View source for Difficulty Levels

[[Category:Difficulty-Related Patterns]]
[[Category:Gameplay Adaptability Patterns]]
[[Category:Patterns]]
[[Category:Needs revision]]
[[Category:Needs references]]
''Controls in a game for letting player choose how difficult the gameplay should be.''

To be enjoyable, a game being played needs to have a difficulty fitting the challenge its players wishes to have. Many games try to solve this by steadily become more difficult as gameplay progresses under the assumption that players are getting more skilled - which can be described as keeping the players in the ''Flow'' channel<ref name="Csikszentmihalyi"/>. This does however not solve the case of games that are replayed since they start at a higher skill level. [[Difficulty Settings]] are design options that allow players to modify the difficulty to what they perceive as being their right level, which may be harder than normal if they are skilled but also easier than normal if they are not used to the type of game or simply want a more relaxing experience.

=== Examples ===
The [[Doom series]] lets players choose between five different [[Difficulty Levels]]: ''I'm Too Young To Die'', ''Hey, Not Too Rough'', ''Hurt Me Plenty'', ''Ultra-Violence'', and ''Nightmare''. These differ by the number of monsters encountered (or their strength), ammunition available for weapons, the speed of monsters and damage taken from their attacks, and how often they respawn. [[Left 4 Dead series]] lets players choose between ''Easy'', ''Normal'', ''Advanced'', and ''Expert'' when playing, and this affects the speed, strength, and health of the "infected" as well as how often hordes of them attack players. In addition, players of [[Left 4 Dead 2]] can choose to use the ''Realism Mode'' in which the game does not provide non-diegetic information about where the other players or supplies are.

The [[Hearts of Iron series]] of grand strategy games let players select [[Difficulty Levels]] ranging from ''Very Easy'' to ''Very Hard''. These affect the number of manpower available, industrial capabilities, availability of resources, revolt risks, and efficiency of naval bases and supply networks.

[[Difficulty Levels]] can also be found in board games. [[Space Alert]] lets players choose difficulty simply by choosing between different scenarios (the actual challenges are randomized, so it is the structures that are chosen by selecting particular scenarios). Players of [[Pandemic]] can increase the level of difficulty in games by seeding card stacks with additional "epidemic" cards while in [[Forbidden Island]] one can make it harder to win by starting with a higher water level.

== Using the pattern ==
Designing [[Difficulty Levels]] consists of deciding on different types of modifications to the gameplay that should be used to describe different levels of difficulty. The options naturally depend on what values are handled by the game system, but generally [[Decreased Abilities]] or [[Improved Abilities]] form the basis for creating a difficulty level. For [[Multiplayer Games]] a general choice also exists regarding if all players need to have the same difficulty setting or not - if they do not have to have this then [[Difficulty Levels]] provide a [[Handicap Systems|Handicap System]] (as they do in any [[Single-Player Games|Single-Player Game]]).

Examples of more specific modifications include to change how much [[Health]] players have, introduce general multipliers to [[Damage]] taken or given, make [[Ammunition]] or [[Tools]] that restore [[Health]] more or less common, change the numbers of [[Enemies]] encountered and how often [[Respawning]] occurs, as well as modifying the skill of [[AI Players]] and [[Algorithmic Agents]] controlling [[Enemies]]. In games with [[Teams]], limiting the possibilities for [[Coordination]] is a way to make gameplay more difficulty. The ''Realism Mode'' in [[Left 4 Dead 2]] is an example of this, but also shows that [[Difficulty Levels]] do not have to be simply choices along one scale. In this case the use of [[Geospatial Game Widgets]] are severely districted and thereby makes [[Coordination]] more difficult, but any kind of modification (or groups of modifications) could be broken out as a separate choices - the ability to switch [[Friendly Fire]] on and off in [[Quake 3]] by console commands can be seen as an additional example. When selectable, systems providing [[Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment]] can be seen as a form of thing type of [[Difficulty Levels]] as well. Board games requiring no dexterity and with [[Perfect Information]] provides a very specific form of difficulty setting - that of not using any [[Tokens]] and thereby requiring some or all player to continuously having to engage in [[Memorizing]] the game state. [[Chess]] played in this way is called [[Blindfold Chess]]. The use of [[Permadeath]] in games can be the basis for additional [[Difficulty Levels]]; [[Diablo II]] and the ''hardcore'' version of [[BatMUD]] are examples of this.
mos]] for whom one knows the [[Combos]] or playing those where one does not. The use of [[Asymmetric Starting Conditions]] for [[Abstract Player Constructs]] such as countries are often based upon the setting of the games - not all countries in the [[Hearts of Iron series]] have equal possibilities to handle the turmoil of the Second World War and, as the name suggests, not all countries in the [[Europa Universalis series]] were posed to be able and expand their influence between the 15th and 19th century AD.

