Dylflon
09-23-2006, 12:38 PM
flOw (http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/flowing/core.html)
With Flow the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi names the feeling of complete and energized focus in an activity, with a high level of enjoyment and fulfillment.As Csikszentmihalyi sees it, the components of a Flow producing activity are:
* We are up to the activity.
* We are able to concentrate on the activity.
* The activity has clear goals.
* The activity has direct feedback.
* We feel that we control the activity.
* Our worries and concerns disappear.
* Our subjective experience of time is altered.
Not all of these components need to be present together for Flow to be experienced.
There are many characteristic experiences that are associated with fun: the sense of timelessness, of being at one (with mind and mountain), of exhilaration, focus, immediacy. And all of these are characteristic of what we, regardless of activity, call "fun."
http://www.jenovachen.com/flowingames/images/flowchart.gif
According to Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's well-documented observations and research, and his wide-scale gathering of personal observations, there is pretty much universal agreement that when there isn't a high correlation between the challenge (the height of the mountain, depth of the dive) and the ability to meet that challenge, fun is something we're definitely not having. The main dialog (dynamic), according to Mihaly "just call me Mike" Csikszentmihalyi, is between Challenge and Ability. When the challenge is greater than our abilities, we become anxious and potentially dead. When the challenge is significantly less than that of which we are worthy, we become bored, and potentially dead.
Maintaining the dynamic balance between abilities and challenge is key to the fun experience in work. That is, keeping it dynamic. Making it possible for anyone to find exactly the right amount of challenge needed to engage exactly those abilities needed to access Flow.Which means that when work is fun we have created complex, but negotiable challenges, challenges that allow the individual to engage or disengage, to work harder or work safer.
----
Mission Statement
Flow Theory has been established since 1980s, it has been applied to various fields for designing better human experiences. One of its biggest achievements is the defination of Flow Zone:
In order to maintain the Flow experience, people need to adjust their experience, balance the challenges to their abilities, keep themselves in a safe zone where pyschic entropies like anxiety and boredom would not occur.
flow zone
Due to the special relationship between challenge and abilities, Flow has been used in fields like sports and tutoring. Today it is also used in evaluating video game experiences.
However, there is only a few Flow researches out there that deal with the actual implementating of Flow inside video games. Methodologies that help game designers realize and maintain players' Flow experiences are not well defined.
The goal for this site and Jenova Chen's MFA thesis research is to explore and develop different design techniques to enhance the Flow experience in video games. It includes genetic Flow design theories & processes, analysis of the existing games' Flow system and examples of how to implement Flow with these techniques.
With Flow the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi names the feeling of complete and energized focus in an activity, with a high level of enjoyment and fulfillment.As Csikszentmihalyi sees it, the components of a Flow producing activity are:
* We are up to the activity.
* We are able to concentrate on the activity.
* The activity has clear goals.
* The activity has direct feedback.
* We feel that we control the activity.
* Our worries and concerns disappear.
* Our subjective experience of time is altered.
Not all of these components need to be present together for Flow to be experienced.
There are many characteristic experiences that are associated with fun: the sense of timelessness, of being at one (with mind and mountain), of exhilaration, focus, immediacy. And all of these are characteristic of what we, regardless of activity, call "fun."
http://www.jenovachen.com/flowingames/images/flowchart.gif
According to Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's well-documented observations and research, and his wide-scale gathering of personal observations, there is pretty much universal agreement that when there isn't a high correlation between the challenge (the height of the mountain, depth of the dive) and the ability to meet that challenge, fun is something we're definitely not having. The main dialog (dynamic), according to Mihaly "just call me Mike" Csikszentmihalyi, is between Challenge and Ability. When the challenge is greater than our abilities, we become anxious and potentially dead. When the challenge is significantly less than that of which we are worthy, we become bored, and potentially dead.
Maintaining the dynamic balance between abilities and challenge is key to the fun experience in work. That is, keeping it dynamic. Making it possible for anyone to find exactly the right amount of challenge needed to engage exactly those abilities needed to access Flow.Which means that when work is fun we have created complex, but negotiable challenges, challenges that allow the individual to engage or disengage, to work harder or work safer.
----
Mission Statement
Flow Theory has been established since 1980s, it has been applied to various fields for designing better human experiences. One of its biggest achievements is the defination of Flow Zone:
In order to maintain the Flow experience, people need to adjust their experience, balance the challenges to their abilities, keep themselves in a safe zone where pyschic entropies like anxiety and boredom would not occur.
flow zone
Due to the special relationship between challenge and abilities, Flow has been used in fields like sports and tutoring. Today it is also used in evaluating video game experiences.
However, there is only a few Flow researches out there that deal with the actual implementating of Flow inside video games. Methodologies that help game designers realize and maintain players' Flow experiences are not well defined.
The goal for this site and Jenova Chen's MFA thesis research is to explore and develop different design techniques to enhance the Flow experience in video games. It includes genetic Flow design theories & processes, analysis of the existing games' Flow system and examples of how to implement Flow with these techniques.