What Elden Ring Is Like For Someone Who Doesn't Play Games

[@razbuten]

We're back. For those interested, here is a link to a highlight video of part of my wife's playthrough of Elden Ring: nebula.tv/videos/razbuten-my-wife-beating-elden-rings-hardest-boss. Hope you enjoyed this little journey! Wishing you a happy old new years, and I will see you in the next one.

[@iddo12233]

"You must sign in to watch the video" Yeah, nah. Thanks though.

[@zenyth6]

happy new years!

[@chrisme]

Congrats!!! The baby you live with has figured out the function sleeping! :D

[@glatykoffi6672]

Can't wait to hear about how the kid you live with™ has been crucial to understand gaming

[@goodguykonrad3701]

Can't wait for the "How to raise a kid as a gamer" video essays to start rolling out

[@sairam71]

The fact that she even entertained this request of yours shows what a great trooper she is. Goals.

[@BasementMinions]

Right?! The whole I'm sitting here blown away at her sticking through a game she's frightened and stressed by for so long.

[@OswinPond]

It brings her thousands of dollars, it's not like she does that for free

[@kingchirpa]

That's real love right there.

[@denimchicken104]

@@OswinPond exactly lol. They are partners and this channel is their income. These videos build this channel.

[@HelloOnepiece]

the aternative is chagning diapers, e

[@NotYurAverageJoe]

That shriek of joy when she finally beats the Beastman on her own is the absolute essence of why people love these games and im so glad she got to experience that

[@DeterminedFC]

man the shriek of joy when she beat the asylum demon was way more satisfying

[@jordonbrewer2354]

@@DeterminedFC For me it was the panting afterward. Everyone has done that lol.

[@Mall_man_]

Swear that was me x10 when I beat the crucible knight and misbegotten warrior duo

[@AGamer20.]

Yea i heard about this, thats why i got elden ring. But when i faced the first boss after the giant and kept dying i thought it was a skill issue and after 3 hours i realised my equipment was too weak, wish they could have made it clearer tbh

[@Beelzeboogie]

I think this is why it's never clicked with me. I really pushed myself with Elden Ring and got as far as Renella but I never got a feeling of joy at beating a boss, it was just relief that I wouldn't have to do it again.

[@SaltSpirits]

the dichotomy of “Can you get me something to fight?” into immediately screaming and retreating is something that never leaves even the most veteran soulslike players

[@damobeck1]

Alright I just got a bunch of level ups and I’m ready to kill some shIIIT RANDOM BOSS RUN RUN RUN!

[@SnailHatan]

When you beat three bosses in a row no deaths and get absolutely rekt by a lanky junky with a sack ::(

[@ratmagic1774]

facts. A friend and I are playing a randomized elden ring run (both of us have beat the game 3+ times) and we made it to renalla's arena, where we walked all the way into the room, only to be greeted by a dragonkin (the blue lightning one) falling from the rafters directly on top of us

[@Volvith]

"I'm bored, give me something to fight!" Game: >eldritch abomination with more limbs than you have fingers and toes appears< _"... Nope, _*_not that."_* I swear, the amount of times i have, within seconds, gone from "why is this area so empty" to "i liked this area better empty" is staggering.

[@dakota9821]

@@Volvith 🤣

[@liambanning3674]

The squeal of joy near the end where she finally beats the beast man without summons really brought a smile to my face

[@LordPeinSama.]

That is the FromSoftware experience, the satisfaction of overcoming an obstacle that previously felt impossible, love that shit!

[@poakcastle]

Same I was so happy for her. It was pure glee!

[@504Trey]

Yea she plays the game even better than u

[@Abdokeko]

Kid will ace it and show him how it's done..

[@theBROWNbanditP]

It's crazy because I said, "That squeal of joy." our loud before I wanted to leave the comment, but yours was here. This comment also brought a smile to my face.

[@SynergistN7]

I'm late to this video but I'm cackling at the thought of your wife loading into the game, reading the first floor message she comes across that inevitably says 'try finger, but hole', and then thinks to herself 'ah, this is how the game will tell me its secrets' 😂

[@MYR_112]

Try Finger But Hole. -John Elden Ring

[@MondoCoasters]

​@@MYR_112 *Elden John

[@caravaneerkhed]

Congrats on the baby! Now in a few years you can run experiments on the kid to get the true non gamer experience

[@naktiluka]

Children also have great education potential, so it would be different. Although very interesting too!

[@sethsmusic2326]

@@naktiluka is there a better game to start educating a child than a souls game though?

[@lorlok623]

@@sethsmusic2326 UNDERTALE

[@greggaming0988]

Train the child.

[@abmeda]

in the near future: What Elden Ring is like for a new born

[@bradleypariah]

I love this series. My wife was very briefly into games (first Torchlight). I don't know how she got hours into the game without opening her inventory, but she asked me how she'd equip something she just found. I said, "Try pressing 'i'." Of course that opened her inventory and she was happy, but her mother (who was overhearing the conversation) was confused to the point of visible annoyance that I was able to suggest such a thing without having yet played the game myself. "And just *_how are people supposed to know that_*?" she asked, and it dawned on me that "common knowledge" is quite a misnomer. Gaming has a bar of entry, and hardly any gamers on earth recognize the "training" they've undergone.

[@Alex-fn7kj]

That right, out of that video, I have realise how much what I consider as natural or logic is actually pretty advance knowledge or skill, getting into a new game and instantly playing like if it had been a year already or answering question from people that play game I haven't touch seemed normal for me, but now I realised

[@EntertheFray1]

Sure, but absolutely everything has a bar of entry. You can't play chess without learning what the pieces do. You can't sew without learning how to thread a needle first. The question is whether it's more difficult than it needs to be. In your example, people are supposed to know that by looking at the controls for any game they play. Figuring out the controls for any game is the most basic of basic fundamentals. Even if someone forgets what the controls are, there's a page displaying the controls they can look at any time. I play mouse and keyboard left handed, so in your example, "i" for inventory isn't intuitive to me at all. I don't know what that is. "i" is actually my left strafe/move left keybinding. There is a point where people need to have the willingness to learn about how things work themselves. It can't all be the game itself.

[@feralAdy23]

Well said bro

[@elenafriese891]

@alargecorgi2199 "try hitting the escape key to find the keybinds" "What?"

[@OwlskiTV]

How does anyone supposed to know anything? Through teaching, practice, and learning. Anything someone learns, needs to familiarize themselves with the general basics to develop the skill. Anyone familiar with a certain profession will ofcourse have more knowledge on something (to the point of second nature) than someone who has zero experience. I think your mother-in-law forgot that aspect when it comes to learning.

[@ryemseptende]

Even though I am the one who bought a PS5 and a disc for Elden Ring, I am so glad my husband was the first one to play it. He handheld me through the Godrick soldier camp near Gatefront. After successfully eliminating the enemy group there, I had grasped most of the combat mechanics and was able to beat Margit eventually. Now this has become my favorite video game with more than 500 hours gameplay time and extra time on KZbin for learning boss movesets. Having never played a 3D action game before, without his coaching, I may have given up on the game and missed my chance to fully experience such a masterpiece.

[@scottr.7775]

That’s awesome. Welcome to the folds

[@AmericanRoads]

Your wife is so courageous, that she would attempt a "no level up run" on her VERY FIRST Elden playthrough. Kudos to her!

[@AlmostGrewMyHair]

She would have caught on a lot faster if she was genuinely interested in the game. Being uninterested results in not absorbing environments, menu details etc.

[@emermahdi5773]

Shes a spammer

[@dimic1777]

@@emermahdi5773 werent we all when we first started any souls game? :p

[@LukeSparrow221]

@@AlmostGrewMyHair Bad take

[@Klayperson]

@LukeSparrow lmao "bad take", as if that line alone is and actual contribution to the discussion 🤡 Next time you disagree with someone, try rubbing your two braincells together to come up with a reason for why, instead of just shitting on it ignorantly and acting like it's the other person's problem

[@Hydraas]

Your wife's screams of delight every time she beats a major hurdle are the best part of this series. I'm really glad you've helped her to enjoy playing games

[@BumboLooks]

I don't think she has any say in the matter lol.

[@dankusmemeus7093]

@@BumboLooks I doubt he forces her

[@Carriesue1982]

@@BumboLooks Actual women here, this is a gross generalization lol

[@BumboLooks]

@@nosuchuserhere Stop talking about yourself.

[@ratboygirl]

@@BumboLooks why are you commenting so much on this video? you're so negative. i see you in almost every thread. like are you being an asshole just bc you find it fun or?

[@kp29]

My wife picked Elden Ring as the first video game she ever played. She was mostly attracted by seeing me play on the TV. She would play while using my character which was overlevelled for Limgrave as I had already defeated Godrick. This enabled her to learn the controls without worrying about dying. Once she became good enough, I created a new character for her which was exactly the same which she had been playing earlier. This enabled her enough to enjoy the game. She is now at NG+ having defeated all bosses in Elden Ring. In fact, she's often more creative than a normal gamer (aka me). IMO, games tutorials are rarely for a non-gamer. The best way for someone to learn how to play a game would be to play an overlevelled character and actually enjoy the mechanics for a bit before starting from scratch.

[@halvorson566]

I forget which game, but I remember playing one that had the beginning as you playing as the end game character basically. This was years ago, so I doubt I’ll remember which one it was r could google it.

[@jakehunt3392]

So 7 years later she was slightly having fun 💀

[@Anti-Mafia420]

​@Halvorson Many games do this 'reset phenomenon' where they make the MC of the game go through a story event where they lose their powers/skills/gear/abilities in some way. My favorite example of this is God of War 2 (PS2) where Kratos starts the game as a full blown God, but loses it in the first scene . Edit:typo

[@XB0XVIDz]

​@@halvorson566bioshock infinite?

[@ryuunosuk3]

"The best way for someone to learn how to play a game would be to play an overlevelled character and actually enjoy the mechanics for a bit before starting from scratch.", interesting point. Like in God of War II and III when you start with strong specs and lose it later.

[@nightshadehelis9821]

I'm a non-gamer. I bought an Xbox and this game for something to do while recovering from a massive surgery because I heard it was so good. I had never even heard of Fromsoft. Long story short, I'm addicted. This was the most frustrating and amazing experience of my life

[@CouscousEnjoyer]

Beat it yet?

[@maximilian2843]

@@CouscousEnjoyer +1

[@meekaboi]

This is one of my favorite series. Those of us who grew up with gaming find most of the mechanisms second nature, and we come to expect most of the tricks/limitations/gameplay loops/etc. Hearing your wife's takes (and oftentimes understandable confusion) is always interesting, and the way the narrative is framed always works really well.

[@marcinolszewski4061]

When elden ring just came out I was lost finding stuff I could beat like his wife luckily I had youtube to show me dungeons and classes to build

[@Kris-wo4pj]

@@marcinolszewski4061 for all fromsoftware games i use fextralife wiki guides. step by step instructions with strats for bosses and tells me how to do npc quests and find items. sure its fun to explore but i found myself hating dark souls until i found those guides.

