almost-impossible video game
How almost-impossible video games can create euphoric moments
If at first you don't succeed, try again. It took YouTuber Val JP 32,873 attempts to get to the end of a minute-long level he had designed for Super Mario Maker, a 2015 Nintendo game that lets you craft your own levels and upload them for others to play. Val JP is known for making extremely difficult levels, stuffed with spike traps, fire pits and floating enemies that thwart anyone with less than pixel-perfect reflexes. This time he might have gone too far, however. Before you can upload a home-made level, you must prove that it is playable – and that means completing it at least once yourself.