Toward an understanding of flow in video games

Ben Cowley, Darryl Charles, Michaela Black, Raymond Hickey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

318 Citations (Scopus)

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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-27
JournalComputers in Entertainment
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - Jul 2008

Bibliographical note

Reference text: 1 Abt, C. C. 1970. Serious Games. Viking Press, New York.
2 Avedon, E. M. 1971. The Study of Games. Wiley, London.
3 Bartle, R. 1996. Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: Players who suit Muds. J. Virtual Environments 1, 1 (June).
4 Chris Bateman , Richard Boon, 21st Century Game Design (Game Development Series), Charles River Media, Inc., Rockland, MA, 2005
5 Bateman, C. 2005. Riddles of difficulty. http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2005/11/riddles_of_diff.html. Accessed May 2008.
6 Bateman, C. 2006a. Roger Caillois' patterns of play. http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2006/05/roger_caillois_.html. Accessed April 2008
7 Bateman, C. 2006b. Play specifications. http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2006/04/play_specificat.html. Accessed May 2008
8 Biederman, I. and Vessel, E. A. 2006. Perceptual pleasure and the brain. American Scientist 94, 249--255.
9 Brown, L. T. and Gregory, L. P. 1968. Attentional response of humans and squirrel monkeys to visual patterns: Final studies and resume. Perceptual and Motor Skills 27, 3, 787--814.
10 Caillois, R. 1962. Man, Play and Games. Thames & Hudson, London. In English translation.
11 Carli, M. 1986. Selezione psicologica e qualità dell esperienza {Psychological selection and quality of experience}. In L'esperienza Quotidiana: Teoria e metodo d'analisi {Daily experience: Theory and Methods of Analysis}. Franco Angeli, Milan.
12 Charles, D., McNeill, M., McAlister, M., Black, M., Moore, A., Stringer, K., Kerr, A., and Kucklich, J. 2005. Player-centred game design: Player modelling and adaptive digital games. In Proceedings of DiGRA 2005 Conference: Changing Views - Worlds in Play (British Columbia, June 16--20), 285--298.
13 Chomsky, N. 1956. Three models for the description of language, IRE Trans. on Information Theory 2, 2, 113--123.
14 Church, D. 1999. Formal abstract design tools. Game Developer Magazine (Aug.). http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19990716/design_tools_01.htm. Accessed May 2008.
15 Cook, D. 2006. Creating a system of game play notation. http://lostgarden.com/2006_01_01_archive.html. Accessed May 2008.
16 Costikyan, G. 1994. I have no words and I must design. Interactive Fantasy J. 2.
17 Cousins, B. 2004. Elementary game design. Develop Magazine (Oct.). http://www.bencousins.com/. Accessed May 2008.
18 Cousins, B. 2005. Low-level game design, atoms, measurement and hierarchies. Presentation at Game Developers Conference, Europe. http://www.bencousins.com/. Accessed May 2008.
19 Cowley, B., Charles, D., Black, M., and Hickey, R. 2006a. User-system-experience model for user centred design in computer games. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Adaptive Hypermedia and Adaptive Web-Based Systems (Dublin, Ireland, June), V. Wade et al. eds., LNCS 4018, Springer, 419--424.
20 Cowley, B., Charles, D., Black, M., and Hickey, R. 2006b. Using decision theory for player analysis in Pacman. In Proceedings of the SAB '06 Workshop on Adaptive Approaches for Optimizing Player Satisfaction in Computer and Physical Games (Rome, Oct.), G. N. Yannakakis and J. Hallam eds. Tech. Rep. TR-2006-2, Maersk Institute for Production Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense.
21 Chris Crawford, Chris Crawford on Game Design, New Riders Publishing, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2003
22 Crutchfield, J. P. and Young, K. 1990. Computation at the onset of chaos. In Entropy, Complexity, and the Physics of Information, W. Zurek, ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA., 223--269.
23 Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1975a. Beyond Boredom and Anxiety, Jossey-Bass, SF.
24 Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1975b. Play and intrinsic rewards. J. Humanistic Psychology 15, 41--63.
25 Csikszentmihalyi, M. and Csikszentmihalyi, I. 1990. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper and Row, New York.
26 Donkers, H. H. L. M. 2003. Nosce Hostem - Searching with opponent models. Ph.D, dissertation, IKAT/Computer Science Dept., Univ. Maastricht.
27 D'Andrade, R. G. 1995. The Development of Cognitive Anthropology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA.
28 Yellowlees Douglas , Andrew Hargadon, The pleasure principle: immersion, engagement, flow, Proceedings of the eleventh ACM on Hypertext and hypermedia, p.153-160, May 30-June 03, 2000, San Antonio, Texas, United States [doi>10.1145/336296.336354]