[@Marinealver]

I think she has been familiarized enough with video games that she can't be considered a non-gamer. A casual, absolutely but video games are no longer alien to her.

[@hazelcrisp]

@@marcinolszewski4061 Isn't that kinda the opposite point of a game. Using KZbin to find answers and not figuring it out yourself?

[@lamvutran9345]

​@@hazelcrisp The point of every game is to have fun with it, and your idea of fun doesn't necessarily translate into other people "fun". If you find finding stuff out yourself is engaging, then even more power to you. Other might simply find fromsoft obscure game design frustrating and too time consuming to navigate, but maybe they love the combat or the boss design so much that they still want to play the game, albeit with a bit of external support.

[@noahkirschtein8169]

i actually didn’t expect this series to ever make a comeback, but here we are. she has suffered through elden ring.

[@swordmonkey6635]

A triple A game: $60 The shout of glee as someone you love defeats her first boss on her own: Priceless.

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

For everything else, there's Mastercard.

[@onjah7773]

Took the words out of my brain

[@leonro]

$70 now, and gpus by themselves are approaching the "priceless" tier

[@taytawr3097]

It was 80 for us in Canada but it coulda been 160 cause I’ve spent over 90 hours and I haven’t beaten the game yet that’s why these games are amazing

[@andrew5222]

nintendo sitting in the corner making a sub-par elden ring wannabe game: "...$70."

[@Fire-bj5vc]

Elden ring really helped me overcome my panic button pressing. Never got through these games, but I think I can finish this. I actually beat Radahn ! (Unfortunately he has been nerfed)

[@DingoFlexa]

That nerf mainly fixed aspects of the fight that were not intentional, Like hit boxes. so your victory is none the less than a pre nerf victory!

[@besenbesen7081]

@@DingoFlexa nah bruh , its not only the hitboxes , they nerfed the damage and health so much its insane. He was a tanky boy.

[@DingoFlexa]

@besenbesen7081 read the patch notes. No hp reduction happened, and he was only "nerfed" for 3 weeks by accident, and it only affected his damage. Then, they set him back to base besides the adjustments to hitboxes

[@kaden-sd6vb]

Same dude, I'm on my second playthrough, and I barely panic mash anymore. I've been challenging myself to try and do bosses summonless this time around. I'm running a str-fth build with godslayer's greatsword. Doing things summonless feels so good when I pull it off I did have to cheese the divine tower godskin apostle to get the greatsword tho(rot breath and getting it stuck on a pillar)

[@dog771]

@@kaden-sd6vb was elden ring your first game of this kind? (not souls specifically, but like 3D action in general)

[@0MidnighttheDragon0]

man...the sheer JOY in her voice upon finally going back and beating the asylum demon. That was heartwarming in a way I can't described. It sounded like she was almost in tears from going back to conquer such an impossible task with what was now (in comparison) relative ease.

[@nicholaspatella]

so true. I thought she was about to cry there

[@Glados1080]

I agree that shit was adorable, and made me happy that people who even don't play games too much can experience the feeling of destroying bosses you once thought impossible.

[@fcukgogle9213]

I think there was no greater joy then defeating a raid boss in an MMO with all your guildies, the amount of time you spend trying to defeat a single boss can be demoralizing by my gosh, that moment when it's down is the best feeling ever...

[@vinzo0913]

I had this joy last week; Slave Knight Gael was my Asylum Demon. I'd been bested no less that 216 times, and had been stuck since the day after ringed city's release, and then... the heavens aligned. He went down and... I woke up my housemate with my sheer yell of joy...

[@originalSiiiN]

i cried hearing it! takes me back to being a kid and never giving up on myself until i could finally beat whatever game i was playing and struggling with

[@riderofangmar4667]

Having never played a souls game and going in blind, I chose the wretch class and immediately picked a fight with big golden horsey boi. And after 4 hours of fighting him with my little club, the game finally got it through my thick skull that I couldn’t just walk around expecting victories. 10/10

[@Vynirian]

I applaud the sheer girth of those balls, my gamer.

[@CrazyandLazy]

Similar. I spent so much time until I beat horsey with a spear. Spears are too op.

[@Unknown-qr7mj]

yeah boi. i still didn't kill him. My first soul game pick up the prisoners was so much harder than i expected lol.

[@apersonontheinternet8006]

@Unknown-qr7mj Bait him to chase you towards the cliff then force him to run off it during his rush attack.

[@johnathanblackwell759]

Get bow, buy arrows and make arrows, snipe from chruch once you have torrent it makes it easy to climb

[@wraphs]

ah man, my eyes got teary when she beat the boss with the warrior it's so good seeing other people happy by overcoming their struggles in from games

[@condorX2]

It's so weird hearing a gaming nerd talks about the wife in third person. It would looks more real if the two of you have your own cameras on the bottom corners. All those fake comments and like aren't fooling anyone. 😑

[@kenesawthornley6462]

@@condorX2 idk, maybe I'm missing something here an taking your comment too literally. But in the event i'm not, I hope I can shed some insight on potentially why the narration is done in this style. It's a retrospective narration, meaning that while he does weave in thoughts and actions from the actual time of the event, his words and thoughts are predominately coming from his review of the data and gameplay after all was said and done. This allows for more time to be given to the details and makes noticing the little things easier. It's a very common speech style in acadamia, and is generally accepted there as one of if not best way to scutinize findings. For a personal example, I used to take the FPS game PUBG very, very seriously. I used aim trainers and watched game play of professional streamers to learn from them. One thing that stood out as the most impactful though, was reviewing my game play after a match. I would record every game, and then afterwards I'd go back and look for anything I could have done better. Win or lose it didnt matter. It was the concious review and detailing of data that was important. The same is being done in these videos. Instead of just going through the experiment and taking notes in the moment, his speech style entails he likely went back through all the video and audio reviewing it in minute detail.

[@ChrisM-bn5vr]

@@condorX2 Lmao are you really suggesting this isn't really his wife and it's some random guy who took some other womans playthrough and pretended it was his wife? Are you delusional buddy? Seriously please take your schizo meds. This game has sold 20 million copies, obviously some players are going to have wives, not every gamer is a basement dwelling loser who can't get pussy. Not to mention the reason he's talking about his wife in 3rd person is because he's narrating over this video after it's all been filmed, that's how videos like this work, it's a video essay about his wife learning Elden Ring. It's funny how you say "you aren't fooling anyone," when you're the only person stupid enough to actually think this whole video is fake.

[@paige080298]

i love her

[@7mikeyortiz7]

Sure sure. Everyone’s talking about how awesome your wife is for trying elden ring. But not enough people are talking about how incredible this video was written! In less than 30 minutes you managed to (again) make me root for someone I have hardly any information on and GOT THE CHILLS when she beat the boss! Well done to the both of you for another incredible video.

[@yesdude3914]

"My wife is kinda stupid, doesn't play games and can't understand the mechanics, which means those mechanics are annoying" is all I've heard him say so far

[@shizbisquit]

@@yesdude3914 wait what

[@7mikeyortiz7]

@@yesdude3914 try watching the video with sound. You might hear something different 😂

[@ahall9839]

@@7mikeyortiz7 Now there's just some aw tis tick youtuber voice that says every sentence with the exact same annoying cadence, and slurs any word over 2 syllables like a toddler

[@rtemiccc]

As someone who has been interested in Elden Ring since it came out because of the world and lore but was greatly intimidated because of the game's difficulty ( I'm really bad at video games), this video kind of encourages me to maybe give the game a try

[@Crybaby-Media]

You really can take your time, and build up your character. I’m sure you’ll do fine

[@yanki66000]

with the help of some youtube tutorial, i'm sure you will be able to beat the elden ring, you can be overpowered if you know how to. The game is amazing, please enjoy it.

[@mateuszsotys3912]

Try it, it's great. Just pick a class that starts with a shield (preferably a vagabond or maybe confessor for more healing), my friend recently started and had a really hard time until I gave him an acceptable shield. And don't despair if something is too hard, this game really encourages "go somewhere else and come back later". Good luck and have fun :D

[@captain_penguin3998]

I would highly recommend it. It has so many tools that make it more accessible than the other fromsoft titles, such as the spirit ashes shown in this video. The wolves aren't your only option, you'll find so many cool ashes to help you out in boss fights. Magic has never been more varied and fun to use. The open world allows you to go wherever you please without getting hard stuck on a certain level or boss. Use any guides online to help you out, and I'm sure you'll enjoy the game.

[@danilotoshiosirashigueruiz4312]

I was also like that, but i played It and It was worth it

[@Jkb2002]

As a game dev student, I think these videos are very interesting. It is nice to see what kinds of features that are needed to possibly guide newer players better. I think these videos are good resources to see very explained frustrations and what works and doesn't for people who don't know other things that gamers might already know

[@renzuki5830]

If you havern't seen them I highly recommend the talks on game design by chris wilson (path of exile). He basically says that improving their new player experience had 0 impact on their player retention and they only kept improving it because "it seems to make sense". Lesson being here that it's important to keep the audience in mind and I would not be shocked if one would observe a similar effect for souls-type games. If you show up to be murdered 100s of times it may not distract you to learn a ps/xbox keybinding or getting lost a little. It may just shuffle the point in the game a person quits around.

[@PainterVierax]

@@renzuki5830 yeah those kind of games don't attract newbies/casual players. But even for an intermediate audience it's always a good thing to design different difficulty paths and properly notice players. Although I don't see an issue to not finish a game because it's too challenging. My 30 years gaming experience is full of unfinished titles that gave me good memories nonetheless.

[@ratboygirl]

the yt channel Game Maker's Toolkit is a good resource too i think :) i'm not a game designer but i enjoy their vids a lot!

[@Scorch052]

@@renzuki5830 This is very true, but there are also countless games with a learning curve that fans would argue can take a while to really "click" for players, and thats not always clear to the new players trying those titles. While its obviously important to make sure you're not dedicating resources to a fleshed-out tutorial noone wants, its just as, if not more, important you aren't losing players who otherwise would have loved the game to esoteric design and unclear mechanics.

[@Matruchus]

Even if you are a gamer it can still be very hard if you try a different genre then you usually play. I have tons of games I wanted to play and abandoned them when I had huge issues progressing. At some point it becomes just frustrating and boring in some games making you stop to play.

[@kokopup]

This is so refreshing to watch knowing I’m not the only person who had the struggles as your wife did. I just picked up this game and into my 3rd week playing. Having access to the summons gave me confidence to continue playing and enjoy the process. My friend would come on and help me kill big bosses that I struggled with but since he can’t always be there to bail me out, the alternative was having summons. I just finished killing the fire giant after trying hours at night until I decided to try it again the following morning and successfully do it. It’s such an accomplishment. I have the same reactions to triumphs as your wife does.

