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Reconciling Csikszentmihalyi’s Broader Flow Theory: With Meaning and Value in Digital Games
Abstract
Flow, the concept developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi over the last forty years or so (see Csikszentmihalyi 1975) has been invoked quite often with respect to the way players engage with digital games (e.g. Baron 2012; Cowley et al. 2008; Sweetser and Wyeth 2005; Brathwaite & Schreiber, 2009; Fullerton, Swain, & Hoffman, 2008; Schell, 2008). However, Kubey & Csikszentmihalyi (2002) have argued that ‘video games’ are in fact likely to promote undesirable experiences of a kind Csikszentmihalyi refers to as ‘entropy’ or unstructured and unsatisfying life experiences. This paper explores Csikszentmihalyi’s greater thesis and examines how a broader reading of Flow theory can potentially help us understand Flow like engagements beyond the simple mechanistic view of challenge explicitly introduce personally expressed cultural values into the conditions of Flow. By doing so we can then provide a value centric analysis and design approach, similar to that of Cockton’s (2004; 2012) proposal, to include values in general software design. That is, the very nature of challenges and rewards needs to be considered in order to investigate how overcoming or receiving such challenges would be positively or negatively perceived by individuals, from particular cultures, holding particular values. Thus we hope that we have dealt with the apparent contradiction in using Csikszentmihalyi’s concept in the study of games despite his criticism of such a move, and have provided some indication of how we can deal with unspecified rewards and the differential perception and engagement with potentially equivalent challenges while still supporting the accepted thesis of Flow.
... Uses and Gratifications Theory (Ruggiero, 2000) examines media use. Flow theory (Salisbury & Tomlinson, 2016), characterized by concentrated immersion and a sensation of control, is the best state for engagement and enjoyment. The Self-Regulation Theory (Kardefelt-Winther, 2014) emphasizes self-regulation in addictive behaviors. ...
The current study investigated the moderating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between perceived inter-parental conflict and social media addiction among adolescents. The sample comprised 200 adolescents (calculated through online G. Power) studying in government and private colleges of Lahore city and is selected through purposive sampling technique. Their age ranges varied from 16-19 years (M age = 18.00, SD = 1.21), with 56 percent male and 44 percent female adolescents. A demographic information sheet, perceived inter-parental conflict scale, emotional intelligence scale, and social media addiction questionnaire were used to collect the data. Psychometric properties of the scales showed a good level of Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients.
... It is comprised of eight quadrants-Flow, Control, Relaxation, Boredom, Apathy, Worry, Anxiety, and Arousal-with rings coming out from the center point to indicate the intensity one can feel in each state. Flow theory has been widely studied and applied in various fields such as the arts (Bakker, 2005;Wright et al., 2006;Cunha and Carvalho, 2012;Chilton, 2013), sports (Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi, 1999;Young and Pain, 1999;Stamatelopoulou et al., 2018), writing (Gute and Gute, 2008;Zuniga and Payant, 2021), and games (Wan and Chiou, 2006;Sharek and Wiebe, 2011;Kiili et al., 2012;Salisbury and Tomlinson, 2016). In gaming, Flow becomes "Game Flow, " enriching player experiences through elements of "concentration, challenge, skills, control, clear goals, feedback, immersion, and social interaction" (Sweetser and Wyeth, 2005;Sweetser et al., 2012). ...
Acculturative stress disproportionately impacts first-generation Latine-Americans, leading to significant mental health risks stemming from intergenerational cultural norms around gender identity and sexuality. Facilitating communication is critical in reducing this stress, yet it can be challenging for Latine individuals to take the first step in expanding their views due to limited resources, cultural pressure, and motivational needs. On the other hand, serious games provide a unique opportunity to address this challenge by introducing novel experiences to encourage the growth of perspectives in acculturative norms. This article presents a narrative review that bridges three key concepts: (1) acculturative stress in Latine-American communities, (2) modern behavior change theory and model, and (3) the design of serious games. We conclude by proposing a framework for Acculturative Game Design (AGD) and discuss considerations for fostering the support of intergenerational relationships around Latine identity.
