looks like the “ban everyone all the time” solution didn’t quite pan out
I think it’s a psychological trap that people fall into when in charge of anything. Being overly punitive feels like doing something, when often a lighter touch would be healthier in the long run.
This happens with games, managers at work, parents with their kids, the justice system, or even moderation on forums like here or reddit.
This post looks like it was from 2018, so pretty early on in the game’s life.
I remember it. People would get banned for using emotes if someone reported that they felt mocked. And people would report players that weren’t using meta characters for “gameplay sabotage”, and they would occasionally be banned.
EVERY game feels less challenging these days, and it’s frankly disappointing.
I don’t think it’s simply that I have more gaming experience either - I think it’s that studios are trying to maximize engagement by making games easy enough for everyone and their dog to complete.
It’s become so rare that I really appreciate when a game (most indie or FromSoftware titles) actually presents itself as a challenge to overcome rather than “cutscenes between fetch quests”.