DUNGEON FLOW: PLAYER EXPERIENCES OF FLOW IN WORLD …...WORLD OF WARCRAFT By RYAN THAMES A Thesis...

DUNGEONFLOW:

PLAYEREXPERIENCESOFFLOWINWORLDOFWARCRAFTBy

RYANTHAMES

AThesisSubmittedtotheGraduateFacultyofWAKEFORESTUNIVERSITY

inPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofMASTEROFARTS

intheDepartmentofCommunicationAugust2010

Winson‐Salem,NorthCarolina

ApprovedBy:

MichaelDavidHazen,Ph.D.,Advisor

ExaminingCommittee:

MarinaBKrcmar,Ph.D.

JimBlack,J.D.

Acknowledgements

Iwanttothankeveryonethatofferedsupport,encouragement,andadvice

duringthecourseofthisproject,includingallofthefacultyandstaffoftheWake

ForestCommunicationdepartment,aswellasmypeers.First,Iwouldliketothank

myadvisor,Dr.MichaelHazen,forbelievingintheprojectthroughoutand

particularlyforencouragingmetothinkoutsidetheboxwithmyresearchandto

choosemethodsthatbestsuitedmyquestion.Hisbrainstormingsessionsprompted

metothinkabouttheprojectfromanumberofangles.IwouldliketothankDr.

MarinaKrcmarforhertimelyandindispensableadvice.Shewasimmenselyhelpful

whenIwasorganizingthethesisandcontextualizingtheresultsofmyresearch.I

wouldalsoliketothankJimBlackforsteppinginandofferinguniqueinsightfroma

videogameindustryinsider.Hisinsightsandresponsestothisstudywillbehelpful

asIpursuefurtherresearchinvideogamestudies.Dr.AnandaMitrahelpeda

tremendousamountintheearlystagesoftheproject,anddeservesspecialthanks

forofferinghisexpertiseinconductingfocusgroupresearch.Iwouldespecially

thankmyfamilyforstandingbymeduringmyresearch,especiallymywife,forher

thoughtfulcritiquesandconstantsupport.

TableofContents

Abstract..............................................................................................................................................vii

ChapterI:IntroductionandReviewofLiterature...............................................................1

Introduction...........................................................................................................................1

ReviewofLiterature...........................................................................................................2

ADescriptionofMMOs.......................................................................................3

WorldofWarcraft.................................................................................................6

ResearchonMMOs...............................................................................................7

TheConceptofFlow..........................................................................................11

SummaryandResearchQuestions..............................................................16

ChapterII:Methods.........................................................................................................................18

PhaseIMethods..................................................................................................................18

PhaseIImplications..........................................................................................................21

PhaseIIMethods................................................................................................................23

PhaseIIQuestions.............................................................................................................25

PhaseIIApproachtoDataAnalysis...........................................................................30

ChapterIII:Results..........................................................................................................................34

AnalysisforH1....................................................................................................................34

Mood.........................................................................................................................35

BalanceofSkillstoChallenges.......................................................................37

Concentration........................................................................................................42

LossofSelf‐Consciousness...............................................................................43

MergingofActionandAwareness................................................................46

AlteredTimePerception...................................................................................47

ControlPotential..................................................................................................48

ClearGoalswithImmediateFeedback.......................................................49

ResultsforH1.......................................................................................................................50

AnalysisandResultsforRQ1.........................................................................................50

InterviewDataAnalysis.....................................................................................51

Time‐SynchedRecordingAnalysis................................................................53

ResultsforRQ2andRQ3..................................................................................................54

GameInterface.......................................................................................................55

GameEnvironment..............................................................................................59

ParticipantActions...............................................................................................61

ParticipantDialogue............................................................................................62

OtherPlayerDialogue.........................................................................................63

NPCDialogue...........................................................................................................64

NPCActions..............................................................................................................65

OtherPlayerActions.............................................................................................66

AdditionalDataforParticipantC...................................................................................66

GameInterface.........................................................................................................67

GameEnvironment................................................................................................67

ParticipantActions.................................................................................................68

ParticipantDialogue..............................................................................................69

OtherPlayerDialogue...........................................................................................70

NPCDialogue.............................................................................................................70

NPCActions................................................................................................................71

OtherPlayerActions...............................................................................................72

ChapterIV:Discussion........................................................................................................................73

FlowExperiences....................................................................................................................73

TheSkills/ChallengesBalanceandOtherFlowElements......................74

ImplicationsoftheSkills/ChallengesBalance.............................................75

TheStateofControl.................................................................................................76

MeasuringFlowExperiences.............................................................................................77

BalanceofSkillstoChallenges............................................................................78

LossofSelf‐Consciousness...................................................................................78

ControlPotential.......................................................................................................80

DegreesandVariabilityofFlow..........................................................................81

FlowSegments..........................................................................................................................83

DungeonsandFlow..................................................................................................83

ThePersonalNatureofFlow................................................................................85

PlayingwithOthers..................................................................................................86

Communication..........................................................................................................88

GoalsandFeedback..................................................................................................89

TheImportanceofConstantActivity................................................................90

DefiningFlowSegments........................................................................................................92

ImplicationsofPlayLengthandInterviewTiming...................................................93

FutureVideoGameResearch..............................................................................................94

Limitations...................................................................................................................................96

Conclusion....................................................................................................................................99

References................................................................................................................................................101

Appendix1:FocusGroupQuestions.............................................................................................107

Appendix2:InterviewQuestions...................................................................................................109

Appendix3:TranscriptforParticipantA...................................................................................111

Appendix4:TranscriptforParticipantB...................................................................................114

Appendix5:TranscriptforParticipantC....................................................................................120

Appendix6:TranscriptforParticipantD...................................................................................125

Appendix7:TranscriptforParticipantE....................................................................................129

CurriculumVitae...................................................................................................................................133

ABSTRACT

RyanThames

DUNGEONFLOW:

PLAYEREXPERIENCESOFFLOWINWORLDOFWARCRAFT

ThesisunderthedirectionofMichaelDavidHazen,Ph.D.,ProfessorofCommunication.

ThisstudysoughttoexploreplayerexperiencesofflowintheMassively

MultiplayerOnlineGame(MMO)WorldofWarcraft.Datafrompersonalinterviews,

conductedafterone‐hourplaysessions,wascomparedtoCsikszentmihalyi’s

proposedelementsofflowtodetermineinwhatsegmentsofthegameeach

participantexperiencedflow,ifany.Recordingsfromtheplaysessionswerethen

analyzedtodeterminewhatmessagescoincidedwiththeseflowsegments.Results

suggestedthat2ofthe5participantsexperiencedaflowstate,with3flowsegments

identifiedoverall.Allthreeoftheflowsegmentsidentifiedhappenedwhile

participantswereplayingin“dungeons”withinthegame,andcommonmessages

withinthesesegmentswereproposed.Thestudyultimatelyyieldedmany

implicationsforfutureresearchregardingflowandvideogames.