... In the realm of user experience, Flow theory has emerged as a pivotal concept. Flow, characterised by optimal engagement and absorption, has been increasingly recognised as a crucial determinant in understanding user behaviour in digital contexts (Salisbury & Tomlinson, 2016). The flow experience has significantly influenced user satisfaction, engagement, and continued usage across various digital platforms, including video streaming services (Chen, 2007;Hassanein & Head, 2007). ...
Research Aims: This study investigates the determinants impacting the intention of Netflix users to continue using the platform. By leveraging the extended Expectation-Confirmation Model of continued IT usage and hedonic variables, including Confirmation, Flow, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Enjoyment, and Satisfaction, the research aims to discern the most influential factors.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The research recruited 271 participants through non-probabilistic purposive sampling, targeting Indonesian Netflix subscribers active within the preceding six months who were at least 17 years old at the time of the study. Covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling was employed to analyse the collected data.
Research Findings: User enjoyment and Satisfaction mediate the relationships between Flow and Confirmation with Netflix's continuance intention. Flow emerges as the preeminent determinant of continuance intention among the exogenous variables. While Flow's influence on continuance intention is mediated by Satisfaction and Enjoyment, there is no direct effect between Flow and Satisfaction. Perceived Usefulness exhibits no substantial correlation with continuance intention.
Theoretical Contribution/Originality: This research underscores the pivotal role of Flow in driving enjoyment and continuance intention within video subscription services like Netflix.
Managerial Implications in the South East Asian Context: The study offers insights into the preferences and behaviours of Netflix users in the Southeast Asian context, employing Indonesia as a focal point. This valuable information equips Netflix and other regional SVOD providers to strategically enhance their offerings and services.
Research Limitations & Implications: To enhance the robustness of the findings, future research should encompass broader and more diverse populations for comparative purposes. Including new variables, such as digital piracy and perceived ease of use, would contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics at play.
... The balance between challenge and ability that is negotiated during a flow state is key to sustained engagement in play-based learning and the development of perseverance skills, both fundamental elements of effective learning [37,38]. Kiili and colleagues [38] extend Csikszentmihalyi's [16] posits regarding the balance of challenge and achievement to include the zone of proximal development, that is, the child's abilities and achievement when they have the support and guidance of a more knowledgeable other [39]. While flow state often presents as a solitary experience, the need for support and guidance, particularly in relation to digital technologies and young children emerges as a key point for consideration. ...
Abstract: For many families, young children’s engagement with screen-based technology is an ongoing concern in terms of physical, social and cognitive development. They are uneasy with the difficulty children have disengaging from screens and concerned that this behavior is obsessive or a sign of addiction. However, technology is recognized as having a “rightful role” in early childhood contexts. This scoping paper reports on a review of literature relating to digital play for children aged birth to five years, with the aim of further understanding digital wellbeing. Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory serves as a theoretical framework for understanding why many young children enjoy digital play and become deeply engaged, with a disconnect between how young children and adults perceive digital play. Concerns about children’s deep immersion with digital play are interrogated to understand the connections with perceived addictive traits. The review highlights the critical importance of supporting children’s agency and digital citizenship skills from a young age, including the ability to critique content, balance screen-time with non-screen time and to develop self-control and self-regulation as a means to promote long-term positive outcomes for children in their digital lifeworlds and beyond.
... Hence, competency is related to this age level and without further empirical work on the competency target populations report, there is actually little knowledge in how this trait can be supported. Further, making games too easy might counteract notions of flow [153], where competency is achieved through an ideal match corridor of skills and challenges. ...
