Exploring Player Frustration: A Comparative Study of One vs. Multi-Level Difficulty in Video Games and the Short-Term Impact on Players
type: CreativeWork
description: With the rise in popularity of challenging video games such as Elden Ring, belonging to the Souls genre known for its high difficulty level, the question arises regarding the immediate consequences players experience after frustrating encounters. Specifically, this study investigates the short-term consequences of frustration after playing action RPG video games with one difficulty level vs multiple difficulty levels and whether this affects the day-to-day life of the players. This research provides insights for players and game developers, shedding light on the potential consequences of frustration during gameplay and offering less frustrating game design alternatives. Based on the literature review of difficult video games, two versions of the same experimental video game were created to conduct a comparative analysis, version A with one level of difficulty and version B offering multiple difficulty options. An online survey was distributed to the players who played the experimental video game to gather data about the consequences of frustration after playing. The survey analysis demonstrated that playing video games with one difficulty level caused significantly more consequences on players than games with multi-level difficulty. The results indicate that players experienced significant consequences like laziness, less productivity, discomfort, and unwellness, which affected their day-to-day lives shortly after playing a game with one difficulty level. On this basis, it is recommended that players who don’t want to experience frustration should play games with multiple difficulty levels which cause less frustration. Further research is needed to identify the long-term consequences of playing games with one difficulty level.
abstract: With the rise in popularity of challenging video games such as Elden Ring, belonging to the Souls genre known for its high difficulty level, the question arises regarding the immediate consequences players experience after frustrating encounters. Specifically, this study investigates the short-term consequences of frustration after playing action RPG video games with one difficulty level vs multiple difficulty levels and whether this affects the day-to-day life of the players. This research provides insights for players and game developers, shedding light on the potential consequences of frustration during gameplay and offering less frustrating game design alternatives. Based on the literature review of difficult video games, two versions of the same experimental video game were created to conduct a comparative analysis, version A with one level of difficulty and version B offering multiple difficulty options. An online survey was distributed to the players who played the experimental video game to gather data about the consequences of frustration after playing. The survey analysis demonstrated that playing video games with one difficulty level caused significantly more consequences on players than games with multi-level difficulty. The results indicate that players experienced significant consequences like laziness, less productivity, discomfort, and unwellness, which affected their day-to-day lives shortly after playing a game with one difficulty level. On this basis, it is recommended that players who don’t want to experience frustration should play games with multiple difficulty levels which cause less frustration. Further research is needed to identify the long-term consequences of playing games with one difficulty level.
author: Kahl, Philipp L.
language: en
keywords: Soul's genre, Multi-level difficulty, One-level difficulty, Player frustration, Video game, Casual gamers, Hardcore gamers, Impact on players
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:14:08Z
provider: University of Bradford
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Bradford