ChapterI

IntroductionandReviewofLiterature

Introduction

Sincethelate1990s,MassivelyMultiplayerOnlinegames(knownas

MMOsorMMOGs)havebeengrowingrapidlyfromyeartoyear.Recentdata

suggestsanumberofactiveMMOsubscriptionstotalingaround16million,not

includingMMOswithoutanAmericanmarketorthosewithunder10thousand

subscribers(Woodcock,2006).Whilesomeofthesenumbersmightrepresentsingle

individualswithmorethanonegamesubscription,thenumbersarestillimpressive.

Evenearlyinthelifespanofonlinegaming,aPewInternetandAmericanLifestudy

foundthat56%ofthecollegestudentssurveyedplayedonlinegamesoccasionally

orregularly,with31%playingonceaweekormore(Jones,2003).Itisclearthat

MMOsareafast‐growingplatform,notonlyforentertainment,butalsoforsocial

interactionsonline.MMOsformamediumripeforcommunicationstudies.The

questionis:Howshouldtheybestudied?Someworkhasbeendoneconcerningthe

stateandimportanceofsocialinteractioninMMOs(Chen,Phuah,&Duh,2007;

Larose,Shaw,&Wirth,2006;Qiaolei,2008;Steinkuehler&Williams,2006;

Williams,2006;Williams,Yee,&Caplan,2008;Yee,2005).Thesestudiestendto

emphasizethegameasamediumforsocialinteractionsandtrytoanalyzethe

experiencesandeffectsofthoseinteractions.Whilesuchstudiesofsocialinteraction

areimportant,theysometimesoverlookthecommunicativeaspectofthegame

itself,aswellasthebroaderexperienceoftheindividualplayer.Fewattemptshave

beenmadetostudyanMMOasatextinitsownrightconveyingmessagestothe

player.

Inordertoundertakesuchastudyofvideogamesthatare,astheyareaptly

titled,massive,itisnecessarytofirstnarrowthefocustothosemessagesand

elementsofagamemostsalienttotheplayerexperience—thosethatcontributeto

playerinvolvementandenjoyment.Thegoalofthepresentexploratorystudyisto

identifywhatthosemessagesandgameelementsmightbe.Theparticulartext

selectedforthisanalysiswillbetheMMOWorldofWarcraft,oneofthemost

popularMMOscurrentlyactive.Withover10millionsubscribersasoftheendof

2008,7millionmorethanthegamewiththesecondlargestplayerbase,Worldof

WarcraftcornersmuchoftheMMOmarket(Woodcock,2006).Itspopularitymakes

itparticularlyimportantforstudy,anditscommonlyacceptedstatusasanexemplar

oftheMMOgenrewithinthegamesindustrymeansananalysisofWorldofWarcraft

mayalsoberelevanttoothergamesthatfollowasimilarmodel.

ReviewofLiterature

Inconceptualizingthephenomenologicalstateofenjoymentand

involvement,thisstudydrawsonCsikszentmihalyi’stheoryofflow.Flowtheoryis

usedbecausemanyscholarshavesuggestedflowasaconceptfordescribingthe

enjoymentofgameplayers(Bryce&Rutter,2001;Ducheneaut,Yee,Nickell,&

Moore,2006;Sherry,2004;Voiskounsky,Mitina,&Avetisova,2004;Weber,

Tamborini,Westcott‐Baker,&Kantor,2009;Weibel,Wissmath,Habegger,Steiner,

Groner,2007).Thissectioncontainsabriefreviewofpastvideogameresearch

regardingMMOs,followedbyadiscussionofflowtheory.

ADescriptionofMMOs

ForthoseunfamiliarwithMMOs,amoredetaileddescriptionisinorder.As

statedabove,MMOstandsforMassivelyMultiplayerOnlinegame(sometimes

referredtoasMegaMultiplayerOnlinegames,VirtualWorlds,orPersistent

Worlds).Thesegamesaretermed“MassivelyMultiplayer”todistinguishthemfrom

othergamesthatmightbeplayableviaInternetconnectionwithonlyafewplayers.

ThereisnofirmlysetnumericalstandardastowhatdelineatesaMassively

Multiplayergamefromagamethatissimplymultiplayer.Somescholarssetthebar

atenabling“hundredsorthousandsofplayerstointeractsimultaneouslyinagame

world”(Qiaolei,2008,p.26).MostcommercialMMOsrangefromthetensof

thousandstothehundredsofthousandsinsubscriptiontotals,withafewunderten

thousandandafewinthemillions,whileWorldofWarcraftalonehasoverten

millionsubscribers(Woodcock,2006).ThemajorityofMMOsrequireamonthly

subscriptionfeetoplay,suchthatsomelistthisasanecessaryfeatureofMMOs

(Woodcock,2006).Howeverthenecessityofasubscriptionisarguableandisnot

oftenlistedasarequirementforthedefinition.Theimportanceofsubscriptionslies

moreindatacollection—withoutamonthlysubscriptionitismuchmoredifficultto

keeptrackofhowmanypeopleareplayingregularlyratherthanthosethatjust

playedonce,thusthenumberofnon‐subscriptiongameplayersarenotrepresented

inmostdata.WorldofWarcraft’ssubscriptionfeeis$14.99(“WorldofWarcraft

GameGuide”2009).