29 El Rhalibi, A., Hanneghan, M., Tang, S., and England, D. 2005. Extending soft models to game design: flow, challenges and conflicts. In Proceedings of DiGRA 2005 Conference: Changing Views - Worlds in Play (British Columbia, June 16--20).
30 Esperjo, R. and Harnden, R., (Eds.). 1989. The Viable System Model: Interpretations and Applications of Stafford Beer's VSM. Wiley Ltd., London.
31 Christina M. Finneran , Ping Zhang, A person-artefact-task (PAT) model of flow antecedents in computer-mediated environments, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, v.59 n.4, p.475-496, October 2003 [doi>10.1016/S1071-5819(03)00112-5]
32 Frasca, G. 1999. Ludology meets narratology: Similitude and differences between (video) games and narrative. http://www.ludology.org/articles/ludology.htm. Accessed May 2008.
33 Kiel M Gilleade , Alan Dix, Using frustration in the design of adaptive videogames, Proceedings of the 2004 ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Advances in computer entertainment technology, p.228-232, June 03-05, 2005, Singapore [doi>10.1145/1067343.1067372]
34 Groos, K. 1898. The Play of Animals. D. Appleton, New York, English translation.
35 Grünvogel, S. M. 2005. Formal models and game design. Int. J. Computer Game Research 5. http://www.gamestudies.org/0501/gruenvogel/. Accessed May 2008.
36 Hallam, J. and Yannakakis, G. 2007. Optimizing player satisfaction. In Proceedings of the 2007 AIIDE Workshop, Tech. Rep. WS-07-01, AAAI Press, Menlo Park, CA.
37 Heaton, T. 2006. A circular model of gameplay. http://gamasutra.com/features/20060223/heaton_01.shtml#. Accessed May 2008.
38 John H. Holland, Emergence: From Chaos to Order, Perseus Publishing, 1999
39 Hopson, J. 2001. Behavioural game design. http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010427/hopson_01.htm. Accessed May 2008.
40 Houlette, R. 2004. Player modelling for adaptive games. In AI Game Programming Wisdom II, S. Rabin, ed., Charles River Media, Hingham, MA.
41 Huizinga, J. 1949. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture. Routledge and Paul, London.
42 Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., and Zubek, R. 2004. MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research. In Proceedings of the Challenges in Game AI Workshop, 19th National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI '04, San Jose, CA), AAAI Press.
43 Hunt, J. M. V. 1963. Motivation inherent in information processing and action. In Motivation and Social Interaction: The Cognitive Determinants, O. J. Harvey, Ed., Ronald Press, New York, 35--94.
44 Isokoski, P. and Martin, B. 2006. Eye tracker input in first person shooter games. In Proceedings of COGAIN 2006: Gazing into the Future, 78--81.
45 Jones, M. G. 1998. Creating electronic learning environments: Games, flow, and the user interface. In Proceedings of Selected Research and Development Presentations at the National Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT).
46 Jönsson, E. 2005. If looks could kill - An evaluation of eye tracking in computer games. Master's thesis, Dept, of Numerical Analysis and Computer Science, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
47 Kahneman, D. 1973. Attention and Effort. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
48 Keirsey, D. 1984. Please Understand Me: Character & Temperament Types. Prometheus Nemesis, Del Mar, CA.
49 Raph Koster , Will Wright, A Theory of Fun for Game Design, Paraglyph Press, 2004
50 Koster. R. 2005b. A grammar of gameplay. Presentation at the Game Developers Conference. http://www.theoryoffun.com/grammar/gdc2005.htm. Accessed May 2008.
51 Kucklich, J. 2004. Other playings - Cheating in computer games. In Proceedings of Other Players Conference (IT University of Copenhagen, Dec. 6--8.
52 Lazzaro, N. 2004. Why we play games: Four keys To more emotion without story. Presentation at the Game Developers Conference 2004. http://www.xeodesign.com/whyweplaygames/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf. Accessed May 2005.
53 Lewis, M. E., Mishkin, M., Bragin, E., Brown, R. M., Pert, C. B., and Pert, A. 1981. Opiate receptor gradients in monkey cerebral cortex: Correspondence with sensory processing hierarchies. Science 211, 1166--1169.
54 H. Lieberman , T. Selker, Out of context: computer systems that adapt to, and learn from, context, IBM Systems Journal, v.39 n.3-4, p.617-632, July 2000
55 Ludford, P. and Terveen, L. G. 2003. Does an individual's Myers-Briggs type indicator affect task-oriented technology use? Human-Computer Interaction - Interact '03, 623--632.
56 Massimini, F. and Carli, M. 1990. Systematic assessment of flow in daily experience. In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper and Row, New York.
57 Massimini, F., Csikszentmihalyi, M., and Delle Fave, A. 1990. Flow and bio-cultural evolution. In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper and Row, New York.
58 McKenzie, C. and James, K. 2004. Aesthetics as an aid to understanding complex systems and decision judgement in operating complex systems. In E:CO Special Double Issue 6, 1--2 (Autumn), 32--39.