[@mtchllBarrett]

Lady: gives birth to an entire child Lady: finally gets some sleep Raz: time to play elden ring

[@googiegress]

Raz: *attaches controller to her hands with duct tape*

[@basilisk4848]

Behold, child! Therefore, Elden ring!

[@Dr_goman]

@@basilisk4848underrated

[@flyingskyward2153]

I love her happy squeals on defeating bosses 😄

[@jacobshirley3457]

It gives me some ASMR vibes, too.

[@Xanthelei]

They reminded me of my college days, hearing 9 other people all cheer when we finally killed a raid boss that had been stalling us for a month and a half. It's such a great feeling, I like hearing someone else get to have it too.

[@notachance3444]

I’d like to hear her squeal in real life

[@lena.lk9817]

@@notachance3444 U are making an idiot of yourself with that disrespectful comment.

[@Buggolious]

@@jacobshirley3457 it does not

[@calypso.s]

As a girl I wasn't allowed to play much for video games growing up. Games were always something that always intrigued me, but I was always told "no" because I was a girl, and then later "no" when I was a teenager because I was "too old" for them I didn't get to start gaming until a couple years ago. In the past 2 years of buckling down and diving into gaming I followed a journey not unlike your wife's in this series you've been doing. I tried "approachable" games that were recommended to me only to find them entirely non-intuitive and unapproachable. The only games that really made sense to me on first play were the likes of Animal Crossing and Minecraft. However, something about gaming continued to stick with me, and I kept powering through and playing more games. I *wanted* to get good at gaming. I even went straight into Elden Ring when it came out, which was probably the most foolish thing I've ever done. It was also the *best* thing I could have done for myself. Over the past 2 years of pushing forward, I owe games like Skyrim, Final Fantasy 14, and Elden Ring my life. I now play Souls games quite a lot, and I think I've gotten pretty good (I also started with Bandit in Elden Ring, but I actually have kept that class and really, really love DEX builds). It's been an endlessly rewarding experience. I say all this to point out the fact that not everyone gets to learn how to play games from an early starting point. I've seen a lot of nasty words thrown at people who enjoy simpler games like Animal Crossing because those "aren't REAL games" or in playing them you're "not a REAL gamer", but everyone has to start somewhere. Games are not intuitive for people who haven't touched them before, and we should be encouraging and welcoming with open arms. You never know who's going to Get Good. It took me less than 2 years to go from playing Minecraft to beating Souls bosses--proof that you can start anywhere at any time, and enjoy gaming the way you want to. (And honestly, if you just want to stick to AC or Minecraft, do it--there's no shame in playing what YOU want to play.) Congrats to your wife, she did something amazing. It's such a good feeling to defeat a boss in a FromSoftware game.

[@Yuvraj.]

Welcome to the club, fellow gamer 😅🎉🎉

[@misamisaa4547]

The 'no, you're a girl' really hits... At home baby me wasn't allowed video games because mom believed that I'd go from straight As to failing all my classes if I even looked at a computer on a weekday (except when working on school assignments) & when I visited my (male) classmates for their birthdays, I was always told to go hang out with the girls (that I didn't get along with 'cuz most of them were bullies)... Well my brother got himself an emulator & collection of main line pokemon game roms up to Black & White & gave me a copy. Back then both of us combined barely understood basic English so that resulted in him using cheats for lv 100 pokemon while I figured out what potions do & instead used cheats to make all my encounters shiny xD I stuck with emulator roms all the way until I went to college & then used the money I got from a part time job to get myself a 3ds & then a switch :3 If all goes according to plan, I should get myself a play station by the end of the year ^^

[@douglasfels9789]

To both Calypso and Misa Misaa, congratulations on getting past the 'girls are icky' little boy gatekeepers. Though a member of the often intellectually underwhelming and short sighted gender, I have always wanted more female participation in gaming and am glad it's really taking off. Congrats!

[@elliotclark8592]

As a Minecraft player I find it interesting you found it intuitive early on. Did you commonly have to watch videos or read wikis or did it just make sense?

[@calypso.s]

@@elliotclark8592 Minecraft is an intuitive game in the sense that it's obvious that you gather items in order to craft more items in order to gather more items. The gameplay cycle (sans nether/end stuff) is pretty easy to grasp. Games that are just gathering, crafting, and farming sims tend to be easy to free-play. I know some people think they have to play Minecraft to the "end game" of it, but that's not really what I'm talking about when I speak of my introduction to the game--something like defeating the Ender Dragon also was never what really appealed to me. I referenced the wiki really just for information on certain mobs and crafting recipes early on. Basically what I mean when I say it's intuitive is that there is no reason to google how to play the game in order to understand that gathering items yields the ability to craft, killing animal mobs gets you food, and so on.

[@jarettbousquet4701]

Part of the issue might be that the daggers are probably the hardest weapons to use in this game. They aren’t really viable unless you master going for critical hits which is difficult.

[@craigslaunwhite579]

Absolutely agree. Bandit class as a start is not the best “learning” tool to start with. Vagabond, Hero or Samurai are substantially easier to start with.

[@okguzelce]

YEAH. I wish he at least encouraged her to use a sword and a regular shield. That would have made things much more bearable...

[@imo098765]

@@okguzelce Isnt that the point, to let her choose something We all know picking the dagger is a higher skill build, but she didnt. At some point during the video we all thought he should let her change her weapon or starting class However that demonstrates how something as simple as picking the wrong class made her experience 10x worse than it should've been

[@noahburton2729]

Hearing her excitement after beating the boss was AWESOME. I absolutely love to hear people's excitement after accomplishing hard tasks like that!!

[@EphraimGlass]

Right!? When she beat the Beastman on her own, that was when I hit the like button.

[@MommysGoodPuppy]

thats what soulslikes are all about

[@TheGrinningViking]

Same! This is what dark souls fans are always talking about when we say "get gud" - people just need to practice and they can do it, and it's such a good feeling when you do! It warmed my cold cold heart to see her succeed. 🫀

[@slimetank394]

@@TheGrinningViking most of the time "get gud" is just asserting superiority tho.

[@TheGrinningViking]

@@slimetank394 Nah. Well, I can't speak universally but it's not that way for me. It's that most people complaining about difficulty won't even try, so it's hard to put in the effort. This is especially true since I've been gaming for over 20 years at this point, nearly 30, and the fact that nearly every new game seems to feel the need to pander to someone picking up a controller their very first time means there's not a lot of mainstream games that can actually engage me on a challenge level. So, ya know, if you think dark Souls or Elden Ring is too hard - git gud or get out. Beginning players have essentially every big new game catering to them, they can give us just this one. Not everything needs to be for everyone. How bland and terrible would it be if everything was designed to be baby's first game? Or how few people would get into games at all if they were the kind I enjoy? I'm glad there's theres a range of difficulties, it feels like some people want every game to be for them though - and those people gotta just git gud before they wreck up the things I like.

[@HeartlandHunny]

When I saw that she was starting as the Bandit, I immediately thought, “Oh, no!! No, not that class!!” 😂 I’m glad you went back and had her play as a better beginning class. Also, congrats on the baby!

[@paleposter]

I was also a first time Souls gamer with ER (though experienced enough in other games) and Bandit was def a hard start lol.

[@doodlemaster5406]

I chose bandit and now I’m 25 hours in and I just beat the lionine misbegotten

[@edwardnewtonLA]

Elden Rings was my first proper Dark Souls and my friends let me start as a wretch. Elden Ring taught me a lot, but what it taught me most is I don't actually have friends, I have a collection of gleeful onlookers.

[@HeartlandHunny]

@@edwardnewtonLA 😂 Oh no!

[@111rapton]

@Doodlemaster bandit fine, but if you are beginner vagabond or hero more straightforward

[@mannmann314]

Im on like a 2 month hiatus from ER and seeing her enter limgrave made me really excited to return. I forgot how beautiful this game is

[@FiendDrow]

As a long time Souls player, your wife is a trooper and I have absolute respect for her learning the game. The community has a reputation for "git gud" but personally I love to see new blood learn and grow in these wonderful games.

[@coopy5]

That's very nice to hear.

[@derpderpin1568]

That's what 'gitting gud' literally is. It's peoples fault they take the term so offensively when it's completely harmless.

[@Mintteacup_]

@@derpderpin1568 it's not.

[@joedwyer3297]

@@Mintteacup_ it is though. Its from the fact that noone has a chance with these games until they put the time in and get good

[@meh6513]

@@derpderpin1568 well if i say just learn rocket science just learn philosophy just learn gaming it isnt constructive because it doesn't help you... "Just practice" or "just put time in" the noob who usually had school or work and thus A LIFE there is an invisible time limit and if depending on the experience of said noob in gaming they might not realize learning skills in games isnt a waste of time since the sense of accomplishment is satisfying but for something like Minecraft PVP you can put 100s of HOURS in game in multiplayer in pvp mini game servers and still not learn anything not gain any satisfaction...skills in game need to be intuitive enough for the player to learn...YES if you get lucky or simply take inspiration from past gaming or even life experience then you might learn faster BUT if you don't have that then you might and quite possible won't ever learn enough to have a satisfactory use of their time... Completing Mario Maker map that are highly technical are examples of skills that are unintuitive to learn and most quit...simply git gud likely won't help you or someone else depending on what knowledge and experience and skillsets they had previously... TL;DR Basically "git gud" isn't inherently bad as if they complain that game is bad even though all they did was look at colors and art and didn't attempt to get good or learn skills so yes advice that "getting good" is a goal in a game to achieve much more satisfaction...but many times people will ask "How to win/How to get good" and get the response just win/get good/be pro/learn faster as if the response was supposed to do anything but a little trolling or just make fun of the noob for not having a certain level of skill basically shaming them for not learning as if they simply desiring to get good will magically make them the same skill level of the person giving advice when in reality if it took 1 hour a day for a year for one player the noob would like need 365 hours to get to the same skill level of the adviser...so very great advice 🤓👆

[@crystalshard1349]

It's always so endearing to hear your wife's child-like joy in playing a videogame when beating a challenge and frustrations when losing. It reminds me of how players will generally try to find the path of least resistance or the path of the most fun for them

[@aylbur]

@@BumboLooks oh stop being such a killjoy. enjoying things doesn't make you a bad parent

[@PapaDalbec]

@@BumboLooks what kind of tarded comment was that? Delete yourself.

[@BumboLooks]

@@aylbur True, through school I knew one parent couple that lived on welfare due to low IQ but it didn't matter because the school was teaching their child everything anyway.

[@BumboLooks]

@@PapaDalbec Nah sorry dude, cannot do.

[@PapaDalbec]

@@BumboLooks Well, it was worth a shot, I respect your mental fortitude.

