Choosing the right difficulty for your video game

The difficulty level of a game has a multi-layered effect on the game itself. If the difficulty level is chosen appropriately, it can have a motivating effect. On the other hand, an unsuitable chosen difficulty level can be frustrating and discouraging. Successes and failures in the game, influence the game experience. If a game is too difficult and you constantly fail, this can lead to frustration. In the worst case, you are then ready to give up on the game.

On the other hand, a well-balanced difficulty level leads to positive feelings. The self-esteem increased by successes encourages you to keep playing. For this reason, the game then becomes similar to an addiction - you want to play it more and more to feel the "high."

It has been found that the impact of success and failure on self-esteem is particularly significant in multiplayer games. Victory against real opponents feels more special and is associated with more feelings of accomplishment.

The risk of lowering players' self-esteem is skillfully applied in Soulslike games. In such games, you don't lose when your character dies; you lose when you give up. Dying frequently is an experience that suits the genre and is not considered a lack of skill.

It has been shown that extroverts, so sociable and energetic people, tend to choose higher difficulty levels in games. The same is true for emotionally stable people. Those who are not tending to stress and negative emotions also tend to like games with higher difficulty levels.

All these results make sense from a general psychological perspective: for open-minded and emotionally stable people, the experience of "failure" is not as severe as for other people, so they can afford to play on a higher difficulty level.

General rules for setting the level of difficulty

The game's difficulty level should not decrease

This may sound obvious, but even some AAA games forget this and shock you with an extremely difficult beginning, only to reduce the difficulty later. This can cause some people to give up right at the beginning, while those who like a challenge quickly get disappointed when they experience a decrease in difficulty.

The difficulty level should increase gradually

In the beginning, you get to know the game and its different mechanics. The more you play, the better you get. If the difficulty level isn't increased over time and the game doesn't introduce new mechanics, you'll quickly get bored. Offering new, more difficult challenges provides a sense of progress and achievement, which is the main motivation for many to play.

You should not feel stuck

At any point in the game, you should feel that you are in control of the situation. You shouldn't allow a situation where you don't know what to do next or can't complete a task that is required to progress. There should always be a way out of the situation. Ideally, there should always be multiple ways to move forward. For example, in the Dark Souls series, if you have trouble, you can change your equipment, develop your character or call for help.

The ways of increasing the difficulty level should be varied

The point is to keep the player's interest high all the time. It is not enough to just gradually increase the strength and health points of the bosses. Increasing the difficulty level should also include the introduction of new mechanics and new ways of solving problems.

Determine the target audience of the game's difficulty level

When determining the difficulty level, it is also important to shape the experience to the game's target audience. If you release a Soulslike game with a very high difficulty level, you should clearly communicate this in the advertising. That way, the buyers know what to expect when playing the game.

The usefulness of accurate playtests

Playtest with a group of people representative of the target audience. Feedback from careful playtesting is a significant help in determining the difficulty level of the overall game.

Test feedback provides a detailed understanding of the game's learning curve. They make it possible to determine which elements of the game are interesting and motivating to the audience based on their difficulty level and which are frustrating and discouraging.

Conclusion

Determining the optimal level of difficulty is not an easy task. To do it properly, you must first take into account the specifics of the genre of the game you are working on. It is also important to follow general rules of game design. Careful playtesting can greatly facilitate the whole process of setting the difficulty level and protect the developers and publishers of the game from negative comments.