59 Miller, G. A. 1956. The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review 63, 81--97.
60 Mitchell, R. G., Jr. 1990. Sociological implications of the flow experience. In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper and Row, New York.
61 Murray, J. H. 1997. Hamlet on the Holodeck. Free Press, New York.
62 Nakatsu, R., Rauterberg, M., and Vorderer, P. 2005. A new framework for entertainment computing: From passive to active experience. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Entertainment Computing (CEC 2005, Sanda, Japan, Sept. 19--21).
63 Thomas P. Novak , Donna L. Hoffman , Yiu-Fai Yung, Measuring the Customer Experience in Online Environments: A Structural Modeling Approach, Marketing Science, v.19 n.1, p.22-42, January 2000 [doi>10.1287/mksc.19.1.22.15184]
64 O'Regan, G. 1997. Applying formal methods to model organizations and structures in the real world. Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Computer Science, Trinity College, Dublin.
65 Parlett, D. 1999. The Oxford History of Board Games. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
66 Pearce, C. 1997. The Interactive Book. Macmillan, New York.
67 Rathunde, K. 1990. Optimal experience and the family context. In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper and Row, New York.
68 Matthias Rauterberg, About a framework for information and information processing of learning systems, Proceedings of the IFIP international working conference on Information system concepts: Towards a consolidation of views, p.54-69, March 28-30, 1995
69 Rauterberg, M 1996. How to measure cognitive complexity in human-computer interaction. In Proceedings of the 13th European Meeting on Cybernetics and Systems Research (Vienna), Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies.
70 Ravaja, N., Saari, T., Laarni, J., Kallinen, K., and Salminen, M. 2005. The psycho-physiology of video gaming: Phasic emotional responses to game events. In Proceedings of DiGRA 2005 Conference: Changing Views - Worlds in Play (British Columbia, June 16--20).
71 Katie Salen , Eric Zimmerman, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, The MIT Press, 2003
72 Katie Salen , Eric Zimmerman, The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology, The MIT Press, 2005
73 Sato, I. 1990. Bosozkou: Flow in motorcycle gangs. In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper and Row, New York.
74 Schaeffer, J. and Mateas, M. 2007. In Proceedings of the Third Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment Conference (Stanford, CA, June 6--8), AAAI Press, Menlo Park, CA.
75 Claude E. Shannon , Warren Weaver, A Mathematical Theory of Communication, University of Illinois Press, Champaign, IL, 1963
76 Smolin, L. 2003. Loop quantum gravity. Edge 112 (Feb).
77 Spronck, P. and Van Den Herik, J. 2005. A tutoring system for commercial games. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Entertainment Computing (Sanda, Japan, Sept.), LNCS 3711, Springer, 389--400.
78 Spronck, P. 2006. Dynamic scripting. AI Game Programming Wisdom 3I, 661--675.
79 Jonathan Steuer, Defining virtual reality: dimensions determining telepresence, Communication in the age of virtual reality, L. Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale, NJ, 1995
80 Suits, B. 1990. The Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia. D.R. Godine, Boston, MA.
81 Penelope Sweetser , Peta Wyeth, GameFlow: a model for evaluating player enjoyment in games, Computers in Entertainment (CIE), v.3 n.3, July 2005 [doi>10.1145/1077246.1077253]
82 Bruce Wilcox, Reflections on building two Go programs, ACM SIGART Bulletin [doi>10.1145/1056313.1056318]
83 Von Neumann, J. and Morgenstern, O. 1947. Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
84 Mark J.P. Wolf , Bernard Perron, The Video GameTheory Reader, Routledge, New York, NY, 2003
85 Yannakakis, G. N., Lund, H. H., and Hallam, J. 2006. Modeling children's entertainment in the playware playground. In Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Games (Reno, NV, May).
86 Yannakakis, G. N. and Hallam, J. 2005. A generic approach for obtaining higher entertainment in predator/prey computer games. J. Game Development 1, 3, (Dec.), 23--50.
87 Yannakakis, G. N. and Hallam, J. 2004. Interactive opponents generate interesting games. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Games: Artificial Intelligence, Design and Education (CGAIDE, Microsoft Campus, Reading, UK, Nov.), 240--247.
88 Yerkes, R. M. and Dodson, J. D. 1908. The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation. J. Comparative Neurology and Psychology 18, 459--482.

Keywords

  • Games
  • aesthetics
  • engagement
  • flow
  • information
  • relational structure

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Toward an understanding of flow in video games'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this