When I was a kid, games were rooted in the arcade tradition of trying to steal quarters from you, designed to get you to pump more money into the coin slot. The developer did not want you to win. They wanted to tease you with the possibility of victory before slamming your face into the dirt and taking more of your money.

One hit deaths, enemies on the edge of platforms, Battletoads, crippling slowdown; these were all designed to kill you. Repeatedly. And without mercy.

Games from the old school era are ludicrously difficult compared to most modern games. For a fun little test, I offered a prize to any kid that could beat the first level of Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts. Dozens of kids took their shot. That prize remains unclaimed. Many complained that the game was unfair. Others didn’t understand why the game was so mean. I don’t want to sound like the old man who doesn’t like kids on his lawn, but kids today were brought up when the center of the gaming universe had shifted from the arcade to the console.

With this shift, developers were no longer in the business of getting you to pump in more quarters. The business model had shifted and the design philosophy shifted with it. Developers began looking to movies for their inspiration. They have a story to tell and they actually want you to see it. Do you think Blaster Master cared if you were reunited with your pet frog? You were lucky to have that cheeseburger with the President in Bad Dudes. More often than not, your reward for surviving incredibly cheap enemies and unfairly placed spike pits was a single screen with the message, “A winner is you! Game Over. Would you like to Play Again?” If you think the ending of Halo 2 sucked, try beating Karnov and seeing, “Congratulations!! The End.”

Even cutesy looking games like Little Nemo would slam your face into the ground repeatedly. It was as if no one understood how to make games for kids that didn’t feature death around every turn. Kids’ games from yesteryear are often tougher than a lot of grown up modern games. It’s a little embarrassing when Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers are pummeling your platforming skills into a fine powder that the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game snorts right up.

These days, developers are not nearly as cruel. For the most part, they want you to win. However, there are still difficult games out there: the Call of Duty series on veteran, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry 3, and God of War 2 on Titan. These games bring the pain like Method Man (youtube it), they can be controller throwingly difficult, and if throwingly wasn’t already a word, it is now.

I have gotten so frustrated at the cheating, Nazi sharpshooters in Call of Duty World at War that I have literally punched myself. Hard. This self flagellation is made all the worse by the fact that I chose this level of difficulty, I had to be a macho idiot, and instead of enjoying my game, I hate every second I spend getting shot in the face from a mile away. My only fun with these unbelievably tough games comes from victory.

There are still tough games out there, but the overall level of difficulty has taken a plunge. The average modern game is much, much easier than just about any old school game. Most kids just rock through their games on easy and never know the punishment that we old timers were subjected to. On the other hand, they don’t get that glorious feeling that only comes from defeating a ridiculously unfair boss battle. They won’t have the searing memories of making it to the end of Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and being told, “Hey, go back to the beginning and start all over so we can pad the length of this game a bit.”

In the end, it is probably better now that developers let us choose if we want to get our faces annihilated or if we want to walk through the park picking daisies.