[@middenway]

That final comment about her heart rate being through the roof is me. Most games make me way too anxious, and I end up getting hand cramps from squeezing the controller too hard (and inadvertently pressing the wrong buttons too). She really needs to try out something like Chrono Trigger, much more mellow and lets you play at your own pace.

[@drewcipher896]

For me it helps if I try to think of souls games as rhythm games like Patapon or Guitar Hero. Takes some of the shock out of getting hit or dying.

[@robroskey6515]

I actually really miss that, not such much over stressful games but over games that are supposed to be scary, I'm so desensitized to games now, my heart rate barely picks up even for tough souls like bosses anymore which is a good thing for me but in horror games that used to make me feel scared like dead space first time through wouldn't even make me nervous now. The callisto protocol wasn't any more scary to me than playing super Mario bros. It takes a lot, like maybe outlast might get me a little now but i really miss that about gaming. It's something i rarely experience now

[@gchungus]

Do you have any other recs for low anxiety games? I want to enjoy games, but any time I run into enemies I panic and sweat and feel tired from the crahs 🫠

[@middenway]

@@gchungus I'm always gonna recommend Journey. Its emphasis is on atmosphere with minimalistic controls. Gorgeous music and it's a short, condensed experience. Final Fantasy VI is great if you want a longer game. Its my personal favourite from that series. Unfortunately, the newer games go for more action focused battles, which aren't as much fun to play.

[@guyvermearns]

I have never heard of anyone talking about them spirit helpers before, and that's the single most reason I am going to attempt to play elden ring. I've wanted to try it but it always seemed far too difficult for my level of gaming. Fantastic video and so great to hear how pleased she was with overcoming the challenges!

[@holyknightthatpwns]

I'm really glad you had her play as another class. As I was watching her play, I almost immediately thought she played like a heavy weapon fighter and not a bandit

[@SphygmosProductions]

I was hoping she would try out a magic class as well. Astrologer is very approachable and was my favorite class.

[@akshyun8920]

This sounds like a horrible experience, which is to say it's gonna be amazing.

[@pseudoscientist8010]

Hard pass

[@hikarihakai1285]

@@pseudoscientist8010 lmao it funny how salty you are with all the comment you make

[@pseudoscientist8010]

@@hikarihakai1285 lmao you don't like my opinion.

[@Sercotani]

@@pseudoscientist8010 that's obvious, but it's also chuckleworthy.

[@sfglim5341]

@@pseudoscientist8010 you’re not a very bright person are you?

[@reshift2245]

"how long did it take me to do that last time?" "You didn't do that last time" that was adorable. Hopefully your wife does recognize her progression. Good job 👍

[@reshift2245]

As a side, I remember learning most of my game skills from PS2 ratchet games and Lego star wars. I think those gamea are really manageable to new players, and have a lot of spectacle to reinforce the love of games

[@zacheryeckard3051]

@@reshift2245 Ratchet and Clank *absolutely* was a skill-building series for be.

[@TheTolnoc]

I like starting Bandit just because that knife does good backstabs, and having a bow right away is so good for sniping out certain enemies.

[@latch909]

As someone who grew up without gaming at all this series has been great. Built my first pc (at 37y) last year. Has been really fun but often super baffling. I frequently have no idea what I’m meant to be doing and resort to watching play-throughs (oh I’m meant to push THAT box?) Over the year some of the conventions are becoming more apparent and thus my enjoyment is increasing.

[@arekb5951]

I envy you. I'd like to start over. Those conventions are getting boring when multiple games use them. For me the first 4-5 years of gaming were the best because a lot of things felt original (and also 5 years of difference in game making in early 2000s was way more significant than it is now). Nowadays most new games feel to me like a mix of a number of other games I have already played. Cherish those moments and have fun.

[@HladniSjeverniVjetar]

@@arekb5951 Yup, you reach a point where the only thing you got is applying the stuff you learned in game IRL. And you can actually do it.

[@FuhzyLiquids]

Born in 96 here. If you think modern day games confused you at times. You should have seen games on like the 64 n super Nintendo and gen 1 Xbox n PlayStation. Games showed no mercy and didn't hold ur hand for shit. No hints no tutorials n shitty checkpoints. There were games I had never beat since the internet wasn't a thing and I couldn't look up guides on what to do.

[@FarikoWishless]

@@arekb5951At that point for me it became about stories or coop with friends as difficulty is 3rd for me but I like a challenge and most challenges are trial and error or breaking past your own physical hang ups. Another thing for me that is more me than my friends is I like playing competitive games sometimes and feeling myself get better than others or learning something super unnecessary to play but for the sake of fun. For example in Apex if your aim is amazing and you know basic strafing you’ll be fine but the better strategist you are the better overall. But there’s ANOTHER optional layer. The movement Tech people find out that’s extremely optional and borderline isn’t supposed to exist but we keep it because it’s fun. The sheer speed and watching others not good at it fail to beat you is just fun 😂

[@da_roachdogjr]

Some games are better than others for begginers, after you get how tutorials are structured its easy to get used to any game

[@ericestrada3530]

I love how after she switched from one of the worst starting classes in both Elden Ring and Dark Souls to objectively the best ones (Vagabond in ER and Warrior in DS) she had a much easier time dealing with the bosses, just goes to show how much of a difference starting stats make lmao

[@tempest3052]

Isn't the Samurai technically the best class starting class in Elden Ring? It has a bleed weapon, great weapon art, a small shield parry, and a bow.

[@QueuRol]

@@tempest3052 The "tank-iness", and the decent damage the Vagabond can put out (with a pretty nice reach on the sword, too) make it the definite best choice for new players, and generally experienced players as well. If you're very experienced with souls-like games, then yeah, it probably is the best. But if you think about it from the standpoint of both survivability + damage, and not just damage, then the Vagabond is by far the best starting class in Elden Ring.

[@fourcgames7568]

@@tempest3052 It 100% is, but only if you're somewhat experienced with souls games. A new player is extremely unlikely to make a good use of a weapon art and they may not even use it once, because they will likely just spam light attacks. And I don't think that I need to explain why new players won't make use of parries at all, right? The bleed weapon is cool, but then again, I don't think that a new player will make use of it, because they won't be able to hit the boss enough in a quick succession to proc the bleed (in fact, they won't even understand how bleed works). So while the Samurai is the best starting class for experience players, the best one for beginners is no doubt the Vagabond. The tankiness, the shield with 100% physical negation and the decent sword is the best that a new player can ask for.

[@daniilkolpakchi458]

@@BlakeN-o6l it is the worst though, unless you immediately shove that dagger up your dirty hole

[@thedoomslayer5863]

It's why sekiro imo is superior. No stats. You just learn the core mechanics and that's it.

[@5001Fergies]

That shriek of joy when she finally beat the boss on her own is exactly what i think these games are made for, there’s no better feeling than knowing that you accomplished a seemingly impossible task through hard work and determination alone. It makes you feel like you could do anything you put your mind to, even in real life. And i think thats the best lesson to take away from these games: if you keep trying and believe in yourself even in the face of overwhelming odds, you can accomplish things you never thought possible

[@nvrndingsmmr]

Best comment. Agreed!

[@VaultOfTheFuture]

Factsssssssss

[@andremalerba5281]

And that's exactly why I dislike the genre LOL I play to past time and have fun after a stressful day and worried about life and stuff! The last thing I want is to get me ass kicked when I should be relaxing and have to put A LOT of effort on it!

[@mikeb4822]

@@andremalerba5281 I'm pretty much the same but I wouldn't say I dislike the genre. I can totally appreciate everything that's great about it and why a lot of people (like my son) love it while at the same time accepting that it just isn't for me.

[@Matty002]

@@andremalerba5281 dont forget about people with illnesses/disabilities where precision gameplay is physically demanding of hands and mental reaction times its hard to enjoy a hard game when its physically hard to play

[@lazynoodle6739]

When she was panic fripping the controller and mashing vuttons whenever there is combad,I felt seen. It's been a huge problem for me whenever there was combat in ganes - I just get very anxious and rush it, often taking contact damage as a result. As a occasional game player who gets overwhelmed with fast paced combat,big mood

[@vanlichtinstein]

I feel this 100%. I played through Dark Souls 1 as a kid and couldn't get past the gargoyles before the first bell. About 1-2 years ago I had some friends run me through DS3 and then I solo ng+ it. I went back to DS1 and all of a sudden the gargoyles were one of the easiest things I had faced. It really allows you to see that you didn't just get lucky and bash your head against a wall enough to pass the check, but that you actually improved your skills and grew as a person

[@derpderpin1568]

Once you understand the mechanics, like any game, the Souls games are actually hilariously easy. Like beyond exploitable laughably you're a god and nothing can stop you easy.

[@RustingPeace]

@@derpderpin1568 tell that the fire giant

[@ashleyschfer7483]

I tried the original Dark Souls 1 pc on mouse and keyboard. It made me stay away from all Dark Soul games since they put so little effort into making a playable PC port.

[@vanlichtinstein]

@@ashleyschfer7483 I play with m+k and was having a good time lol

[@jasonreed7522]

@@derpderpin1568 on my first attempt as any Darksouls title (DS3) i couldn't get past the tutorial boss (i haven't made a second serious attempt yet, time constrains) but my main issue is that the controls are so alien from every other game i have played. (The most similar to soulslikes being COD and medal of honor, the result is my muscle memory fighting me constantly)

[@-Kailinn-]

Her joy in overcoming a boss made me tear up a bit.

[@iamrazor9831]

Me too. I got my gf to play elden ring, she hates it so much at first she hates dying but after she heat Margit she was hooked. I felt so proud of her when she best maliketh and she was screaming cuz she had seem me struggle to beat him she was so proud to beat a boss that I struggled with

[@saucywrld1]

@@iamrazor9831 damn dude she beat maliketh that is very impressive! cheers

[@stevenc7877]

@@iamrazor9831 props to her

[@ali-k-gamer1881]

@@iamrazor9831 and my ex told me games is for children

[@oess855]

Seek help

[@mofongotron]

Fantastic video! I'm a user researcher who works in the gaming industry, and a lot of the issues you have covered here are common usability issues that I have encountered running usability studies time and time again. I have lost count of the number of times participants have missed important information because it was being presented outside of their field of view/focus. Your commentary here is pretty spot-on; great work!

[@Shriukan1]

I'd love to hear more about your field ! It sounds like a fascinating field :)

[@mofongotron]

@@Shriukan1 look up games user research! There are plenty of resources online.

[@SethMantia]

Thank you both for taking the time to do these experiments. Raz, you do a wonderful job at approaching these obstacles as a true teacher who there to help the person grow and at your explanation to us in your videos. The lady who lives with him, your approach to these challenges shows the apparent amount of determination that you have. I have learned a lot from these videos and at 33 and introducing there mother to VR. The things you have learned helped me teach my mom in a way that doesn't leave her so frustrated that she doesn't want to pick the thing up ever again. Thank you and cheers!