Play presents a popular pastime for all humans, though not all humans play alike. Subsequently, Human–Computer Interaction Games research is increasingly concerned with the development of games that serve neurodivergent ¹ players. In a critical review of 66 publications informed by Disability Studies and Self-Determination Theory, we analyse which populations , research methods, kinds of play and overall purpose goals existing games address. We find that games are largely developed for children, in a top-down approach. They tend to focus on educational and medical settings and are driven by factors extrinsic to neurodivergent interests. Existing work predominantly follows a medical model of disability, which fails to support self-determination of neurodivergent players and marginalises their opportunities for immersion. Our contribution comprises a large-scale investigation into a budding area of research gaining traction with the intent to capture a status quo and identify opportunities for future work attending to differences without articulating them as deficit.
... It is therefore important that intrinsic game elements take into account the gaming experience and cognitive skills of the player so that engagement is not prevented (Sherry, 2004), and that choices are embedded into gameplay mechanics so that players are actively able to control and facilitate their in-game flow (Chen, 2006(Chen, , 2007. However, if engagement is overly facilitated, the player may become engaged excessively, such that the experience of flow or presence does not serve to provide meaningful growth that they value (Salisbury & Tomlinson, 2016), e.g., to the point of addiction (Loton, Borkoles, Lubman, & Polman, 2016) or such that they feel an obligation to achieve (Molesworth & Watkins, 2016). This too, then, would be burdensome. ...
Increasingly complex gameplay and gameworlds are placing greater demands on players, while grander approaches to help them cope, such as heads-up displays (HUDs), maps, notifications, and real-time statistics, may often create even more layers of complexity, and thus burdens, further detaching players from core gameplay. In this article, we distinguish between ‘intrinsic’ (fundamental to gameplay) and ‘extrinsic’ (peripheral or extraneous to gameplay) game elements, where the latter may be seen to increase burdens on players unnecessarily, subsequently affecting engagement. We propose a framework, comprising core, interaction, and interface layers, that reveals how extrinsicality may be minimised to better facilitate intrinsic gameplay and engagement.
... For these types of games, players are allowed almost complete freedom on a variety of levels, with choices for play constantly evolving. Participants cited games which afforded the most possibilities to be the most engaging, something which could be illustrated by Salisbury and Tomlinson's (2016) tenth condition for Flow which states that "an activity must present an opportunity for meaningful growth of the self which is valued by the individual" (Salisbury & Tomlinson, 2016, p.72). Referencing Alan Cooper's (1999) what enables each gameplay experience to be so diverse (Bowman et al., 2015). ...
Currently little is known about how creativity is expressed in digital entertainment games or what specific design elements may foster it. Using a qualitative methodology, this article reports on the findings of 24 semi-structured interviews and 14 narrative surveys with regular players of different types of digital games. Using a hybrid thematic approach to analysis involving both deductive and inductive phases, three main categories relating to the expressivity of creativity were discovered and one category relating to the specific game design considerations which give rise to such creative opportunities. Creativity was found to be expressed in terms of creative problem-solving involving the creation of novel strategies, solutions and approaches to problems; in terms of appropriation involving emergent play practices and how gameplay was adapted for alternative goals; and finally, in terms of affective change involving the personally meaningful insights and changes in attitudes/perceptions which games elicited. Design considerations were also identified relating to: freedom of play, environment, replayability, tools, avatar design and content creation. By shedding light on the grey area of creativity in digital games and illuminating how games may support and promote creativity in players, this article provides a basis for future research and can help inform game design practices in both digital entertainment games and games specifically designed to facilitate creativity.
... By positioning flow in the design space we are hoping to create a quality of interaction that promotes learning for novices but can also provides experts with new ways of interacting or feeling creative. For novices we want "good flow" [28], experiences that can sca↵old towards deeper musical engagement and experience, not just an immediate feelings of pleasing perceptual stimulus and enjoyment. ...
The Objects VR interface and study explores interactive music and virtual reality, focusing on user experience, understanding of musical functionality, and interaction issues. Our system offers spatio-temporal music interaction using 3D geometric shapes and their designed relationships. Control is provided by tracking of the hands, and the experience is rendered across a head-mounted display with binaural sound presented over headphones. The evaluation of the system uses a mixed methods approach based on semi-structured interviews, surveys and video-based interaction analysis. On average the system was positively received in terms of interview self-report, metrics for spatial presence and creative support. Interaction analysis and interview thematic analysis also revealed instances of frustration with interaction and levels of confusion with system functionality. Our results allow reflection on design criteria and discussion of implications for facilitating music engagement in virtual reality. Finally our work discusses the effectiveness of measures with respect to future evaluation of novel interactive music systems in virtual reality.
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.
Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design - no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality videogames. Good game design happens when you view your game from many different perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual territory that is game design, this book gives the reader one hundred of these lenses - one hundred sets of insightful questions to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses are gathered from fields as diverse as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and anthropology. Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to become a better game designer - and will understand how to do it.
Flow is a state of peak enjoyment, energetic focus, and creative concentration experienced by people engaged in adult play, which has become the basis of a highly creative approach to living. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
HCI is misdefined. We need to redefine it. HCI is misfocused. We need to refocus it. HCI has a window of opportunity to recreate itself as a design discipline. It must focus on the intention of gifted design, which is to improve the world by delivering new sources of value. A focus on value creates a paradoxical discipline that fuses subjectivity and objectivity in a single process. HCI must be objectively systematic and reliable in the pursuit of subjective value. Traditional disciplines have delivered truth. The goal of HCI is to deliver value. In my invited presentation, I will outline why we can and must change within HCI, where we are now (and how we got there), what I believe we should change to. I close with a research agenda for value-centred HCI.
Are you an inmate? What if we switched the metaphor to, “the building contractors are telling the architects where to put the windows?“Strike a little closer to home? The mechanics of building an application often end up taking precedence over the aims of the project, to the point where nobody—user, designer, programmer or manager—ends up getting what they want. Alan Cooper, the “Father of Visual Basic“and author of About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design, sees a cure for this craziness in a new way to design interaction. Applications created using his Goal-Directed ® Design process provide users with power and pleasure. His keynote presentation will give you some much-needed perspective on design issues and show a case study of how a leading vendor has adopted Cooper’s approach. He’ll also offer tips on how you can make the business case for effective design to your managers. Alan is a motivating, thought-provoking, and original speaker. Come prepared to toss out some old ideas, hear some new ones and perhaps even escape from the asylum.
Although player enjoyment is central to computer games, there is currently no accepted model of player enjoyment in games. There are many heuristics in the literature, based on elements such as the game interface, mechanics, gameplay, and narrative. However, there is a need to integrate these heuristics into a validated model that can be used to design, evaluate, and understand enjoyment in games. We have drawn together the various heuristics into a concise model of enjoyment in games that is structured by flow. Flow, a widely accepted model of enjoyment, includes eight elements that, we found, encompass the various heuristics from the literature. Our new model, GameFlow, consists of eight elements -- concentration, challenge, skills, control, clear goals, feedback, immersion, and social interaction. Each element includes a set of criteria for achieving enjoyment in games. An initial investigation and validation of the GameFlow model was carried out by conducting expert reviews of two real-time strategy games, one high-rating and one low-rating, using the GameFlow criteria. The result was a deeper understanding of enjoyment in real-time strategy games and the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the GameFlow model as an evaluation tool. The GameFlow criteria were able to successfully distinguish between the high-rated and low-rated games and identify why one succeeded and the other failed. We concluded that the GameFlow model can be used in its current form to review games; further work will provide tools for designing and evaluating enjoyment in games.
A well designed game is providing players genuine feeling of pleasure and happiness or place them in their Flow Zone with a discussion on improving any interactive experience associated with end-user technology. Eight major components of flow are identified in the video games, including- a challenging activity requiring skill, a merging of action and awareness, clear goals, direct, immediate feedback, concentration on the task, a sense of control, a loss of self consciousness, and an altered sense of time. The game should reflect the right balance between challenge and ability to keep players inside the Flow Zone, and the game designers should avoid the counterproductive situations by embedding the player's choice in the core activities of the interactive experience.
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