You're playtesting your game. A player drops the remote and says, "This is so frustrating!" Your heart sinks and your producer leans over and whispers, "Should we make it easier?" This is a moment that will define your game's success. Because not all frustration is a problem; the wrong kind of frustration is. This is why the question you need to ask first is: Is this the frustration I designed (the challenge that makes it engaging) or the frustration I need to fix (the usability problem breaking the experience)?
When you can identify whether the player's frustration is intentional or not, you'll know what to do next. In this video, Celia Hodent, PhD, Game UX Strategist and Author of the bestselling book The Gamer's Brain, shows you how to distinguish between the two types of frustration you'll encounter as a game UX designer.
Not All Frustration Is Bad
In traditional UX, frustration is always the enemy. You find it and remove it. But in game UX you'll encounter two fundamentally different types of frustration, and they require opposite responses.
Frustration NOT by Design: Usability Problems
These are barriers that prevent players from accessing your intended experience. They break immersion, block progress, and create confusion. This is the kind you want to eliminate.
For example:
Players don't understand what button to press to use a powerful weapon.
Controls feel unresponsive or unpredictable.
UI elements are hard to read or locate.
Instructions are unclear or missing.
The game crashes or has technical issues.
These need to be fixed because players can't experience your intended game when these get in the way. No amount of great gameplay can make up for a confusing menu or broken controls.
Frustration BY Design: Crafted Challenges
These are intentional obstacles that create engagement, and they're the reason players keep playing. This is the kind you intentionally design for. Without them, your game becomes boring.
For example:
A boss fight that requires multiple attempts to master.
A puzzle that takes time to figure out.
A platforming sequence that demands precise timing.
Resource scarcity that forces strategic choices.
Opponents with abilities that counter your tactics.
These require careful crafting. If they're too easy, players will lose interest. If they're too hard, players might get frustrated and even quit. Finding that balance is where your skill as a game UX designer matters most. The goal is to make sure players feel frustrated at the challenge, not at your game.
The Gray Area: Is the Challenge Communicated Clearly?
Sometimes the challenge itself is good, but players don't understand what they're supposed to do. This is where usability and challenge intersect.
For instance, imagine a puzzle that's intellectually challenging (good frustration) but players don't realize they can interact with key objects (bad frustration). The solution isn't to make the puzzle easier but to improve the usability of interaction cues. You keep the challenge but fix the communication.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Creating the right level of challenge is actually quite complex. You need to test with players and calibrate difficulty to shape specific emotional experiences.
Too little frustration: Players breeze through without effort. No sense of accomplishment. Boring.
Too much frustration: Players can't progress. They feel incompetent rather than challenged. They quit.
Just right: Players struggle but make progress. They feel capable. When they succeed, they feel genuine accomplishment.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
This calibration is never one-size-fits-all and requires constant testing and iteration. Different players have different skill levels, different abilities, and different tolerance for frustration. Also, difficulty perception is subjective. Your target audience shapes what "just right" means.
The Take Away
When a player says, "this is frustrating," your first response isn't to make the game easier. Your first response is to understand what kind of frustration they mean.
Some frustration belongs in the game (frustration by design). A boss fight may take several attempts or a puzzle may take time to understand. That kind of friction can make progress feel earned, as long as players understand what the game is asking of them. But there's another type of frustration that gets in the way of the game (not by design). If players can't read the interface, understand the controls, or tell what happened after they failed, they're no longer struggling with the intentional challenge, they're struggling with the design.
That distinction is one of the most important skills in game UX. You learn when to protect the challenge and when to fix the experience around it. So when a colleague asks, "Should we make it easier?" the better answer is: "Let's find out what is frustrating them first."
References and Where to Learn More
Want more? If you haven't already, sign up for Game UX Design: The Ultimate Guide to learn directly from Celia Hodent, PhD, former Fortnite UX Director, and author of the best-seller The Gamer's Brain.
Read The Gamer's Brain by Celia Hodent.
To grasp how design impacts emotions, read What Is Emotional Design.
To master the art of designing emotionally engaging experiences, read the book Designing for Emotion by Aaron Walter.
Watch the How to Design for the Human Mind: Cognitive Science for UX Master Class by Celia Hodent.
Watch the How to Become a Games User Researcher Master Class by Steve Bromley, Games Researcher and Author.
Watch the AI for Game UX: Speed Up Research, Ideas, and Prototypes Master Class by Om Tandon, UX Design Leader at Nordeus (Zynga/Take-Two).
Watch the Level Up Your Career: How to Land a Job in the Game Industry Master Class with Om Tandon, UX Design Leader at Nordeus (Zynga/Take-Two).
Watch the UI Design for Games: Starter Edition Master Class with Stéfano Girardelli, Senior Visual Designer at Wildlife Studios.
Hero image: © Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
