Flow
A state in which users are fully absorbed in an action.
- One of Game Designs’ main goals is to make players enter this state
Has four fundamental components:
- Clear Tasks
- The user should know what to do
- Feedback
- The user should be informed about what is happening
- Balance
- The user should like to perform the task
- Minimal Distractions
- The user should be able to focus on the task
Clear Tasks
The user should know at all times what the current objective is.
- In games, this will frequently be something like quests or defeating a strong enemy
Task types for games:
- Explicit Tasks: Tasks directly stated by the game
- Beat the boss to reach the next area
- Complete a given mission objective
- Implicit Tasks: Tasks designed for the player, but not directly mentioned
- Find secrets
- Level up character
- Player-driven Tasks: Tasks players created for themselves
- Beat the boss without being hit
- Help a friend
Feedback
The user should be informed about the result of an action at all times.
Feedback in games:
- As games are experienced in real-time feedback should occur immediately
- Every aspect of the game should create feedback
- Progress to a task; Current player actions; Collecting new items/consuming them
- It should be clear if something is good or bad
- If the player does not notice or understand the feedback, it does not exist
- Games have a special term for something with extreme feedback “juice”
Balance
- Games try to be balanced
- Match the difficulty to the player’s skill
- Difficulty should increase at the same rate as the players’ skill
- If the required difficulty is below the player‘s skill the game will be boring
- If the required difficulty is above the player‘s skill the game will cause anxiety
- The game should feature rest and action moments within the desired difficulty
Minimal Distractions
The user should not be distracted from the main tasks or the feedback they receive.
Distractions in games:
- There is little influence on distractions outside the product
- Controls should not cause confusion
- Objects in the game should not look out of place unless the player should focus on them
- Things that are hard to read or see
- Unimportant things that grab attention
Simplicity
Defines the absence of everything that is not needed.
- Makes it easier to achieve the flow state and keeps users there for longer
Has four fundamental components:
- Core
- Fundamental experience with the product
- Limited Choice
- All options the user should have
- Intuitive
- Things the user knows subconsciously
- User’s Perspective
- How the user experiences the product
Core
Describes the core experience of a product.
- Ideally, this covers only the features needed to play/enjoy the product, but never less
Core game:
- The core of a game are all the elements the player encounters
- Inputs; Story; UI; Mechanics; Feedback; Objectives
- A game can have multiple cores if it features playable subgames
- Reducing the core of the game will make it more elegant
- This makes achieving flow easier
Limited Choice
Defines the options a user should think about when interacting with the product.
Choice in games:
- Choice makes games different from other media
- A product wants the user to think about specific choices
- The number of choices needs to be correct for this to feel good
- Humans tend to be able to think about 3-7 things at once
- The number of choices can increase with player’s skill
Intuitive
Describes the things the user is expected to know immediately.
- This could be because it is similar to other actions; has a great user experience or is something most people just know
Intuitive Games:
- It will generally be achieved by using conventions
- Common menu icons; Common input patterns;
- Well known classes: Mage; Thief; Warrior;
- Defined behaviour patterns: Elf; Goblin; Orc; Android; Mercenary; Knight; Peasant
- Creating intuitive interactions for new larger concepts are usually based on breaking existing concepts down and using the elements that fit the new concept for it
- Creating intuitive interactions for minor changes is done by demonstrating the change in something known
User‘s Perspective
Defines how a user thinks of the product and how they would interact with it.
- Think about an object based on its first impression
- Start by guessing the intended function and how to interact with it
- See if the expected result happens when interacting with it
- See if you can find shortcuts to use the object faster/easier
Flow Space
Flow Space combines Flow and Simplicity to create a map for how to make Flow most accessible for the user.
It’s important to keep in mind that the Flow State can’t be forced, so instead Designers try to create an environment that makes it easier to achieve.
Even under perfect conditions the user will enter and leave the Flow State during the experience so any given experience should work for both states.
Additional Reading
Flow Space:
http://www.goodgamesbydesign.com/Files/FlowSpace_CMurphy_2016.pdf
