Toward an understanding of flow in video games

Abstract

________________________________________________________________________In the domain of computer games, research into the interaction between player and game has centred on 'enjoyment', often drawing in particular on optimal experience research and Csikszentmihalyi's 'Flow theory'. Flow is a well-established construct for examining experience in any setting and its application to game-play is intuitive. Nevertheless, it's not immediately obvious how to translate between the flow construct and an operative description of game-play. Previous research has attempted this translation through analogy. In this article we propose a practical, integrated approach for analysis of the mechanics and aesthetics of game-play, which helps develop deeper insights into the capacity for flow within games.The relationship between player and game, characterized by learning and enjoyment, is central to our analysis. We begin by framing that relationship within Cowley's user-system-experience (USE) model, and expand this into an information systems framework, which enables a practical mapping of flow onto game-play. We believe this approach enhances our understanding of a player's interaction with a game and provides useful insights for games' researchers seeking to devise mechanisms to adapt game-play to individual players.

Experimenting with electromagnetism using augmented reality: Impact on flow student experience and educational effectiveness

“…Nine factors have been related to this psychological state: clear goals, immediate feedback, perceived skills versus challenges, merger of action and awareness, concentration on the task, control, a loss of self-consciousness, an altered sense of time, and experience which becomes autotelic (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). The flow concept has been applied to disciplines such as marketing, sports, work, and education (Hoffman & Novak, 2009;Novak, Hoffman, & Yung, 2000) and research conducted in web environments suggests that interactive media might foster users' flow states (Chen, Wigand, & Nilan, 1999;Cowley, Charles, Black, & Hickey, 2008). These results have encouraged researchers to study the effect of augmented reality on students' flow states (Choi & Baek, 2011;Kye & Kim, 2008;Pearce et al, 2005).…”

Game research, measuring gaming preferences

“…The main concepts studied in works focused on gameplay experiences are: flow [6], immersion [9], play styles [5], emotions [8], and fun [12].…”

Psychophysiology and high-performance cognition - a brief review of the literature

“…Some work [14,18,21] has been done with the theory of Flow [10,8], but this approach remains problematic because the theory is descriptive of subjective states, and not predictive of physiological states. A stronger link can be found in simpler cognitive mechanisms, which may in combination provide an index to HLC/HPC under the right measurement protocol.…”