[@ClearlyPixelated]

As a filthy casual gamer myself, I find that I love the experience you put your wife through as I see similarities between her play style and my own. Great job!

[@namenlos3679]

You know, i´m something of a noob myself

[@fluffy_tail4365]

14:20 this part is actually kind of important, all of us veteran gamers grew up with games that had to look simpler due to hardware, so we got used to understand gaming-clues when they stood out more, meanwhile a total newcomer will have much harder time parsing the visual language, and it is a reason why many mdoern game implement those "investigation visions"

[@ghoulbuster1]

This is why modern games slap icons everywhere, normies don't know what to do unless a giant arrow is pointing at the objective. The problem is, normies don't learn about these fundamentals.

[@jgkitarel]

@@ghoulbuster1 And then you have games like this one, or the Dark Souls Trilogy, which are even less obvious. The Souls Trilogy, Bloodborne, Demons' Souls... those games are as much a sendup to classic games as they are their respective genres. The early games were much less handholdy and required you to pay attention to the visual cues when they turned up. If they turned up. Otherwise, it was trial and error, learning as you go, and learning to accept that dying in these games was not a game over, as one of the major aspects is that you don't stay dead in these games. Dying is written in as a mechanic of the game, with the intention of telling you that you WILL die, almost certainly often. It also gives you a chance to go back and try again as much as you want to. Until you either beat the challenge. Or give up.

[@-DeScruff]

@@ghoulbuster1 I'd say its half people don't know the fundamentals, and half the designers don't know how to design something to properly grab someone's attention without expressly pointing them to it. Much like Elden Ring's tutorial as stated in the video most players unconsciously avoided it because the door leading to the exit was much more attention grabbing then the tutorial, while the tutorial was more hidden. (If I recall one of the changes was also to add a light to the bottom of the hole, to help imply that yes you could get down there, it wasn't some dark pit of death)

[@oivatank]

Your wife’s reaction to beating the beastman with the wolves vs her beating him on her own is plain-as-day proof of the reason why people enjoy playing difficult games like this. That feeling of surpassing challenging obstacles by means of tempering your grit and generally improving your skills, it is a feeling like no other.

[@ezaf5989]

cringe weeb

[@larrythecableman6963]

The issue with that logic is that his wife is mega scrub so her opinions on anything are pretty much completely irrelevant to people who actually play video games 2) as he himself points out the game is clearly intended to use summons during so. It’s literally even built in as a mechanic during several boss fights

[@oivatank]

@@larrythecableman6963 I’m glad you ducked, cuz the point of the video flew right over your head

[@larrythecableman6963]

@@oivatank the point of the video is that she was such an impatient fuck that hated playing the game that she didn’t even bother learning the basic controls or even bothering to interact with glowing fucking ass circle that she walks up to 100 times

[@DePhoegonIsle]

@@larrythecableman6963 You sure about that? She is a prime example of why just slapping an easy mode will harm a souls game.. because it robs you of that experience. His wife diddled herself with a bad class pick (multiple times), and took the harder options to start with. -because you know new players like her would use it, and not understand what's so great when you beat a boss. The beastman isn't designed around summons, but doesn't stop you from using them. also malania blade of micula... expressly punishes the player for using them, being able to leech off any of them including skellies. Heck most the boss fights, ash summons are... a detriment to yourself. (some it just merks them, others it just wastes resources, and a few it helps the bosses)

[@doubleline7351]

First playthrough I played coop with a friend (even though you could only summon friends in boss fights) we got to pre nerf radahn and missed the summoning signs on the ground so we had to fight him alone and without torrent as coop didn't let us summon him. Took like 30 tries but we did it, had lots of fun and laughs, especially when radahn became a meteor we died laughing. An inside joke we developed because of the boss with the dragon hand is that every boss needs to self mutilate to get a powerup so we burst out laughing at the second phase of the fire giant and Godfrey, also the way rykard talked gave us a few good chuckles.

[@mintegral1719]

This was weirdly relatable. Elden Ring was not only my first Fromsoft game, but also my first 3D RPG since Skryim. I was extremely new to the mechanics, and like your wife, I also picked the Bandit class based solely on how it looked, and missed the prompt to lock on to enemies in the tutorial. I ended up dying to Soldier of Godrick 20 times while missing most of my attacks. Unlike your wife, though, I have a very high frustration tolerance, and loved the aesthetic and enemy design of the game so much that I was determined to stick with it no matter what. I learned fast, and now, 600 hours of gameplay later, I've beaten the game eight times, including once at level 1! 10/10, would git gud again.

[@Channel-xy2wj]

I think this is what wasn't included. His wife presumably didn't buy the game, nor care about the game or its looks. She never really had any attachment strong enough to keep her wanting to get past the barriers. That's not to say others who have those factors will continue forwards, I've seen plenty of people buy 60+ dollar games with those in mind and yet won't get more than an hour of gameplay in them. But it shouldn't be completely ignored.

[@UnitK7]

"Ah.... Praise the Elden Ring!"

[@gabehere]

This is pretty much an accurate account of how games should make you feel. Be hard and challenging enough to make you have to go outside your comfort zone, but have enough of a hook to keep you going. Elden Ring is especially good at this from how good it looks alone. Plus the music and the world just make you want to go out there and see what's behind that hill, or after that cliff, or inside that castle.

[@Upoflegends]

GOAT

[@mintegral1719]

@@Channel-xy2wj I'm embarrassed to admit it, but the thing that got me interested in the first place and made me buy the game was seeing Malenia in the trailers and immediately having a crush on her. So yeah, that was another 'attachment' I had to the game that I presume his wife didn't, lmao.

[@elcee3292]

When she yelled " They did it for me!" I just lost it and laughed uncontrollably🤣 Love these videos!

[@orionizaqt]

My girlfriend had a pretty good experience in Elden Ring with pretty minimal tips from me. I mostly just told her how to summons and explained the basic mechanics a little and sent her off. She ended up getting through everything by herself up to Linurnia where she only stopped because she wanted to play the rest with me, but she didn't struggle too much honestly. I think she's a perfect example of the players they wanted to bring in because she had 0 experience with souls games, but quite a bit with other open world games like Skyrim, Breath of the Wild and The Witcher 3. It ended up being a great way to be introduced to Souls like games without too much hand holding and I have to commend Fromsoft for that accomplishment.

[@AdanHernandez-hc8sf]

I think is the 3 or 4th time I watch this video. Your comments are fair and accurate, the experiment is so interesting... But my favorite parts are those with your wife's voice in it. Absolutely love it. And makes me think you both had shared the funniest time together

[@TsubasayaYami]

I loved the subtle bit of walking up to Fia, while "unknowingly making decisions that negatively impact you"

[@rarox0945]

21:43 That's the moment she found true souls like happiness, just by listening to that laugh, I can tell she is extremely proud of herself rn.

[@jakehunt3392]

Yea, that was not the sound of pride 💀

[@mimifangs]

As a User Experience Designer, this video was such an interesting take on the game! So informative, earned yourself a new sub :)

[@jgkitarel]

It's clear that Elden Ring was designed from the clear standpoint of those who designed the Souls games, but unlike them, they designed this one to be a lot more friendly to those new to the genre. Helped by the fact that Elden Ring is High Fantasy, compared to Demons' Souls being a call back to classic gaming. Or the Dark Souls trilogy's Dark Fantasy roots, and even Bloodborne's Gothic and Cosmic Horror roots. Where the difficulty and minimal provision of helpful information is very deliberate as it definitely helps in building the atmosphere that they are trying to build from a gameplay perspective. It's still a hard game, From Software does not do easy games, but the difficulty is definitely geared towards players unused to how From Software's games tend to be. Yes, you can go in and have the same difficult time, but the way the bosses are designed, with the Tree Sentinel and shortly after Margit, the Fell Omen being there to give one key lesson: you can avoid or skip a boss and come back later. The challenge is still there, as the other bosses and things you fight can kill you very easily and quickly if you're careless, but it is more designed to be much easier to handle and build yourself up to it. Limgrave is basically one giant tutorial area, teaching you how the game works, with Margit especially being the final tutorial. Beat him, and Godrick is actually much easier in many respects (or I at least died far fewer times against him).

[@littleleakyleakythere]

what industry are you a designer in??

[@zaid3459]

@@littleleakyleakythere user experience

[@unexpectedTrajectory]

I felt the frustration of, "OK, everything kills me... so which ones are impossible and which ones am I just supposed to try harder?..."

[@danieljohn9257]

I loved that triumphant squeal when she beat the beast man on her own! That made me laugh for like 30 seconds. And congratulations!

[@devoutburrito]

I teared up lol

[@jonmann4980]

I got super happy for her just hearing how happy she was 😂

[@condorX2]

It's so weird hearing a gaming nerd talks about the wife in third person. It would looks more real if the two of you have your own cameras on the bottom corners. All those fake comments and like aren't fooling anyone. 😳

[@afletra]

@@condorX2 are you sure?

[@babyzzzzzzzz]

her joyful screams after she beat the boss by herself were very heartwarming 😌

[@mcgoldenblade4765]

When your child is old enough, I want to see a continuation of this series and how a child would pick up the language of games vs an adult who is new to gaming. It would be an interesting study and would be cool to see how different their approach would be. Of course, I would imagine that video is a few years off from now, since the Baby You Live With is a bit too young right now...

[@madnessarcade7447]

I said this already in less words but I still agree

[@jackmanleblanc2518]

A child would have a much easier time I imagine. We're much better learners while we're children for... some reason. I'm not sure why.

[@CaptainPikeachu]

@@jackmanleblanc2518children’s brains are still developing, they’re more flexible, and they also have less bias/preconceived notions than adults - all these things contribute to them learning better and faster than adults

[@jackmanleblanc2518]

@@CaptainPikeachu I guess that explains why most gamers have been gaming since they were children. For an adult who's never touched a game in their life and has limited free time already, it must be frustrating for them trying to get into the hobby and hard to understand why we enjoy them at all.

[@AnotherDuck]

@@jackmanleblanc2518 Kids also usually have a lot of time to play, while adults, especially with kids, usually have less time. My mom picked up a few simpler games (Tetris and Dr. Mario primarily, but also a bunch other of the same generation) fairly easily.

[@tyler4475]

I think it’s awesome to see the development in your wife in her resolve for the challenge. Back when this all started with dark souls I could sense that she just didn’t care and didnt understand what the use was in her trying just so she could fail. Watching this and seeing her reaction to beating the beast man by herself as opposed to with the wolves made me really happy. It felt like an “aha!” moment where she finally began to understand the real reward and satisfaction behind difficulty in games and overcoming obstacles on your own, especially in the case of fromsoftware. In a way, I sort of saw myself in her, back in a time where I was just as inexperienced and hopeless as she was. Seeing her beat the asylum demon after all this time tugged my heart.