While [[Difficulty Levels]] in themselves do not provide explicit goals in games (they modulate the ones that exist), an except can be found when they are used together with [[Goal Achievements]]. In these cases, i.e. when there exists [[Goal Achievements]] tied to specific [[Difficulty Levels]] as for example done in [[Torchlight]], they do give rise to the presence of [[Handicap Achievements]].

=== Interface Aspects ===
The setting of [[Difficulty Levels]] are typically done either in [[Secondary Interface Screens]], or, for [[Multiplayer Games]], in [[Game Lobbies]].

== Consequences ==
[[Difficulty Levels]] are a form of [[Handicap Systems|Handicap System]], and since players can choose to deviate from the standard they also represent a form of [[Optional Rules]]. They give players a [[Freedom of Choice]] to have either [[Casual Gameplay|Casual]] or [[Challenging Gameplay]], as well as set the level of [[Framed Freedom]] they wish to have if some freedom exists to begin with. When players use [[Difficulty Levels]] to gradual increase the levels as they get better, this use of the pattern allows for [[Smooth Learning Curves]] that can be used to develop [[Game Mastery]]. However, this is under the responsibility of players that this occurs - [[Difficulty Levels]] can as easily work against [[Game Mastery]] if players are tempted to play on easy levels to complete or dominate the game.

[[Negotiable Game Sessions]] can be supported through [[Difficulty Levels]] since they can both change the amount of challenges that need to be overcome as well as making it less likely than one fails and has to redo parts of a game.

As mentioned above, [[Difficulty Levels]] can be combined with [[Goal Achievements]] to create [[Handicap Achievements]]. 

[[Difficulty Levels]] provide a weak form of [[Social Adaptability]] in games since players have a basic level of influence in what the game will require from them.

== Relations ==
=== Can Instantiate ===
[[Challenging Gameplay]], 
[[Casual Gameplay]], 
[[Freedom of Choice]], 
[[Game Mastery]],
[[Handicap Systems]], 
[[Negotiable Game Sessions]], 
[[Optional Rules]], 
[[Smooth Learning Curves]], 
[[Social Adaptability]], 
[[Permadeath]]

==== with [[Goal Achievements]] ====
[[Handicap Achievements]]

=== Can Modulate ===
[[AI Players]], 
[[Algorithmic Agents]], 
[[Ammunition]], 
[[Framed Freedom]], 
[[Geospatial Game Widgets]], 
[[Damage]], 
[[Enemies]], 
[[Health]], 
[[Respawning]], 
[[Tools]]

[[Coordination]] and [[Friendly Fire]] in games with [[Teams]]

=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
[[Decreased Abilities]], 
[[Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment]], 
[[Game Lobbies]], 
[[Improved Abilities]], 
[[Secondary Interface Screens]]

[[Asymmetric Starting Conditions]] together with [[Characters]] or [[Abstract Player Constructs]]

[[Memorizing]] together with [[Perfect Information]]

=== Can Be Modulated By ===
-

=== Possible Closure Effects ===
-

=== Potentially Conflicting With ===
[[Game Mastery]]

== History ==
New pattern created in this wiki.

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="Csikszentmihalyi">Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály (1996). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-092820-4.</ref>
</references>

== Acknowledgments ===
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