SomeotherkeyfeaturesthatdefineMMOsaregenerallyagreeduponin

manystudies(Yee,2005;Yee,2006;Steinkuehler&Williams,2006;Chen,Phuah,&

Duh,2007;Qiaolei,2008).However,ahighlydetaileddescriptionofthesedefinitive

characteristicsisbeststatedinEdwardCastronova’s(2006)article“VirtualWorlds:

AFirst‐HandAccountofMarketandSocietyontheCyberianFrontier.”Heputsforth

threedefiningcharacteristicsthathelabelsInteractivity,Physicality,and

Persistence.By“Interactivity”,Castronovameans“itexistsononecomputerbutcan

beaccessedremotely(i.e.byaninternetconnection)andsimultaneouslybyalarge

numberofpeople,withthecommandinputsofonepersonaffectingthecommand

resultsofotherpeople”(p.818).Ofkeyimportancehereisthattobeclassifiedasan

MMO,agamemustallowplayerstoconnectandinteractnotonlywiththegame

world,butalsowithotherplayers.WhenCastronovatalksof“Physicality”,herefers

to“aninterfacethatsimulatesafirst‐personphysicalenvironmentontheir

computerscreen”(p.818)thoughthelevelofrealismanddetail,aswellastypeof

environment,variesfromMMOtoMMO,andsometimeswithinasingleMMO.This

“Physicality”,asCastronovastates,isoften“ruledbythenaturallawsofEarth”

(p.818)—thatistosay,MMOsgenerallypresentasimulationoftherealworld,with

suchfamiliarfeaturesasgravity,solidityofobjects,rangeofvision,andthepresence

ofmountains,forests,rivers,buildings,etc.,thoughthedegreeofrealismmayvary,

andtheremaybewaysofbreakingsomephysicalruleswithinagame.Finally,one

ofthemostdefiningaspectsofanMMOiswhatCastronovaterms“Persistence”:the

factthat“theprogramcontinuestorunwhetheranyoneisusingitornot;it

remembersthelocationofpeopleandthings,aswellastheownershipofobjects”

(p.818).Yee(2006)echoesthatstatement,saying,“theworldexistsbeforetheuser

logson,andcontinuestoexistwhentheuserlogsoff…eventsandinteractionsoccur

intheworld…evenwhentheuserisnotloggedon”(p.5).Itisthisfeaturethat

allowsaplayertologontothegameatanytimeofdayornightandcontinue

playingfromwheretheyleftoff,allowsdifferentpopulationstobeonatdifferent

timesofday,andfostersthesenseofarealisticsimulationoftherealworld

completewithvariedinhabitantsandavirtualeconomy.

Inadditiontotheabovefeatures,anextremelyimportantaspectcommonto

allMMOsisthemeansbywhichtheplayerinteractswiththegame,theavatar.An

avataris,initsmostsimpledefinition,theplayer’srepresentativewithinthegame

world,a3D‐renderedpersonathattheplayerdevelopsandcontrolsinorderto

interactwiththegameworldaswellasotherplayer’savatars.Pearce(2004)

discussestheparticularqualitiesofavatarsinMMOs,notingthatinthesegames,

“ratherthanselectingfixedcharacters,[players]selectparticularcharacterroles,”

which,“aresomewhatgeneric,butallowplayerstoconfigureuniquecharacters

composedofvarioustraits,whichtheycanthenevolveovertimeintoafully

developedpersonathroughasystemofimprovisationalcollaborativenarrative”(p.

149).Shefurthernotesthat:

Thestrategiesyouchooseinenactingyourinnatetalentsandacquiredskillsengageyouinaprocessofreal‐timecharactercreation.Inaddition,youcanacquireproperty,includingweapons,tools,magicamulets…whichwillallbecomepartofyourcharacter’suniquepersonality.(p.149)

TheaboveobservationsholdtrueformostfantasyMMOs,includingWorldof

Warcraft.Itshouldbenotedherethatbeyondvisualrepresentation,avatar

customizationincludescertainabilitiesandattributesthatarechosenand

continuallydevelopedthroughthegame.

WorldofWarcraft

WorldofWarcraft,atitsmostbasiclevel,hasmuchincommonwithmost

otherMMOsandpossessesallthecharacteristicsdescribedintheliteratureabove.

Thegamepresentsalarge,persistentworldbuiltlargelyaroundfantasytropes,

includingmythicalcreatures,magic,andmostlymedieval‐eratechnologyand

architecture,withtheanachronisticexceptionofhavingprimitivemusket‐styleguns

andoccasionalmechanicalengineeringfueledbymagicinsteadofscience.The

fictionalbackgroundallowstheplayerstoplacetheiravatarsintooneoftwo

warringfactions:TheAlliance,consistingofsuchracesasNightElves,Humans,

Dwarves,Gnomes,andtherecentlyaddedDraenei,andTheHorde,consistingof

Orcs,Trolls,Tauren(minotaur‐likecreatures),Undead,andtherecentlyadded

BloodElves.Eachoftheaboveraceshastheirownuniquestartingpointinthegame

world,withtheexceptionofDwarvesandGnomes,whichshareonestartingpoint,

andtheOrcsandTrolls,whichshareanotherstartingpoint.Aplayercreatinganew

avatarmustalsoselecta“class,”whichisnotasocio‐economicterminthegamebut

ratherdescribessomethingakintoaparticularlineoftrainingandskillset.The

availablestartingclassesareDruids,Hunters,Mages,Paladins,Priests,Rogues,

Shaman,Warlocks,andWarriors.Playersinteractwiththegameworldbydirecting

theiravatarwithacombinationofkeyboardcommandsandmouseclicks,witha

userinterfaceofmaps,statusinformation,and“macro”commandbuttonsdisplayed

onthescreenforreference.Thetypesofinteractionandgoalswithinthegamewill

bediscussedinmoredetaillater.

Asnoonecomputerservercouldpossiblysupportthemillionsofsubscribers

WorldofWarcrafthas,andtheirplayerbaseisworldwide,thegameexistsonmany

differentserversor“realms”,numberingwellover200asoflate2009.Withthe

exceptionoftestservers,thegameworldplayerswillencounterisexactlythesame

forallrealms.Theonlychangesfromrealmtorealmarethatdifferentplayerswill

beencounteredandtheremaybedifferentrulesregardingplayer‐to‐player

interaction.WorldofWarcraftoffersplayersthreedifferenttypesofrealms:PvE

(playervs.environment),PvP(playervs.player),andRP(roleplaying).InaPvE

realm,otherplayerscannotattackyouandyoucannotattackotherplayersunless

bothpartiesagreetoit,whileinaPvPrealmplayersmaybeattackedbyothersat

anytime.RPrealmsfunctionlikePvErealmsexceptthatplayersarerequiredtostay

“in‐character”intheirinteractionswithothers.

ResearchonMMOs

Anumberofscholarshaveproposedmodelsforanalyzingdigitalgames

(Bates,2009;Ducheneaut,etal.,2006;Mäyrä,2008;Rockwell,2002;Ryan,2009).

