Difficulty Fetishism: A Nuanced Discussion of Ableism and Difficulty Modes in Games

Hey, my guy! It's DarkTeaTime. Today's video is about difficulty fetishism, and how the worship of difficulty in games presents a preference for games that are exclusionary to many disabled players. In this video we explore what difficulty fetishism is, the different types of difficulty present in the medium, as well as what disabled players are looking for in terms of accessibility. I hope you enjoy!

If you do enjoy the video, please consider leaving me a tip on Ko-fi! I also offer sensitivity reading there: https://ko-fi.com/darkteatime

Video Timeline:
00:00 Intro
00:50 Falling Out Of Love With Soulslikes
01:40 In Praise Of Complex Storylines
03:18 git gud
06:38 Infantilization
07:10 Becoming A Disabled Player
08:30 Dean's Shameful 26 Minutes of Gameplay
09:49 We Are An Active Participant In The Magic
10:39 Is High Difficulty Always A Negative Thing?
12:28 Most Distinctive Element Of Gaming As A Medium
14:27 Here's Where The Ableism Comes In
15:26 How To Combat It
17:09 Games As Resistance Machines
19:05 Does An Easy Mode Ruin Games?
20:04 Accessibility Options Only Makes Games Better
22:48 Clear UI And Thoughtful Button Mapping
24:44 Suggestions For Accessibility Features
26:42 Accessibility ≠ Easier
27:16 Giving You A Whole @ss Dollar
29:15 Good Refund And Return Policies
29:55 Listening To Feedback Is Crucial
30:31 Accessibility Can Be Difficult To Implement
31:35 "Easy Mode" Is A Misnomer
32:27 A Possible Solution To The Difficulty Dilemma?
33:14 Not Every Game Should Have The Same Easy Mode
34:00 Being Mindful Of How We Approach Accessibility
35:25 Check Out These Amazing Resources!!
38:58 Outro

SOURCES:

Dread X Collection 5:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/18...

Dark Souls Creator Contemplates Introducing Easy Difficulty Mode by Polygon's Emily Gera:
https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9...

The Case for Launching an Easy Mode for Difficult Games by WIRED's Swapna Krishna:
https://www.wired.com/story/casual-ga...

15 Video Games That Mock You For Playing On Easy Mode by WhatCulture:
https://whatculture.com/gaming/15-vid...

Indie Boss Battler Furi Is The Wrong Kind Of Hard by Kotaku's Cecilia D'anastasio:
https://kotaku.com/indie-boss-battler...

Cuphead Hands-On:
My 26 Minutes of Shame With an Old-time Cartoon Game by VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi: https://venturebeat.com/games/cuphead...

Videogame Culture Needs to Stop Fetishizing Skill by Paste Magazine's Dante Douglas: https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/s...

High Difficulty Games Don't Have To Be Toxic by WIRED's Will Bedingfield:
https://www.wired.com/story/high-diff...

With The Help of Friends, Blind Man Beats Legend of Zelda by Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft:
https://kotaku.com/with-the-help-of-f...

More Accessibility Options Only Make Games Better by WIRED's Carlo Pasquale:
https://www.wired.com/story/more-acce...

Accessibility Isn't Easy: What 'Easy Mode' Debates Miss About Bringing Games to Everyone by IGN's Grant Stoner
https://www.ign.com/articles/video-ga...

Gem Hubbard's Coverage of "We're a Pub not a Creche":
   • We’re a pub not a crèche   (Short)
   • ♿️DISABILITY NEWS: Disabled ADULT denied a...   (Full Video)

Definition of Creche:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...

Can I Play That:
https://caniplaythat.com/

Game Accessibility Nexus:
https://www.gameaccessibilitynexus.com/

Able Gamers:
https://ablegamers.org/

Disabled People Are The World's Largest Minority:
https://social.desa.un.org/issues/dis...

• Character art by sonnett_vl
• BGM: kaazoom - Dangerous (Pixabay Music)
• Sound Effect: Fupicat - WinSquare (Pixabay Sound Effects)

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