Game Decisions
In the reading for this week it is interesting to look at this idea of flow state. Being. a gamer, everyone has experienced this state of not wanting to stop playing a game as you've got into the groove of winning challenge after challenge and upskilling your player. We as people want to succeed and the feeling of finally beating that boss you have been stuck on or upgrading your player to learn new skills and techniques can all fall under this flow state experience. Flow state is when you are in the peak of engagement with a game. When playing a game the challenges that you face and how difficult or easy they are is what will determine being put into this flow state. Imagining it is the player skill level you are at vs. the challenge you come up against. If a challenge is too easy and is repeatedly being completed without any real effort a state of boredom can occur. If a challenge is too hard and try after try to no avail is happening then the player can be put into a state of anxiety which will also result in the game being switched off. There is perfect middle ground to this and that is called the flow state. It's an interesting concept and good to put a name on this state of being that the developer wants the player to be in. Such an easy concept to stick to. The frustration that can happen when in the anxiety stage of playing a game but also when you finally complete that challenge the feeling of relief and succeeding can be immense.
Bibliography:
FLOW EXPERIENCE IN COMPUTER GAME PLAYING AMONG THAIUNIVERSITY STUDENTS
GAME DESIGN WITH MICHAEL
What is FLOW THEORY in game design? - The Basics - (Part 1)
LEVEL 6.0: DECISIONS, DECISIONS!: GAME DESIGN CONCEPTS
Image Bibliography:
Hey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteAgain, I always enjoy reading and browsing your blog. I love your breakdown of the flow theory you simplified great.
I agree with you; we all want to succeed, and flow state events include finally defeating that boss you've been avoiding or developing your player to learn new abilities and strategies.
See you around on campus.
Alex.
Hi Kevin, I enjoyed reading this blog post and yes, I agree. I think every gamer has had some sort of flow state before. The flow state is a very important part of game design in my opinion and is something that should be hugely considered during the overall development of a game. Great job on this blog post. It looks like you learned a lot.
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