Bates(2009)looksatMMOsfromtheviewpointofplayers’identityformationand

playwiththeiravatarcharacters.Rockwell(2002)arguestheimportanceof

theorizingaboutgamesasimportantculturalartifacts,andproposesamodelhe

calls“apoeticsofcomputergames”basedonBakhtin’stheoryofthenovelasa

combinationofmanygenresandstyles(p.353).Ducheneaut,Yee,Nickell,and

Moore(2006)conductedalongitudinalstudyofWorldofWarcraftplayers’activity

andobtainedsomeinterestingdataregardingplayerpreferences,playtime,and

achievementrates.Whileindispensabletoourunderstandingofplayeractivitieson

abroadlevel,thismodelofanalysis,liketheothermodelsdiscussedabove,doesnot

workonanin‐depthleveltodescribetheplayer’sexperiencewithspecificmessages

andmessagetypespresentwithinthegame.

Ryan(2009)presentsamoreintriguingmodelofanalysisformypurposesas

shelooksatdifferentmessagetypespresentingames.Examiningthenotionsof

space,play,andfiction,shecomparesmoderndigitalgamesanda17thcentury

game,“TheLabyrinthofAriosto,”tohighlight“theneedtocombinetheimaginative

pleasuresofnarrative—atypeofmeaningthatpresupposesaworld—withthe

socialpleasuresandactiveinvolvementofgames”(p.164).Whileattemptsofthe

pastlackedbalance“betweengameplayandnarrative”(p.165),Ryanpointsout

that,“thankstotheprocedural(inotherwords,code‐driven)natureofthe

computer,strategicgame‐spacecanbemappedontoamimeticnarrativespacethat

representsaworld”(p.166).Hercomparativeanalysisrevealstwomessagetypes

thatwilllikelyencompassagreatdealoftheplayer’sexperiencewithinthegame—

thosemessagesthatrelateto“gameplay,”orare“ludic,”andthosemessagesthat

relateto“narrative.”

Ofthenarrativemessages,Ryan(2009)notesthat,“inanonlineworld,there

isnogeneralstorylinebutmultiplesequencesofactioncorrespondingtothetasks

(knownasquests)giventotheplayerbycomputer‐controllednonplaying

characters(NPCs)”(p.169‐170).Addressinggameplay,shespeaksmuchof

computercodeandarguesthat:

fromthepointofviewofthedesigner,gameworldsarediscontinuousspacesstructuredbyinvisiblelinesthatdelimittherangeofapplicationofcertainunitsofcode,whilefromthepointofviewoftheplayer,theyareopenterritoriesfullofopportunitiesforactionandexploration.(p.167)

Ifweweretotakejusttheaboveobservation,itmightbearguedthatthereareno

messagesrelatedtogameplayencounteredbytheplayer,forthegameplayisnoted

asinvisible.However,Ryangoesontosuggestthatwhile,“theunderlyingmapisnot

availabletotheplayer…itisthroughtheconstructionofacognitivemapthat

approximatesitsstrategicdivisionsthatplayersbecomecompetentmembersofthe

fictionalworld”(p.167).This“cognitivemap”then,mustbelearnedthrough

messageswithinthegame.Ryangetsatsomesimplisticformofthesemessages

whensheremarksthat,“inawell‐designedworld,thecodeassociatedwithobjects

shouldsimulatetheirreal‐lifebehavior…thankstothisfunctionalmimeticismwith

respecttoreal‐worldobjects,thevastmajorityof…‘rules’…canbelearned

efficiently.”(p.167).Whileshedoesnotexplicitlyassociatethetwo,Iwouldalso

arguethatwhatsheclaimsis“theprincipalwaytoprogressinthegame…acyclic

scenarioknownas‘leveling’,”where,“theplayerskillmonsters,acquirelootfrom

them,sellthislootformoney,andbuyequipmentsuchasweapons…thatallow

themtochallengemoreferociousmonsters,”(p.170)displayssomekeymessages

relatedtogameplay.ParticularlyinWorldofWarcraft,wherethenumericvaluesof

equipment,abilities,damageinflicted,andevendistanceuntilnextprogressionare

allopenlydisplayed,theseconstituteimportantmessagesthatprovidetheplayers

withwhatRyanterms“cognitivemaps.”BothtypesofmessagesreferredtobyRyan

appeartogetherinplayerinteractionswithnon‐playercharacterswhosetasksdrive

boththenarrative“questing”andthegameplay“leveling”withinthegame.AsRyan

putsit,“whereasnarrativeinterestregardscharactersaspersons,ludicinterest

regardsthemasameanstoanend”(p.172).

Frans Mäyrä, in his book An Introduction to Game Studies (2008), proposes a

framework that highlights similar message types. He makes the point that, “it is useful to

differentiate between the structural gameplay analysis… and thematic analysis of

games” (p. 165). By structural, Mäyrä means, “paying special attention to how game

rules and interactions with game objects and other players are structured,” which he says

“is important for any analysis, since it involves those parts and processes which have

strongest influence on people engaged with… actual gameplay” (p. 165-166). As for the

thematic elements, Mäyrä speaks to these as “the representational aspects, game world,

characters and fiction of games,” noting that, “these have an emphatic significance to the

interpretations concerning game’s cultural character” (p. 166). The two levels of focus

discussed above lead to a dichotomy similar to what can be found in Ryan’s (2009)

analysis, though he uses thematic instead of narrative. Mäyrä further notes that some

games might also benefit from a “social analysis of game-related communication

networks and communities” (p. 166), referring to those messages created by other players

that use the game as a medium.

TheConceptofFlow

AsIhavediscussedabove,therearedifferenttypesofmessagespresent

withinthegame,andavastarrayofspecificmessagesthatfallunderthesetypes.

Giventhisvarietyofmessages,itisimportanttoidentifywhichmessagesand

messagetypesaremostimportanttotheplayer’sexperienceofthegame—thatis,

thosethatmakeplayingthegameanenjoyableexperience.PsychologistMihaly

Csikszentmihalyi(1988)hasdevotedmuchofhislife’sworktoaconcepthecalls

“flow,”an“experiencethat…[is]autotelic,orrewardinginandofitself”(p.8)More

specifically,Csikszentmihalyi(1988)notesthathis“firstconcernwasaboutthe

qualityofsubjectiveexperiencethatmadeabehaviorintrinsicallyrewarding”(p.7).

Csikszentmihalyi’sworkinexplicatingconditionsandsymptomsoftheindividual’s

experienceofenjoymenthasmadetheconceptofflowappealingforscholarly

researchonmediaenjoyment.Inparticular,flowhasbeenmentionedinanumber

ofscholarlystudiesofdigitalgames(Bryce&Rutter,2001;Ducheneaut,etal.,2006;

Sherry,2004;Weberetal.,2009).AsDucheneaut,etal.(2006)discussinthe

conclusionoftheiranalysisofplayeractivitiesinWorldofWarcraft,“althoughmany

earlierMMOswerecriticizedforrequiringlong,repetitivegrindingsessions…WoW

seemstoinsteadhavebeenoptimizedsuchthatplayersexperiencemoreofa‘flow’

experience”(p.314).However,thesestudiesdonotgosofarasattemptingtolink

theflowstatetospecificmessageswithinthegame.