[@warmflatsprite]

100 times this. Video games have had a reputation for "rotting the mind" pretty much since they were first commercialized. In my experience the good ones are awesome at teaching ridiculously useful tools for success, like resolve/perseverance, strategic thinking, and even things like impulse control and financial management skills. Most importantly IMHO, they condition in a sort of intrinsic motivation to seek out rewarding challenges. So yeah, I agree. This series is super heartening.

[@Cookiemunster779]

That is so cool that you pushed her to try the Azula boss again with a better starting class. You could just hear in her voice how happy she was to beat him.

[@wellurban]

This has really helped crystallise an idea I’ve had for a while: that some player prefer intensive gaming experiences while others prefer extensive experiences. Some find it rewarding to focus on one small aspect until they have total mastery of it, while others want to explore widely and gain knowledge and experience without necessarily “getting good” at specific things. That’s obviously very reductive, and many players will enjoy both, but it explains for me while I’ll never really enjoy boss fights. Spending hours in one room learning the movements and weaknesses of one boss while honing my button-mashing skills does not feel like a good time for me, when I could be exploring the rich environments and lore of an open world. It’s probably related to people who enjoy sports vs those who enjoy hiking: some can handle spending ages practicing repetitive physical skills in order to finally “win”, whereas others are more interested in just seeing what’s around the next corner. It’s certainly answered for me the question of whether I should try Elden Ring with a firm “no”. It might be more open and allow more exploration without being forced into boss fights as gateways to exploration, but fundamentally it still seems that it values “gitting gud”, which is not at all why I play games.

[@1992marigold]

And your comment totally nailed it. Thank you for putting into words how I feel about gaming. After dying over and over again to lynels in botw, I just gave up. I decided to just wander as I pleased and explore and run from enemies. Trying to get better I watched playthroughs and still panicked gripping the controller, mashing buttons and forgetting how to back flip and side hop. I've discovered that No Man's Sky has an exploration mode only with no fighting. I plan on buying it soon.

[@rizahawkeyepierce1380]

Personally, my motivation for playing games is the story. I want to play out an interesting story, and I think video games are a great vehicle for storytelling. This is why I generally prefer single-player games - multi player games weaken the story because I'm no longer playing as the protagonist, and the events in the game aren't centered around the character I'm playing. I do enjoy exploration, but I get bored after a while (this explains why I was vaguely disappointed in BotW, though not enough that I didn't play through it a second time). I also get frustrated and impatient when bosses are too challenging because they're keeping me from the part of the game I like the best.

[@RKDriver]

I don't enjoy HARD boss fights either. After getting my ass handed to me about 3-4 times and trying to use as much skill and tactics I'm capable of, I become frustrated. I then set the game on the easiest level, kill the SOB, change it back to normal difficulty and move on. Challenges work when you can actually see success in refining your techniques and skills. When those don't seem to work, average players like me have no interest in fighting foes over and over again just to move past them. A good example are the Valkyries in God of War. Even on the easiest level I couldn't get by them. I took out a couple and I researched how to beat them but I couldn't do it no matter how hard I tried. I completed the main story of the game without defeating them and moved onto another game.

[@tombeard5879]

@@RKDriver Glad I'm not the only one that feels like this! I wish more games had difficulty settings that you can adjust on the fly, for just this reason. One thing I liked about Tunic is that it has an invulnerability mode under the accessibility settings, which you can turn on and off at will. While I was quite happy with most of the combat in Tunic, since you could progress by building knowledge, gaining items, and exploiting the environment, the boss fights are extremely hard (for me) and just became frustrating after bashing away in an arena for half an hour. Luckily, at that stage I could turn invulnerability on, bash my way through, then turn it off and get on with the rest of the game. It was also nonlinear enough to allow plenty of exploration options if you didn't want to try that boss yet.

[@tombeard5879]

@@1992marigold Thanks for your reply: that feeling of panicky mashing is very familiar to me! It's not at all what I want from games these days: I play to relax, explore, and enjoy the story, visuals and sound, not fill myself with adrenalin. No Man's Sky is what got me back into gaming after a decade or so away, and for a while it was pretty much all I needed: even in the more normal modes you can generally avoid most combat, but still allow yourself survival challenges on more hostile planets if that's what you're after. After about 500 hours, though, I'm on the lookout for different environments, genres and stories. There are lots of AAA open-world games with what look like rich and intriguing environments that I'd love to explore (e.g. RDR2, Fallout 4, Elden Ring), but I get the impression that they're still mostly combat-focused. I've just started BotW a couple of weeks ago, and so far I'm mostly enjoying it, since you can indeed run away from most enemies or find sneaky ways to use the environment and your various tools to defeat them rather than engage in full-on combat. However, I'm getting to the point in the story where boss battles are starting to dominate, and while I like the fact that you can always nope out of a boss fight and carry on with exploring other parts of Hyrule, I feel like I've been putting it aside for more relaxing pursuits in the last few days. Hopefully I'll be able to gradually level up and fill my inventory with health elixirs and bomb arrows so that the boss fights will eventually be less stressful! BTW, I've only encountered one Lynel so far, and I got the feeling that this particular encounter was designed as more of a stealth situation than a combat one. Just sneak around, grab the shock arrows, then fast travel away if you get spotted!

[@BewbsOP]

I've always loved the idea that playing newer games with more quality of life features can help players get into older games with less. My friend used to hate monster hunter, but after getting them into world, it made it so much easier to go back to older titles after figuring out the stuff the originals struggled to teach.

[@AtomicArtumas]

...I'll be honest, I still don't know what in the world (pun not intended) people learn/experience in world that older games in the series didn't teach you. As someone that's been playing since MHF1, World's tutorial honestly felt more rushed and less interesting than tri/3U's, and really still didn't teach the person I live with that recently got into the series even close to enough to be able to understand or enjoy the games without my help and advice.

[@BewbsOP]

@@AtomicArtumas It isn't that it taught them better. It's that the quality of life improvements let them play to the point that they understood it without bouncing off.

[@zechparker4748]

My girlfriend is currently playing through hollow knight. I was inspired by videos like yours to get her to try HK and it was the first game on my mind for two main reasons: 1. its rewarding 2. its aesthetically pleasing (or as she calls it, CUTE) getting her into my favorite games was as easy as handing her a controller. Love your vids

[@gektoast4968]

Hollow knight is one of the better soulslikes for non gamers for sure

[@lucasellis183]

@@gektoast4968 WHY? It's a MetroidVania bro, not a Soulslike, too many people call it that just because the shade.

[@Blck-Cat]

@@lucasellis183 It's a Soulslike because of the currency loss upon death, the save point system and the bosses. Things don't have to be so one dimensional that they only fall into one category

[@spoonkitchenware]

@@lucasellis183 It's 100% a metroidvania, no arguments there, but it is also kind of a souls like. Same healing system, death system, boss design (pattern based), etc. The only thing its missing is a dodge mechanic (excluding shade cloak) and some other minor elements. That being said, there are better examples of 2d soulslike games, such as dead cells.

[@robroskey6515]

How did hollow knight become a "souls like" to the community. I refuse to call it a pure souls like because it's more metroidvania than it is souls. I'm just confused on how everyone decided to call it souls like and completely skip it's obvious MV characteristics. Even Grime, which is far more souls like than hollow knight can't properly be described without calling it a MV souls. I'm just curious how hollow knight skipped the MV descriptor when that's what it is. And yes the two genres share a lot of the same progression dna but to me they are pretty distinct from each other

[@BlinDefender]

lol, that bit at the end: "I can't do this. You're doing fine. Am I good though? No." 😅

[@charlieackroyd3243]

What a cruel punishment… I love it

[@cloudhurricane1203]

Ikr

[@Squiddles_]

Elden ring will always hold a special place in my heart. When it first released, I couldn't have cares less about it. Having been gifted Dark Souls 3 a few years before and disliking it, I thought ER would just be the same. Then through watching Iron Pineapple, I had a bit of a change of heart. I waited for a sale and picked it up, effectively having never played a souls game. And let me tell you, I sucked, bad. I got so mad when I kept dying, until someone told me to look at it differently than most games. Dying in most games is like a game over, but dying in ER or and souls title for that matter, is just a learning experience. Once I wrapped my head around that, off I went into the unknown. Boss after boss, death after death, I kept going, using co-op to get past bosses I couldn't handle. Soon I was at the end. Radagon and Elden Beast were difficult, It took my and a friend almost 10 hours nonstop to beat them, but we did. And I was happy, I had beat Elden Ring. I put down the game for a while after that, but I still didn't feel accomplished, I wanted more. A few months later I decided to pick it back up and do everything on my own this time. I beat all the bosses myself except for fire giant, i even beat radagon and elden beast myself. I still wasn't satisfied, I wanted to beat fire giant myself, and after many days of trying, I finally did. After that I really went all in, I wanted to 100% the game, feeling I could. So thats what I did, every legendary weapon, spell, incantation, you name it, I probably have it. My favorite weapon became Mogwyn's spear, and my build changed every couple of days when I had a new idea. Spell build for 7k damage in one shot thats not azur beam? yup. pizza cutter build that healed me? yup. dagger with flame of the redmane? yup. I tried out everything i could, I gave all weapons a chance. After a few weeks, I had done it, 100% achievements. But I wasn't done yet, I wanted even more, a max level character, something I'd only heard could be done, but had never seen a legitimate player do, because why would you? Well I did. According to steam, 350 hours of just farming runes later, there I was, a max level Character, ng+5. You might think that would be it, but still no, I wanted as much as I could get. I broke out the spreadsheets. I scribed every single item, crafting recipe, armor, spell, everything. Then I started collecting what I didn't have. 70% collected, 80% collected, 90% collected. I was near completion, 97%, and I experienced my first bout of burnout in Elden Ring that I had ever had. And that's where the number stayed, to this day. All achievements, max level, 97% of every possible items collected. I will finish, I know that. And I will buy every dlc that the game will have. It is my favorite game of all time now, for so many reasons. From never having played a souls game, to that. Thanks Elden Ring.

[@blackhat4206]

That’s some commitment. I can relate. Elden Ring is the first game I’ve played since Skyrim in 2011 that made me feel compelled to 100% and go for the Platinum.

[@christophe8243]

I ain’t reading allat 💀💀

[@Squiddles_]

@@christophe8243 Good for you bud, why'd you bother commenting then?

[@stevenc7877]

lol this was me when i first started Demon Souls years!!! ago!!. I was like WTF? why is this game so hard.... i just kept playing and playing it and was like WTF? this game is soo hard...IDK why but i enjoyed the challenge for some odd reason. Maybe because to me, games were getting toooo EZ and bored me. Then recently played the Demons Souls Remake and i gotta say Shii!!! was toooo EZ Haha!

[@ballsdeep9400]

Dudes will gladly spend 10 hours trying to beat a boss but won’t push till failure on a real life skill.

