As technology has advanced and better hardware has allowed for more refined game mechanics, discussions about difficulty in video games have increasingly focused on this aspect as a design choice. However, since different players can find different aspect of video games difficult, at least in the sense of making it harder for them to play or finish the game, it can be challenging for a game developer to keep that aspect in mind when developing a game, since the frame of reference a creator has to their creation is different. This is especially true in action video-games, due to its focus on input and reaction-based challenges making the experience of a player different based on more factors compared to if a challenge was based on, for instance, logic or problem solving. Consequently, an analysis was conducted regarding what possible categorizations one can make based on how different parameters can affect the difficulty of an action video game. The purpose of this is for game designers having an additional framework for design choices in games they create. Thus, the research question was the following: What possible categorizations can be established regarding parameters that impact the difficulty of action video games?

The analysis was done primarily through a review of three different texts that each discuss difficulty in video games through different lenses, where information pertaining to difficulty was laid out and summarized. A discussion was then made regarding the specific parts of the texts that were analyzed, and the results were four categories: Difficulty based on the player’s ability to control and react, difficulty based on how much of a setback there was if they fail, difficulty based on how much randomness can impact the player’s attempts in the game, and difficulty based on how much information is obscured to the player.

These categories can thus be used as a potential framework in the design of video games. Further research can be made in this area regarding different genres.