Csikszentmihalyi’sinvestigationshaveinvolvedinterviewswithpeoplefrom

manydifferentculturesandoccupations.Thoughtheactivitiestheseindividuals

enjoyedwereunderstandablydiverse,Csikszentmihalyi(1990)notesthat,“they

describedhowitfeltwhentheyenjoyedthemselvesinalmostidenticalterms”(p.

48‐49).TheseresultshaveallowedCsikszentmihalyi(1990)toproposesome

commonlydisplayed“elements”of“thephenomenologyofenjoyment”:

First,theexperienceusuallyoccurswhenweconfronttaskswehavea chanceofcompleting.Second,wemustbeabletoconcentrateonwhatwe aredoing.Thirdandfourth,theconcentrationisusuallypossiblebecausethe taskundertakenhascleargoalsandprovidesimmediatefeedback.Fifth,one actswithadeepbuteffortlessinvolvementthatremovesfromawarenessthe worriesandfrustrationsofeverydaylife.Sixth,enjoyableexperiencesallow peopletoexerciseasenseofcontrolovertheiractions.Seventh,concernfor theselfdisappears,yetparadoxicallythesenseofselfemergesstrongerafter theflowexperienceisover.Finally,thesenseofthedurationoftimeis altered;hourspassbyinminutes,andminutescanstretchouttoseemlike hours.(p.49).

Whilesomeoftheseelementsmightbeeasiertooperationalizeandmeasurethan

others,theyallprovidesomebasisofcomparisonforotherqualitativedatatohelp

identifypotentialindicatorsofflow.

Lookingatafewofthesebasicelements,onecanseethatsomeattempt

mightbemadeathypothesizingwhetheranactivitymightallowforflow

experiencesbasedontheexternalqualitiesoftheactivityitself.Explainingthefirst

element,Csikszentmihalyi(1990)furtherspecifiesthatwhilethereshouldbe“a

chanceofcompleting”itforthepersoninquestion,itshouldalsobe“achallenging

activity,”one“thatcouldnotbedonewithouttheappropriateskills”(p.49).One

mightnote,asCsikszenmihalyi(1990)does,that“games,sports,”andevenactivities

suchasreadingthatrequireknowledgeof“artisticandliteraryforms”(p.51)seem

tofulfillthiselementofflow,withtheirrequirementsofphysicaland/ormental

competenceandcoordination.Regardingtheelementof“concentration,”

Csikszentmihalyi(1990)notesthat,“enjoyableactivitiesrequireacomplete

focusingofattentiononthetaskathand—thusleavingnoroominmindfor

irrelevantinformation”(p.58).Constantdistractionsintheenvironmentwould

presumablydistractfromsuchfocus.Csikszentmihalyi(1990)pointsoutthatthe

elementof“cleargoalsandfeedback,”is,“thereasonitispossibletoachievesuch

completeinvolvementinaflowexperience”(p.54).Ananalysisoftherulesand

progressionoftheactivitycouldassessthisimportantelementofflowbynoting

whethertheactivity’sgoalsseemclearandhowquicklytheresultsofanaction

wouldbeknownevenwithoutinterviewingparticipants.

Otherelementsmoreclearlyrequiresomesubjectiveaccountbythe

activity’sparticipants.TheelementCsikszentmihalyi(1990)calls,“themergingof

actionandawareness,”describestheflowexperiencewherein,“peoplebecomeso

involvedinwhattheyaredoingthattheactivitybecomesspontaneous”(p.53).One

canonlyestimatethisfeelingsubjectively—byeitherexperiencingitoneselfor

gettingtestimonyfromsomeonewhohasexperiencedit.Therearesimilar

challengesinvolvedwiththesixthelement,forCsikszentmihalyi(1990)hastensto

pointout,“whattheserespondentsareactuallydescribingisthepossibility,rather

thantheactuality,ofcontrol,”notingthat,“theballetdancermayfall,breakherleg,

andnevermaketheperfectturn,andthechessplayermaybedefeatedandnever

becomeachampion”(p.60).Whatmattersisnotthatallaspectsoftheactivitybe

perfectlycontrollable,whichwouldmakeforarareactivityindeed,butratherthat

theparticipantfeelstheymightbe.Thiselementthendescribesasubjective

estimationofcontrolpotential.Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)finaltwoelements,“the

lossofself‐consciousness”(p.62)andalteredtimeperception(p.66)arelikewise

clearlysubjective.Thesubjectivityof“thelossofself‐consciousness”isquiteevident

fromCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)descriptionthat,“inflowthereisnoroomforself‐

scrutiny.Becauseenjoyableactivitieshavecleargoals,stablerules,andchallenges

wellmatchedtoskills,thereislittleopportunityfortheselftobethreatened”(p.

63).Thoughtheremaybeexternalfactors,measurementsofself‐consciousnessare

clearlysubjective.AlthoughCsikszentmihalyi(1990)expressesdoubtsasto

whetherreportedchangesoftimeperceptionare“aby‐productoftheintense

concentration,”or“somethingthatcontributesinitsownrighttothepositive

qualityoftheexperience”(p.67),thissubjectiveexperienceiscommonenoughthat

helistsitamongthoseconditionsassociatedwithflow.

Amorein‐depthlookatthefirstfourelementsrevealsthattheyrequire

moresubjectiveexperiencetomeasurethanitmightappear.Regardingthefirst

element,ithadbeenhypothesizedthatflowwouldoccurwhen“skills”and

“challenges”were“balanced”inaparticularactivity(Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.52).

Yet,thisdidnotseemtobethecaseatalltimes.Theresultsofalaterfindings

suggestthattheflowexperienceoccursonlywhenthesubject’sperceivedlevelof

skillintheactivityandtheperceivedlevelofchallengeofthatactivityareboth

balancedandperceivedashighcomparedtowhatisroutineforthesubject’s

experienceofthatactivity(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.Csikszentmihalyi1988,p.260).