[@MvalzCreative]

I had a hard time in the beginning understanding how to progress the story and how to follow questlines. But as I found cool items, I kept searching for more secrets and collecting as much as possible, as each item meant something to the overall game. Elden Ring is now my favourite game of all time

[@Jigglexphysics]

Sameeeeeeee

[@Skaom]

Please make another one of these, im addicted. Ive watched the entire playlist of the lady you live with playing games for the first time whilst you very eloquently describe every moment and voice thoughts and i need more.

[@chadsoucek4678]

Hearing your wife yell with joy after finally beating a boss brought me to tears. Because as a gamer I felt that. And it’s touching to see someone’s journey as a gamer progress and see them be happy

[@mtndewprettygud6416]

Taking her back to beat the Asylum Demon was the most wholesome W I'll probably see all year. Good idea

[@kfk4441]

That's a big thing to say on the first week of the year and I agree

[@bugseance625]

elden ring was actually the first video game i played outside of things like minecraft and the sims. it took a lot of walkthrough tutorials and sheer determination, but i was able to get through a pretty good chunk of it before getting bored. i think i spent literally 24 hours straight just trying to take down the lake dragon. i should pick it back up soon, i miss my horse :/

[@zoopine4222]

The boredom thing I can definitely relate to. I got around 70% through dark souls 3 (after restarting at least 5 times over the course of a year) but dropped it because I got bored. Funnily enough elden ring was my fix for that. It being so much more accessible and having many more ways to make the game easier it allowed me to get through the whole of it. And then after understanding "the point" of these types of games I was able to go back and playthrough dark souls 1 and I'm making my way through some of the other souls games now.

[@hannahmcdonald2297]

I am the same way, and i have beat Elden Ring 3 times now! I made it a goal at the beginning to 100% all achievements, and I always looked things up and watched tutorials and "best character build/armor/item" videos and it really helped me a lot and made the experience of beating the game multiple times so fun and rewarding for me. It's so worth playing!

[@Reiswalt]

Lol you're not supposed to fight the lake dragon when you're just starting coz your stats are way too low and that's a "dragon". What I did when I first played Elden Ring was explore different areas and run away from things that could kill me, eventually I found strong items that helped me progress through the main story.

[@dogeknight8550]

i can relate to that frustration leading to your boredom. i was like you when i was first introduced to the Souls series, DS 1 and 2. im just a casual gamer, playing mostly moba and fps game. but on 2014 i got my hands on DS 1 and 2 at the same time, without having no prior knowledge about this game, i play and boiiiiiii.. the amount of death is insane. i still remember that on the first week i didnt even got through defeating the Taurus Demon(the 1st miniboss) in DS 1, hell even reaching to that boss room from, going through Undead Parish area took me around 10-12 hours. i stop playing DS 1, and tried DS 2 and I got clapped hard too. i spent like 2 - 3 weeks thinking wth is wrong with this game, bouncing between playing my usual fps/moba games and also bouncing between DS 1 and DS 2. And then i took a break maybe about a month or so and picking up DS 1 again, this time experimenting different classes, after sometimes, after some help from the internet i finally made a progress. that one break through is soooo damnnn good feelin that it got me addicted. And lastly, i have about 25 hours on 1 character and 13-16 hours on another character and some more hours on another different character in DS 1, that before i even made a significant progress and finalize the character i choose for the entire journey. sorry for the long comment with broken english(not my 1st language). i hope with this little story can inspire you back playing ER.

[@homesinc]

@@Reiswalt nah the game literally doesn't care if you grind early bosses with starting gear - it's just the fromsoft mindset, clearly seen in the fact that it doesn't push you away from fighting it over and over again

[@13donstalos]

When your old girl said, "this game is so annoying," I felt that in my bones. I've never been so frustrated with a game as this one.

[@crazynico101]

The messeges people write are seriously helpful. I would miss so many things without them

[@aquaarcher3324]

This is why I love Elden Ring so much, it is the perfect entry into the souls games. It’s still hard but compared to the other games in the series, your not as pressed to slam your head against the wall if you can’t beat a boss.

[@tomanyvidegames]

The pure joy after killing the beastman, is deeply relatable. These games are so good man.

[@tracexl]

The way your wife eventually picked up the nuance and mechanics of the game, the way she tried different approaches when one wasn't working, and how she adapted to her situation over time is EXACTLY what makes challenging titles like Souls games so good and why they're so beloved. It shows you DON'T need a difficulty setting because the game isn't too hard, you just aren't yet ready for the challenge, and it's up to YOU to decide if you want to rise to that challenge or do something else. I hope she had a blast playing and hope she stays in and faces off against the Elden Beast one day. It's a crazy ride to get there, but that rush of adrenaline when it's down to a couple hits and being able to get that HP bar empty is something you rarely see anymore in games.

[@ElMarlish]

Well that's kinda only true for elden ring tho, the rest of the souls game, if you can't defeat a boss you're screwed, you either brute force it or farm small shits to get levels ... Which doesn't quite corroborate what you just said. I'm saying this because i was always intrigued by suols gme but the sheer fact that it was so hard (and the grim universe too, tbh) even from the beginning kinda stopped me. But as mentionned in this video, elden ring is different and there are multiple routes to take ! :)

[@bigzachful]

@@ElMarlish Have you played Ghost of Tsushima or Lies of P?

[@abbyooooo]

As a very casual gamer, Ive been really drawn to Elden Ring lately but I've been scared it might be too hard for me. This encouraged me to give it a try! Edit: thanks for the encouragement and advice! would my hundreds of hours playing BOTW be helpful at all or a completely different skill from elden ring? I love exploration which is why it intrigues me so much Update: I'm 2 weeks in and at level 42! I am so obsessed, I've been able to beat Margit but I'm doing more exploration of limgrave and venturing into Caelid before starting Stormveil :) Thanks for the encouraging words!

[@mangodsky2809]

Don't.

[@mana24]

Try it! With the right mindset, it's a lot of fun! Don't be afraid to seek help if you get stuck. Don't get discouraged by deaths; they're normal I usually play games on easy mode for the story, so I was very scared of trying the souls games. But I found the combat system very satisfying (even when I was very bad) and got hooked on DS1 and the rest of the souls games that I could get my hands on.

[@GangsterFrankensteinComputer]

It's really not that difficult. The whole hard game thing is just some bizarre meme. The most taxing parts of the game are rebinding the awful controls and trying to decipher the awful translations.

[@larrystclair6151]

most of the really hard bosses are optional, you'll die alot initially but once you get a hang of it, it really isnt that hard.

[@rockernessi]

go for it!!! I’m a super casual gamer and i love this game!! there’s lots of room to practice and don’t be afraid to go online for help!

[@eggs4073]

Ah man. I’m someone who’s always been interested in games but never felt I could play them because I lacked the confidence so I’ve only recently started getting into them. And I was right. I’m bad. Really stinking bad. But the feeling of conquering a challenge after trying for days or even weeks on end is so rewarding. I don’t often engage with the communities that surround these games because when I hear about how much easier people overcame the bosses than I did it feels a little disheartening, but this video was so validating and made me so happy. I felt pure unbridled joy when she beat that boss that made her quit the first time so thank you for this video. It’s okay if it takes me 10 tries to beat a boss when most people get past it within 1 or 2. I’m doing this for myself and that’s what matters.

[@nakonwarrior]

Don't give up! This game is about learning, even if it takes days, weeks, months.. you'll get there. Last night I killed the Elden Beast (Final boss, dw, I won't spoil it) took me 2 hours, with probably 50-70 tries.. and yet I did it. Although I have hours upon hours and years upon years with gaming, from easy games to hard games. But I learned with each attempt I learned what worked and what didn't work, and I think that's why it's addicting. You overcoming, learning, and winning the fight. Just to learn how to do it again. With the next boss. 💯

[@UltimateBallaPOM]

Start on Easy mode with games that allow them then play again on increasing difficulty per playthrough. You may be way better than you ever dreamt, and this is a great hobby if you manage your other life responsibilities.

[@snorkels9188]

Ooof, I've been there. I was really disheartened when I tried getting into gaming at first, as I went into a game store to ask for advice figuring they would know best. I asked them for tips for beginners, what kinda games are aimed at beginners or game I could get the hang of? The guy stared at me like I had 5 heads, and genuinely couldn't understand my questions. Feeling increasingly embarrassed I explained I wasn't a gamer but wanted to get into it, I had took the plunge on a ps4 but the game I got with it, whilst it had amazing reviews, I could not play it for shit. He then started laughing at me and said he'd never ever gotten this request before and had no idea how to help me. He kept laughing and eventually stuttered out "I dunno, maybe a kids game?". Not fun. Fortunately, I had friends and the internet to help me find games that looked fun and were also possible for me to learn how to play. And if it helps, I've bin playing games for several years now, (although not super often tbf) and I still play games on easy mode as normal/regular mode is too difficult for me. Do I suck at gaming? Yup. Do I still enjoy gaming? Also yup! You'e right: what's important is are you enjoying yourself? Do you like gaming? Do you wanna continue gaming? If the answer is yes, then dope! :) I hope you continue to enjoy gaming at your pace, and know you're not alone. I am happily still a noob lol

[@thehearingaid]

that's the healthier way to be, hades a game I love, took me much longer to complete my first run then most of my friends, but I enjoyed my time with it and that was the main draw. On the flipside some games can just suit you better, even though its gameplay is similar; hyperlight drifter really clicked for me and i was able to make pretty short work of the entire game.

[@ghoulbuster1]

Confidence? It's video games bro, just start with the basics like super mario. It's not like driving a car, you don't risk dying.

[@CinematicSeriesGaming]

I've been a gamer since I was 7 years old, so I take a lot of things for granted. I am just used to how games work, how open worlds are constructed, I instinctively know which elements are interactive and which are not. It's so interesting to see a perspective of someone who's not a gamer and who experiences a complex game like Elden Ring with little to no previous knowledge of what to expect.

[@custardpup6385]

Elden Ring was my first souls game I ever properly played. I had tried DS3 previously but gave up very fast as I wasn't in the right mindset for it whatsoever and was very bad. it took me 30 hours of gameplay to beat Margit on my first playthrough, and from there I slowly got better and better. Fast forward 200 hours and every major boss in the game killed, I cried when I beat the final boss. There were other bosses I had a far harder time with (take an obvious guess lol) but the sheer overwhelming feeling of accomplishment just left me so emotional. I have since beat DS1 and am currently working through DS2, but I adore these games so much. They teach you about patience and resilience far more than you realise, and there's no other feeling in the entirety of gaming quite like beating a hard souls boss. So grateful to have discovered these games

[@thezebiano]

Hey, lady that Raz lives with, thank you very much for being part of these "experiments"! It's entertaining, but above all really interesting. I applause your patience and perseverance with this title. Again, thank you a lot. And thank you Raz, too. I love these videos, they're just so interesting.

