Is Difficulty Overrated? Measuring the Effects of Motivational Design Factors in an Educational Game
summary
Large online experiments use random assignment and factorial manipulations on a simple fraction game Battleship Numberline to test motivation; results come from 22,048 sessions. When difficulty is blindly assigned the easiest levels produce the longest playtime, but when players choose difficulty moderate challenge looks best. Moderate novelty (neither every item nor never) yields an inverted‑U effect, and close games with suspense increase persistence. Measures are behavioral (playtime), manipulated via ship size, time limits and win thresholds, and data are public at datashop.org.
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