast music. What makes this feature so innovative is that it all happens seemlessly, so that there is no break in gameplay. When you think about it, the act of dying in a game has become so commonplace that it has no emotional weight anymore. However, the near death experience is when the adrenaline starts pumping. By keeping players in that near death zone, Value has successful created one of the most suspenseful games of all time.

The "Very Easy Automatic" Mode (Bayonetta)

It requires a dedicated mentality to try and master highly complex combos for a game. Which instantly makes a host of games too complex for the average gamer to get into, ie. Ninja Gaiden, Mortal Kombat. What ends up happening is that some gamers simply use the same combo through the whole game and ever get to see some of the flashier moves. Platinum Games introduces a new gameplay mode for Bayonetta, which allows a relatively inexperienced gamer to jump in and play by using a simplified combo system. This allows the gamer to experience the over the top action, without the need to master the complexities of the game. Unlike the typical easy-medium-hard mode, this mode doesn't make enemies easier to kill, or give you extra health. It's about creating the illusion that you can still pull off complex moves instantly, thus exposing you to the intensity of the game the developers wanted you to. Considering how the studio created so many "wow" moments in the game, it seemed like they were intent on making sure the average gamer doesn't miss out on them.

 Developers should take note of some of these features or even tweak some of them enough to make every game's experience consistent throughout its entirety. Not only do they provide a sense of balance, but some games (like Left 4 Dead) can have their whole gameplay system centered around them. And maybe, just maybe, we might avoid more controllers being thrown at the wall.