Originally Posted by Arhu
That argument never works. It's a bit like saying "Dungeon Siege is boring because it plays itself" - "But you don't have to let it do that, you can choose to play more interactively". But would anyone seriously do that?

Games are all about rules. No rules - no fun. If there's a way in a game to make life easier, it's usually a no-brainer to make use of it, but by doing so (cheating in extreme cases), fun is ultimately reduced. Hence the restrictions.

"No rules - no fun" Says who? You? So then we're back to the "I don't like how the works so YOU shouldn't either" line of reasoning. If there is one thing I loathe more than anything in games, it is when some, in my book, needless restriction is forcing me to redo a section over and over again. I HATE timed missions in RTS games because I can no longer play the level anyway I see fit. I HATE escort missions in just about any genre because the sap usually dies by a stray shot while I'm busy fighting wave after wave of opponents. And I HATE starting a boss battle with no buffs, no spells, no health, no whatnot because I wasn't able to prepare/rest up before the fight, resulting in having to not just redo the boss battle but possibly the entire dungeon, map, level, instance or whatever you call it.

I'm all for using the difficulty settings to impose whatever restrictions you may deem necessary to pose a challenge (and yes, I'm aware you could still rest all will in NWN even on hardcore, so that could definitely be subject to change). Just don't force everyone else to share your ideas of what is fun or not by making these restrictions in the core elements of the game.