[ALL] Proper usage of difficulty levels , dynamic difficulty

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Was having a convo today and it basically amounted to wondering what games actually have difficulty levels that actually change the game play enough that a noob and expert would actually end up having the same experience. As it stands the noob levels are such that sure a noob can get through but as they get to advanced stages the difficulty is still super easy and never really changes so as they acclimate to the game they just breeze right through never really challenged. On the flip side expert levels usually have you paranoid at the slightest touch of an enemy and you may often repeat certain parts over and over and over.

Are there any games that change difficulty dynamically that actually succeed at this ?

Weird question I know....

[Maynard]

im not sure i follow. most games play based on the level you choose. rookie will be super easy where as expert will be super hard all the way through.

most RPG have a difficlutly progression so as you level up, so do the enemies you face.

but i am not sure this is what you are driving at with the thread
?

[JayDizzle]

I know that the original God of War game would switch to a lower difficulty without asking if you died too many times.

As for dynamic stuff? Nothing on-the-fly that I've seen.

Just usually right before the main game like the prologue of COD 4 where depending on how well you did on the training course, the game would "suggest" a difficulty level to you.

[Houston]

Metal Gear Solid on the harder modes was a nightmare. Going up each level in difficulty they do things like take away your radar, give enemies a bigger vision cone, take away rations etc...but it works because it not only changes the way you play but it makes the game more about what it actually is, stealth.

A lot of games I've seen just go from you have to be semi-good at hack-n-slashing/shooting, to you have to be great at hack-n-slashing/shooting. But it's basically just the same thing.

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

im not sure i follow. most games play based on the level you choose. rookie will be super easy where as expert will be super hard all the way through.

most RPG have a difficlutly progression so as you level up, so do the enemies you face.

but i am not sure this is what you are driving at with the thread
?

The original Halo was supposed to adjust difficulty on the fly. So if you were getting curbstomped after 2 deaths or so they'd lower the amount of enemies in said area , on the other end if you were getting to certain points really quickly they added to the number of waves etc.

That was the concept but it never really worked out. I'm wondering mostly of any game has really accomplished this task.
Reason being difficulty level seems like a shortcut and a hindrance to story telling. Pacing and suspense are such big parts of any story telling medium I think Games are handicapped at the moment by this.

Like your mentioned RPGs are great on that respect because there's a natural progression other games can't emulate.