In the 1990s, the videogame industry has managed to become the fastest growing segment of the entertainment industry in America. However, only a very low number of videogame products manage to cover the costs of production and generate earnings. According to traditional marketing wisdom, players' preferences are a core issue in creating successful products, and the game design process is crucial for guaranteeing players' satisfaction. Then, an important question arises: What do players want in videogames? The purpose of this work is to propose a game design reference that directly mirrors players' preference, shaped as a qualitative model based on empirical data gathered during playing sessions. The model describes the main elements that, according to players' opinions, determine the playability of action videogames; the model proposes design guidelines that are the conceptualization of players' preferences. Therefore, the model helps game designers to understand the elements that must be dealt with to ma...