Thus,theparticularperson’sskilllevelandexperiencewiththechallengesofan

activityplayarole,asdotheirpersonalperceptionsofskillandchallengefrom

momenttomoment.Asforthesecondelement,absenceofexternaldistractions

doesnotnecessarilymeanaparticipantwasconcentrating,andthepresenceofsuch

distractionsdoesnotnecessarilyaccountforpeoplewhoareabletoovercomesuch

distractions.Finally,whilearesearchermightassessfromwatchingthatagoalis

clear,orthattheresultsofactionsinrelationtothisgoalarequicklyknow‐able,

Csikszentmihalyi(1990)alsoacknowledgesthat,“insomecreativeactivities,where

goalsarenotclearlysetinadvance,apersonmustdevelopastrongpersonalsense

ofwhatsheintendstodo”(p.55).Howevercleartheyaretothepersoninquestion,

theseinternallyconstructedgoalsformsituationsthataremoredifficulttoview

fromtheoutside,alongwithotherinstancesCsikszentmihalyi(1990)proposes

where“goalsandrulesgoverninganactivityareinvented,ornegotiatedonthe

spot”(p.56).Ultimately,noattempttoidentifyflowexperiencescanbecomplete

withoutsomelookatthepersonalexperiencesofpeopleundertakingtheactivities

inquestion.

Theinvestigationofflowbeganwithinterviewstocapturethesepersonal

experiences.However,MihalyiandIsabellaCsikszentmihalyi(1988)notethe

“limitations”ofthismethod,as,“interviewsarelimitedbythevagariesofmemory”

(p.252).Flowresearcherssoughtamethodwherebyparticipantsmightreporton

flowinatimeframemoreimmediatetotheactualexperienceinquestion.Forthis

purpose,theydevisedtheExperienceSamplingMethod(ESM),usedby

Csikszentmihalyiandotherresearcherstostudyflowinthemomentasopposedto

havingsubjectstryandrecalltheflowexperiencefromdistantmemory(Carli,Delle

Fave,&Massimini1988;M.Csikszenmihalyi&I.Csikszenmihalyi,1988;LeFevre

1988;Massimini&Carli1988;Nakamura1988;Rathunde1988;Wells1988).The

ESMessentiallymadeuseofbeepertechnologyandbookletsofself‐reportforms

containingbothopen‐endedandscaledmeasurementsoftheparticipants’

subjectiveexperience,pagingpeopleatrandomthroughoutthedaytohavethemfill

outaformregardingtheiractivityatthatmoment(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.

Csikszentmihalyi1988).Yet,asWeberetal.(2009)pointout,“althoughtheESM

providedadynamicviewofflowindailylife,therelativelylowlikelihoodofa

specificflowexperienceoccurringwhenthesignalwassentmadetheESMan

impracticaltoolforstudyingtheactualflowexperiencedeeply”(p.403).While

CsikszentmihalyiandmanyotherresearchersusingtheESMwereconcernedwith

studyingtheflowexperienceassampledfromthevarietyofactivitiesinwhichit

mightoccur,thefocusofmystudyisidentifyingflowexperiencesinaveryspecific

context—playingavideogame.

SummaryandResearchQuestions

Thisstudyseekstoidentifymessagesassociatedwithplayerinvolvement

andenjoymentintheMassivelyMultiplayerOnlinegameWorldofWarcraft.Todo

so,itfollowsthelonglineofresearchonCsikszentmihalyi’stheoryofflow,

particularlytheESMstudies.If,assomescholarssuggest(Bryce&Rutter,2001;

Ducheneaut,etal.,2006;Sherry,2004;Weberetal.,2009),asuccessfulvideogame

seemsdesignedtobringabouttheproposedpreconditionsforaflowexperience,

thenplayingthegameinacomfortableenvironmentfreefromsignificant

distractionsshould,givenenoughtime,elicitaflowexperience.Byhaving

participantsplayforaperiodoftimeinsuchanenvironmentbeforeinterviewing

them,aresearchershouldhaveahigherchanceofcatchingthesubjectinaflow

statethanESMstudieswhichpromptedresponseatrandomtimesthroughoutthe

day.Withthisprocedure,theimmediacyoftheExperienceSamplingMethodcanbe

combinedwithone‐on‐oneinterviews,which,withfollow‐upquestions,canarrive

atamorein‐depthdescriptionofthesubject’sexperienceatthatmomentthanself‐

reportforms.Withthebodyofliteratureonvideogamesandflowinmind,Iaddress

thefollowinghypothesisandquestions:

H1:TheexperiencesparticipantsidentifyhavinghadwhileplayingWorldofWarcraftwillbeconsistentwithCsikszentmihalyi’sdescriptionofflow.

RQ1:Duringwhatsegmentsofthegamedoplayersexperienceflow?

RQ2:Whatmessagesarepresentinthosesegmentsofthegamewhereflowisexperienced?

RQ3:Whatmessagesarecommonamongallthesegmentsofflowexperienceidentified

bytheplayers?

ChapterII

Methods

Thepresentstudyiscomposedoftwophases.Thefirstphasewasafocus

groupsessionconductedtoestablishpreliminaryconnectionsbetweenflowand

MMOsandtodiscoverprominentissuestoconsiderinplanningthesecondphase.

ThesecondphaseinvolvedrecordingsubjectsplayingWorldofWarcraftfollowed

byaone‐on‐oneinterviewadaptedfromCsikszentmihalyi’sExperienceSampling

Method(ESM).

PhaseIMethods

Thefocusgroupconsistedofsevenpeople(5male,2female),aged18and

up,whoareeithercurrentlyplayingthegameWorldofWarcraftorhaveplayedin

thepast.Participantswereselectedviaaconveniencesamplingmethodcomprising

volunteersrespondingtoflierspostedinvariousstoresandcoffeeshopsinthelocal

communityandoncampus,aswellasasnowballsamplingofstudentswhohave

showninterestinvideogames.Thesessionwasconductedbyanindependent

researcherwithconsiderableexperienceconductingfocusgroups,andsilently

observedbytheprimaryresearcher.

Thefocusgroupquestions(seeappendix1)weredesignedtofulfilltwo

purposes.First,theysoughttoestablishthepossiblepresenceofflowexperiencesin

thegameandtoidentifysomegeneralsituationsinthegamewheresuch

experiencesmaycomeabout,thuselicitingpreliminaryanswerstoH1andRQ1to

beexploredfurtherinthenextphase.TotestH1,questionsweredesignedto

measureCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)flowelementsofconcentration,alteredtime

perception,andbalanceofskillstochallenges,aswellasgeneralfeelingsof

enjoyment.

