Game Project Part 4 and Flow in Gaming (6/2/2013)

For this session we were shown more videos based on how to design effective game environments.
Points included: 

• Who, what, where and why?  Try and include these in your planning.
• What type of environment is it? e.g. city, forest, mountain etc.
• Where is it set? e.g. London, Amazon, Arctic etc.
• What game type is it for? e.g. capture the flag, team death match, racing etc.
• Once you have figured out the above then you can get round to making an experience which feels like a whole package and not just thrown together.

We were also asked to look up the definition of 'flow' in gaming for next week.
You can find out what I discovered below:

It appears to suggest that flow is the perfect balance of game play and how making a challenge too easy makes us bored, whereas making a challenge too hard makes us rage. Therefore flow is the perfect balance of both, putting us into a state of enjoyment that focuses on the game play completely and not on any of the outside thoughts or worries we may have. It is also important that what we are doing is clear, achievable and responsive in some way or form, otherwise we don't get the sense of satisfaction from overcoming the challenges presented in the game. Also, if we don't feel as if we are in control of the experience or cannot concentrate on the game play itself then this can kill flow as well.    

I used the following website as my means of finding out about 'flow' and feel that it is a good one that is certainly worth a read if you want to look into the subject in more detail.

• Chen, J. (2006) Flow in Games. Available at: http://www.jenovachen.com/flowingames/flowtheory.htm (Accessed on: 6/2/2013).