Let's be honest. What's the first thing you do when you hop on the internet. You're like, oh my god I'm gonna go be productive and learn something and it's gonna be awesome! And then you start to type in something that starts with... REDDIT. I dunno, all roads lead to Reddit.

Something magical happened tonight though, at 11:37 PM on Saturday night. My keyboard automatically typed 'R' (I should probably get that looked at) before I knew it, I was on the front page of Reddit. Clickin' like there ain't no tomorrow, but then, I saw it. Inspiration!

Clearly a comedy piece, I found many things about this interesting. First and foremost, it mentions video games as an art form. Let me repeat that, it's a piece of pop culture mentioning video games as an art form. I love that.

But more than that, I love the general concept of the joke. Exclusivity is something I love in video games. You put in the time to get good, you reap the rewards. You don't put in the time, or you just try to blast through it, you are denied.

Difficulty gating is one of my favorite things in video games. It's present in all games, from difficult puzzles in The Legend of Zelda series, to difficult encounters in Bioshock Infinite or World of Warcraft. In single player games it allows the player to find unique solutions to a myriad of problems. In multiplayer games, it allows a team to come together and play as a unit to complete a challenge.

I feel like I have stories to tell, that's what makes me want to make games. I see difficulty gating as a way to make sure that the players who are truly into the story are the players that are receiving the most benefit from the game; be it intrinsic or external motivation that drives them to complete the story, I wish to reward those who do.

Just an interesting post on the internet that got me thinking, I thought I would share it.

Austin