Theflowelementofconcentrationwasassessedwiththequestion“Haveyou

everbeeninasituationwhereyoucouldn’tbringyourselftostopplayingatthe

moment?”Generalfeelingsofenjoymenttheparticipantsmighthaveexperienced

wereexploredwiththequestion,“Whatwereyoufeelingatthetime[whenyou

couldn’tbringyourselftostopplaying]?”Csikszentmihalyi’sflowelementofaltered

timeperceptiondealswithdescriptionsoftimeeitherpassingbyveryquicklyor

veryslowly.Anyquestionspecificallymentioningtimewouldbeleading,sothe

question,“Whatareyouawareofintheenvironmentaroundyou[whenyoucan’t

bringyourselftostopplaying]?”wasaskedinhopesthatresponsesmightindicate

alteredtimeperception.Finally,theflowelementofabalanceofskillstochallenges

wasassessedwithtwoquestions:“Doyouordidyoufindthegamechallenging?”

and,“Doyoufeellikeyourskillswereuptothechallengesyouhavefacedinthe

game?”

ToinformRQ1,questionsweredesignedtoidentifywhichpartsofthegame

theparticipantsfoundmostenjoyableandinvolving.Thepurposeofthesequestions

wastoindicatesegmentsofthegamewhereflowisexperienced,tobefurthertested

inPhaseII.Somequestionsweredesignedtohighlightgeneralareasthat

participantsconsideredenjoyable,including:“WhatfirstdrewyoutoWorldof

Warcraft?”“Whatkeptyouplayingforaslongasyoudid?”“Whatpartofthe

gameplayitselfdoyouordidyouenjoythemost?”and,“Overall,whatdoyouthink

themostinvolvingpartsofthegameare,momenttomoment?”Inaddition,some

questionsweredesignedtotryandpromptmorespecificexperiencesthatmightbe

relatedtoflow,including:“Whatwashappeninginthegameatthattime[whenyou

couldn’tbringyourselftostopplayingatthemoment]?”and,“Whatneededtobe

donebeforeyoufeltlikeyouwereatagoodstoppingpoint?”Thesequestionsfedoff

ofthequestionsmeasuringtheflowelementofconcentrationabove,anditwas

hopedthattheirrelationtothatelementmightpromptthesharingofflow

experiences.

Thesecondpurposeofthefocusgroupquestionswastoinformthesecond

phaseofresearchwithacoupleofgoalsinmind.Thesegoalsweretoreveal

potentialdistractionsbeyondtheresearcher’scontrolthatmightbreakflow,aswell

astoestablishtheoptimalamountoftimeforparticipantstoplaybeforebeing

stopped.Giventheresearchindicatingadiscrepancybetweendescriptionsofflow

insolitaryversussocialactivities,andthemultiplayernatureofWorldofWarcraft,

questionsweredesignedtoidentifyhowwidelyusedthein‐gamechatservices

wereandwhetherplayersconsidertheseadistraction.Thequestionsdesignedto

assesssocialdistractionswere:“Whenplaying,howmuchfocusdoyouordidyou

usuallyplaceonthesesocialaspectsofthegamecomparedtootherssuchasplaying

andadvancingwithinthegame?”and,“Hasanyonefeltinterruptedbythesesocial

aspectsofthegameattimes?”Inordertodetermineanoptimaltimerangetorecord

play,andthefeasibilityofstoppingplayatsomerandomintervaltointerviewinthe

secondphase(inlinewiththeESMstudies),participantswereasked,“Abouthow

longwereyouusuallyplayinginatypicalsessionbeforeyoufeltlikeyouwerereally

gettingintothegame?”

PhaseIImplications

Afteradebriefingbetweentheresearcherconductingthefocusgroupand

theprimaryresearcher,thedatawasanalyzedwiththegoalofinformingthenext

phaseofresearch.Asthefocusgroupsessionwasnottape‐recorded,theanalysis

waslimitedtoidentifyingthemesandtopicsbroachedbytheparticipants.Some

specificquotesandlinesofanalysiswillbediscussedinthefollowingchapters,but

theresultingimplicationsforthesecondphaseofresearchareenumeratedhere.

Inthefirstphase,thefocusgroup,everyparticipantdiscussedatleastsome

ofthethemesforCsikszentmihalyi’sconditionsofflow.Theseinclude1)intense

concentration,whichwasmentionedby5ofthe7participants.Theexperienceof

intenseconcentrationoccurredmostduringelementsofthegameincluding

questing,raiding,andequipmentupgrading.Thequestionconcerning2)enjoyment

ofthegamealsofoundthatenjoymentwasgreatestduringquesting,raidingand

equipmentupgradingthuscarewastakentolookforthesegameelementsinPhase

IIwhencollectingandanalyzingthedata.

Inregardstothecondition3)alteredtimeperception4ofthe7participants

specificallymentionedlosingawarenessoftimewhileplayingandundertaking

someoftheabovetasks,despitethefactthatnoneofthequestionsspecifically

mentionedtime.ThisfindingpartiallyinformedthesetupinthePhaseII.Theabove

twofindingstogetherledtothequestion:“Wasitdifficultforyoutoquitthegame

whenIcamein?”

Finally,regardingthecondition4)balanceofskillstochallenges,3ofthe7

participantsdescribedchallengesthatmatchedtheirskills,withtheother4saying

thegamewastooeasy.However,6ofthe7participantsdiscussedwaysofeither

makingthegameeasierforthemselves(whendifficult)ormakingthegamemore

challenging(whentooeasy),essentiallytomatchtheirskilllevelmoreclosely.Given

theresearchindicatingthatmatchedchallengesandskillsisoneofthemost

definingindicatorsofaflowexperience,thisdebatesparkedtwofollow‐up

questionsforthePhaseIIinterview:“Doyoufindwaystotryandchallengeyourself

more?”(ifchallengelevelisreportedtobetooeasy)or“Doyoufindwaystomake

playeasier?”(ifchallengelevelisreportedtobetoohard).

Thequestionsregardingsocialdistractionsledtosomedisagreement,with

manyinsistingthatcommunicationwithothersiscrucialtothegameplay

experience(makingthingseasierbyinteractingwithothersormorechallengingby

playingagainstothers)andthatfriendsareamajorreasontoplay,whilesomesaid

thatmuchofthegameisdoablewithoutit,andoneparticipantstronglyinsistedthe

gameis“justaboutnumbers”throughoutthesessionandthatcommunicationcan

beadistraction.Consideringthisdebateinlightoftheresearchregardingflowin

socialsituations,asetofquestionswasdevisedforPhaseIItogetadetailed

understandingofwhatroleinteractionswithothersplayedinrelationtotheflow

experience,including:“Waswhatyouweredoingimportanttoothersinanyway?”

