---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-difficulty-level
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-difficulty-level
lang: en
title: Difficulty level
summary: >-
  The selected mode changes challenge parameters or available assistance. The
  player chooses a suitable challenge for their experience and goals.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-difficulty-level/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-difficulty-level.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-difficulty-level.md
aliases:
  - Difficulty selection
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Difficulty
sourceIds:
  - source-e826383b868eafad
  - source-565c6579d6ffec91
  - source-b9312dde1ef153dd
  - source-f95e4a8e23d566d4
sources:
  - id: source-e826383b868eafad
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Difficulty level'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-565c6579d6ffec91
    title: Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level/game/wolfenstein-3d'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-b9312dde1ef153dd
    title: Doom (1993)
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level/game/doom'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-f95e4a8e23d566d4
    title: 'Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (2017)'
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level/game/wolfenstein-ii-the-new-colossus
    verifiedAt: null
relations:
  - type: explains
    direction: incoming
    label: Understand the principle
    key: lesson/game-accessibility
    title: Basic accessibility across a play session
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/game-accessibility/'
    jsonUrl: >-
      https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/game-accessibility.json
    markdownUrl: >-
      https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/game-accessibility.md
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-difficulty-level
    title: Game design techniques
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-difficulty-level'
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-difficulty
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Difficulty selection
    description: >-
      The selected mode changes challenge parameters or available assistance.
      The player chooses a suitable challenge for their experience and goals.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/interaction-difficulty-level.webp
      width: 800
      height: 600
      game: Doom
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/doom_difficulty_levels.jpg'
      credit: id Software; image via GameMechanics.org
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host:
        GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights
        reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Five Doom difficulty levels
      alt: >-
        Doom’s Choose Skill Level menu lists five options from I’m Too Young to
        Die to Nightmare.
      markers:
        - x: 53
          'y': 34
          label: Difficulty list before the game begins
        - x: 59
          'y': 63
          label: Nightmare as a distinct extreme option
    tips:
      - Explain the concrete changes behind each mode’s name.
      - Allow difficulty changes when they fit the game’s structure.
    examples:
      - title: Doom
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages
  checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by
  gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference
  URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film
  analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are
  upstream attributions, not independent verification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/game-mechanics
---
# Difficulty level

id: game-mechanics--gm-difficulty-level
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-difficulty-level
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-difficulty-level/

The selected mode changes challenge parameters or available assistance. The player chooses a suitable challenge for their experience and goals.

## At a glance

![Doom’s Choose Skill Level menu lists five options from I’m Too Young to Die to Nightmare.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interaction-difficulty-level.webp)

[Doom](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Difficulty list before the game begins
2. Nightmare as a distinct extreme option

- Explain the concrete changes behind each mode’s name.
- Allow difficulty changes when they fit the game’s structure.

- [Doom](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level)

## How it works

A mode selection changes challenge parameters or available assistance.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-difficulty-level-rule"></a>

- A mode selection changes challenge parameters or available assistance. <a id="gm-difficulty-level-definition"></a>

## Context and limits

All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source.

## Connected materials

- Understand the principle: [Basic accessibility across a play session](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/game-accessibility/) (key: lesson/game-accessibility)

## Sources and provenance

Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.

- [Game Mechanics: Difficulty level](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level) (id: source-e826383b868eafad)
- [Wolfenstein 3D (1992)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level/game/wolfenstein-3d) (id: source-565c6579d6ffec91)
- [Doom (1993)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level/game/doom) (id: source-b9312dde1ef153dd)
- [Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (2017)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/difficulty-level/game/wolfenstein-ii-the-new-colossus) (id: source-f95e4a8e23d566d4)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors