4 - 16.02.09 - Flow Theory

The ‘flow’ theory as proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalayi, focuses on the mental state in which a person is entirely immersed in an activity. This translates very effectively into the study of games and I have applied his ‘components of flow’ to my project.
Due to the side scrolling nature of the game and the turn based combat, the goals of the game should appear clear to the player, as a description for each mini-game will appear to guide them through.
The game will require a reasonably high level of concentration when navigating parts of a level and when completing the mini-games.
The environments and visuals should make the player feel connected with the game and create a loss of the feeling of self-consciousness in the participant.
Levels will have a set pace, as the backgrounds will be constantly moving. As such, the player’s sense of time may become distorted, with timers counting down during the levels and mini-games. As the game will be quite casual the player may not be engrossed for long periods of time on a single occasion and so their sense of time is unlikely to be distorted in that way.
The player will receive direct and immediate feedback, be it when missing a jump, completing a mini-game successfully or not, taking damage or when killing an opponent or being killed. This feedback will help influence the player in changing their approach of actions if need be.
A balance between ability level and challenge will be created by the way the mini-games are structured. Greater damage will be done to the opponent through the speed at which a player completes a challenge or the score obtained within it. Either way, a greater ability will yield higher results while the challenges will be easy enough to learn and accomplish.
By extensively controlling the ‘pill’ avatar’s movement and by completing challenges to attack an opponent, the participant will feel a sense of personal control over the activity.
Completing fight sequences or difficult navigation of the terrain will be intrinsically rewarding to the player, creating a sense of achievement.