oMonarca

Discussing casual vs hardcore without defining the context is pointless. Some measure hardcore in terms of how much skill is required, others in how much time is invested and others in how approachable a game is. Simple examples: SHMUPs (Ikaruga, Contra, Raiden) are very approachable games, yet are considered hardcore (skill required). MMOs are considered hardcore because of the time required to reach the endgame, and be proficient in it.</

Could be caused by the Crossfire setup. Since you mentioned that it happens when the overlay is on, maybe your GPU's get entangled by some weird synching voodoo. Good rig btw :)

But do hard games sell? Don't forget, what the market wants, the market gets. Face it, most people want to be entertained, and not challenged.

Allow me to chip in: Mass market games are, obviously, mass market games. And like mass market movies, and mass market books, they rarely challenge the target audience. However, if I, as a developer, wanted to tell a story and show some cool tricks, then I would definitely try to balance challenge with progression - place some hardships to keep you on your toes, but make them rapidly solvable. I would want the most people to see the ending credits. This is perfectly understand

Definitely good advice here! Never thought about testing the waters. Makes a lot of sense! Still learning the ropes here :)

Good idea: Stardock distributes more coupons so I can convince my friend to get Demigod. (Lack of demo hurts bigtime!)

Bad idea: going to college and enjoy just the courses.

Bad idea: making a great game out of that concept, earning a ton of credibility and recognition, and then getting bought by EA and be doomed to sequel spawning. Edit: previous poster beat me to it. Bad idea: voting GWB. Heh :p

good idea: helping an old lady cross the street.