[@Florkl]

I’m absolutely fascinated with ways humans can be guided subconsciously. While exploiting this can absolutely be used for harm, it also has a lot of potential for good (stuff like emergency escapes and general navigation aid), and I think video games are a great way to study what draws people’s attention.

[@turbo8628]

I think the word you are looking for is "intuitive". Games use colours to signify healing (green) and damage (red), use tall/bright objects to draw players towards where they want them to go and more subtle psychological things. Shopping for example, high priced items are on the top shelf because people subconciously look at it as being some form of hierarchy (this affects men more than women) so the higher up the item is, the better it must be. They do this with pricing as well, but that's a bit off topic. Game genres share similar control schemes because designers are aware that players of a platformer will associate a certain button with jumping. A long time ago i switched between fifa and pes (two football/soccer ganes) and the long ball/cross and shooting buttons were switched. Lead to an awkward moment when i got near the goal and then booted the ball half way across the pitch instead of shooting. The more complex a game is, the more thought needs to go into it. Me decising my first game will be a metroidvania with multiple endings is not a wise decision but the research has been fascinating, with this series being the only insight i have into how a non-gamer thinks compared to how a gamer has been trained.

[@Florkl]

@@turbo8628Intuitiveness is also fascinating to study, but it involves making something immediately understandable and known, which is usually good, but, for example in a game, can potentially break immersion. You want people to go places, not because they know they need to go there for the game’s progression, but simply because they are exploring and happen to explore where the next progression step is. The key is to make those two align without it being obvious. Of course, with marketing, it can be dangerous. Supermarket pathing and placing products is deliberately unintuitive in many cases, though in a way specifically designed to keep you from noticing it’s unintuitive. Cold Milk is in the back, where it will spend more time in your unrefrigerated cart, but also forces you to traverse the whole store, passing all sorts of displays that might tempt you to buy. To make something intuitive is to make it easily known. But with knowledge comes informed decisions. In the case of stores, an informed decision for you is less money spent for them (I actually did a college project about how to intuitively lay out a store, which was super fun, but also unfortunately something no store would do edit: Except for Publix, which does better than most at trying to not make shoppers waste their time). In the case of entertainment, not having to make decisions is relaxing and immersive. And in the case of emergencies, when the decision-making part of your brain shuts down, guiding people by instinct is the key to saving lives.

[@turbo8628]

@@Florkl interesting. Sorry if i don't address everything - hard to keep track on phone. Button layouts should feel intuitive and things like hazards - i.e. if i am playing a frog then water should not kill me but if i am a fire demon then it should. I teach engineering and that requires teaching health and safety. I have only really scratched the surface but emergency exits and emergency condition signs for example; universally green with pictograms (because that removes potential language barriers) so people know what they are - a little on the nose, but that is kind of the point of them. Supermarkets are amongst the worst offenders (snacks at the till) but ikea designs their stores with doorways that staff can use as shortcuts. There are no rooms in between, just a way for them to move around the store as efficiently as possible... kind if like a metroidvania to people who know how to speedrun.

[@moosejuice2166]

Love the thought of following the erdtree because it's big and glowing, like moths to a light bulb

[@J-Stanza]

Videogame essay channels on youtube are a gem among the community I absolutely love the deep analysis to help understand the culture from an outside view and alot of people in the community don't understand how many concepts have carried over since they were kids

[@JerrodAmolyan]

Her genuine screams of triumph at beating the bosses is so damn wholesome

[@siddharthjain8019]

Great video raz! I think you should have "the woman you live with" play games with accessibility features to show how accessibility features may or may not impact people who don't play video games all that often.

[@rafaela00002]

That would be really interesting

[@Camphorous]

I agree. As an adult I'm 100% Nintendo because they focus on fun instead of skill prestige. Their accessibility features are designed for anyone to be able to play instead of only for very experienced players to brag to each other about how good they are. I compete for skill prestige in other areas of my life. I don't feel the need to make single player gaming into a whole hobby. A Soulslike or a CoD or Doom3 is like golf; 100% skill based. Confusing to watch. Zero fun unless you're very good at it. Mainly used as a setting for socializing. Solo play is mainly done as practice for competition. A zelda or pokemon is like ice skating; super fun if you're good at it, but most people find it engaging enough to just go around in circles and still have a great time learning the basics of not falling over. Animal Crossing is like hiking. Not very exciting, but there's no fail condition. It's inherently rewarding to just do; whether you're good or not doesn't matter.

[@gektoast4968]

@@Camphorous I disagree on the setting for socializing, as for me soulslike games are all about self improvement and overcoming impossible odds. You make great points on everything else though

[@Camphorous]

@@gektoast4968 It is /for you/ because you're already good at gaming. Many people play golf for self improvement because they love the sport. But /most/ people don't, because it's terribly boring UNTIL you get good at it. (Which I think doesn't count because everything is interesting to an expert in that thing.) The problem isn't that the game requires learning; it's that the process of learning the game isn't fun. Golf is boring at the beginning where it feels like 90% of the game is waiting and boring in the middle where you're trying to figure out how to swing correctly, but good at the end where you understand course design. Chess and sewing also follow this pattern. Skating has a curve where it's super fun at the beginning where you just go in a circle, drops in the middle where you're learning the fundamentals, and is fun again at the end where you can play around with footwork. Art and music follow this pattern. Hiking is kind of the same the whole way through as long as you control your own difficulty curve. Shooting follows this pattern.

[@magiv4205]

@@Camphorous I can't speak for Elden Ring as I haven't played it myself yet, but as a relatively casual gamer, I've actually found Dark Souls one of the most fun gaming experiences I've ever had. It was very fun from the start because the world and level design just pulls you in, and the game helps you get passably good very quickly, and from then on, the increased challenge is super fun. I'm playing it with with my partner and it's an absolutely delightful experience. He gets to watch me experience the game for the first time, and I get to make him cheer my hard earned victories and laugh by accidentally breaking the game in ways he didn't know were possible.

[@thespoopyghost4729]

She's ready for Melania soul level 1 no healing fist only

[@wildcardgambler]

Most hilarious thing is that you actually let her walk out the Chapel as a Bandit 😂

[@gavinwrightman1218]

I remember the pain... the regret... the utter despair But then I found the Reduvia dagger, favorite bloody thing ever.

[@Cymricus]

i quit dark souls in 2014 for about a year because i tried playing a thief first. i also later started with a warrior and was able to play. it’s just interesting that was my exact experience and that you pointed out how important starting class is

[@Deliveredmean42]

So basically avoid thief like classes if you don't want to hate yourself.

[@wizardman-l7d]

@Deliveredmean42 depends. In ds1, the thief is actually probably the best class if you know how to play the game, but it is terrible if you don't.

[@Biouke]

@@wizardman-l7d Indeed. The class has huge advantages given you have prior knowledge of game mechanics : Status effects (bleed/poison) , parry/riposte/backstab, dodging and i-frames ... and it's low HP, armor and reach make it a horrible choice for beginners. I vaguely remember one of the Souls game had some descriptions implying which class is harder or easier to play, I guess it was Demons Souls but I may be mistaken.

[@xblade11230]

@@wizardman-l7d Nah daggers just suck, the game is simple you hit them and then you roll away, all souls games can be beat using this method And daggers are high risk low reward, they do low damage and are risky because you need to get close to them same with the fist weapons They are much better in elden ring where daggers can do stuff like bleed but using them is still not worth it They need a system like in nioh In nioh on the other hand the tonfas which are similar to daggers, low range, low damage but fast attacks aren't that bad because stamina is much more important in nioh and attacks can drain stamina and set you up for special attacks that are basically viscerally in elden ring

[@mintegral1719]

Can confirm, I also picked Bandit in Elden Ring as a complete noob to the series, and got absolutely destroyed until I found a better weapon. Didn't help that I ALSO missed the tutorial prompt for lock on, so through a combination of not knowing how to lock on, not being used to the camera controls, and only having a tiny dagger as a weapon, I missed the vast majority of my attacks in the very early game. Unironically died to Soldier of Godrick 20 times because I couldn't even hit him. I got gud eventually though, don't worry!

[@masterenviofficial]

New to your channel, was watching a couple of ER videos when this got recommended. I LOVE getting new people into souls games, I love just taking a backseat approach to watching them struggle against the barriers in the games and the ultimate satisfaction when they beat someone like Maliketh on their own, it's extremely gratifying to see. Very cool to see your wife go back and beat the asylum demon after so long!

[@saltlakeatrocity9771]

The funny thing about the world design bits guiding progress at 9:00 is that my first playthrough, as someone with thousands of hours of souls games under my belt, had me helplessly wandering caelid for like two hours trying to figure out how to level up before i lost my souls. Eventually giving up & just looking it up. Imagine my face when i discovered theres two specific graces i needed to have found, that werent at all where i was going lol.

[@pointfrogg]

Oh wow, glad i'm not the only one who missed that, I ended up on a crazy journey and wound up finding a guy who teaches magic under a castle. Got wrecked by some ghouls after a lil graverobbing and THEN found out how to level up after realizing I should have gone up atleast 1 by now.

[@thePadlockesTech]

This is awesome! It always reminds me of my girlfriend and I. She grew up on board/card games, not video games. So she is mostly in the same boat as your wife. I ended up trying to develop an action game that is approachable for non-gamers called 'Lockes The Thief', and it would be cool if you had your wife try that out to see if it is a good game for people like her and my gf. It is currently in development, but there is a free demo on Steam right now! I think she'd enjoy it.

[@Shriukan1]

Is that a reference to "The lies of Locke Lamora" or not ?

[@thePadlockesTech]

@@Shriukan1 no it's not. Though I did like that book. It is a loose reference to Locke Cole in Final Fantasy 6

[@Shriukan1]

@@thePadlockesTech A man of culture ! Someday, the Thorn of emberlain will be released ... someday ... :'(

[@thePadlockesTech]

@@Shriukan1 I've only read the first one, but I thought the thorn was released already?

[@Shriukan1]

@@thePadlockesTech Sadly, it's not ! It's been almost 10 years now since Republic of thieves. :( The two next books are great, different settings but still very enjoyable read. According to some google research, it appears that he has written it, but it's kinda filibustered on the agent/editor level, I don't know much more. Author got mental health issues, and struggles to revisit parts of his own book.

[@SKysofRain]

Dunno if people say this enough: Your wife is a cool lady. She finds her own fun, understands when she isn't having fun and pushes on even when things are hard. It seems like she understands how to be a gamer more than most of us haha. I think the community could learn a lot from taking breaks and realizing when you aren't actually enjoying yourself anymore

[@Todomo]

my very first fighting game was skyrim, followed by elden ring. it was incredibly scary and stressful at first, but once i quit spamming attacks and actually thinking it became very fun

[@Pimpgamer101]

Her reaction to beating the Beastman was priceless! That feeling, I don’t get it much anymore, but it’s a beautiful thing. The elation, sigh of relief, contemplation of the fight (ie “close call,”) ah, bliss.