“Howso?”“Werethereotherswithyouwhereyouwereinthegameworldorwere

youplayingsolojustnow?”“Wereyoucommunicatingwithothers?”“Arethese

peopleyouoftenplay/communicatewith?”and,“Wereyouplayingagainstother

playersoragainstNPCs?”

Finally,thegeneralresponsetothequestionofoptimaltimerangewasthatit

variedfromalmostimmediatelytoaboutanhour,with2outofthe7participants

statingtimesofoveronehouronoccasion.Giventhisresponse,thesecondphase

designofstoppingasubject’splayatsomerandomintervalseemedlessthanideal.

Ifthesubjectwerestoppedmuchbeforeonehour,theymightnothavetimetoget

intoaflowstate,whileatmuchbeyondonehourtheirmemoryofpotentialearly

flowexperienceswouldnotbefresh.

PhaseIIMethods

ThesecondphaseofresearchwasadaptedfromtheExperienceSampling

Method(ESM),asmentionedabove.LiketheESMstudies,thisphasewasdesigned

toelicitaccountsofflowexperienceswhilestillrecentintheparticipant’smind,but

giventheliteratureandtheresearcher’sdesiretohaverecordingsofthereported

flowexperiences,theESMwasmodifiedtobetterservethisstudy.

TheparticipantsarefiveexperiencedWorldofWarcraftplayers,allmale,

whoarecurrentlyplayingthegame,recruitedviasnowballsamplingbyemailor

wordofmouth.Noparticipantsforthisphaseoftheresearchwereinvolvedinthe

previousphase.Participantswereinformedofthestudy’spurposeinlayman’s

terms,withthestatedgoalof“identifyingwhatthemostenjoyableandengaging

partsofthegamearetoplayers,”butwithoutmentionoffloworCsikszentmihalyi’s

elementsofflowtoavoidinfluencingtheirplaysessionandinterviewresponses.

Arrangementsweremadeforeachparticipanttocomeinattheirownconvenience

toparticipate,withadateandtimethatbestsuitedtheirschedule.

Thesetupandprocedurewaskeptidenticalforeachparticipant.Aroomwas

specificallysetupforthisstudywhereaparticipantcouldbealoneandfreefrom

distractions.Ahigh‐endgaminglaptoploadedwiththelatestpatchofWorldof

Warcraft,aswellasscreen‐recordingsoftware,wassetupintheroom.Abovethe

laptopwasawebcamtobefocusedontheparticipant’sfacethatfedthroughthe

walltoacomputerinanobservationroomnextdoor.Thisrecordingcouldlaterbe

time‐synchedwiththescreenrecording.Inaddition,aclosed‐circuitcamera

mountedonthewallbehindtheparticipantallowedtheresearchertoobservethe

Afteranopportunityforquestionsandtheobtainingofconsent,the

participantwasledtotheroom.Achoiceofnumeroustypesofchairsand

mousepadswasavailableinordertomaketheparticipantcomfortableandto

replicateanat‐homeplayingexperienceasmuchaspossible.Specialarrangements

couldbemadebeforehandforaparticipanttobringaspecialmousefromhome,and

fortunatelyWorldofWarcraftpreserveseachplayer’suserinterfacenomatterwhat

computertheyusetologontothegame.Theparticipantwasinformedthatafter

aboutanhourtheresearcherwouldreturnfromthenextroomtoaskafew

questions.Theyweretoldtheywouldhaveachancetowrapupwhatevertheywere

doingatthattime,inhopesthatitwouldreducethechancesoftheparticipant

worryingaboutthetimeandbeingdistractedfromaflowstate,giventhefindings

fromthephaseIfocusgroup.Oncetheparticipantwascomfortable,theresearcher

lefttotheobservationroom,returningafterthehourplaysessiontoconducta

recordedone‐on‐oneinterviewwiththeparticipant.

PhaseIIQuestions

Theinterviewquestions(seeappendix2)wereadaptedfromasample

ExperienceSamplingForm(ESF)foundinthebookOptimalExperience:

PsychologicalStudiesofFlowinConsciousness(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.

Csikszentmihalyi,1988,p.257‐258).Theyweremodifiedtooptimizethein‐depth

natureofaone‐on‐oneinterviewwithfollow‐upquestions,andthelanguagewas

alteredtobemorespecifictothesubjectofstudy.Additionalquestionswereadded

basedonfindingsfromthefirstphaseofresearch,asmentionedabove.Aswiththe

ESFtheywereadaptedfrom,manyoftheinterviewquestionsaredesignedto

indicatewhetherthesubjectexperiencedaflowstate(answeringH1),whilethe

othersaredesignedtodeterminewhatactivitycoincidedwiththeflowstateifa

flowstateoccurred(answeringRQ1).Theonlyexceptionsarequestion9,“Wereyou

comfortablewhileplayinghere?”andthefollow‐upprobeforquestion12,“Was

[howintothegameyouwere]moreorlessthanusualwhenplayingforthisamount

oftime?”Thesewereincludedtoaddresstheissueofcomfortandthepotential

limitationsofthisresearchset‐up.

Thehypothesis(H1)wasthat,“Theexperiencesparticipantsidentifyhaving

hadwhileplayingWorldofWarcraftwillbeconsistentwithCsikszentmihalyi’s

descriptionofflow.”Totestthishypothesis,questionswereadaptedfromtheESFto

elicitdataaboutasubject’smood,aswellasthreeofthemostcrucialelementsof

flow:balanceofskillstochallenges,concentration,andlossofselfconsciousness.The

datafromthesetargetedquestionswasanalyzedbycomparingthethemesand

languageoftheresponsestoCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)descriptionsofthese

elementsinhisbookFlow:ThePsychologyofOptimalExperience.Duetotheopen‐

endednatureofthepersonalinterview,relevantdatafromaparticipant’sresponses

tootherquestionswasalsoconsidered.

Toassessaparticipant’smood,thequestion,“Howdidyoufeelwhenplaying

justnow?”(question2)wasasked.Whilenotlistedasaflowelementin

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)descriptionof“theelementsofenjoyment,”itisanopen‐

endedadaptationofCsikszentmihalyi’ssampleESFprompt,“Describeyourmoodas

youwerebeeped”(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.Csikszentmihalyi,1988,p.257).Given

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)conceptionofaflowstateasanenjoyableand

“intrinsicallyrewarding”experience(p.67),itisexpectedthatparticipantswho

experiencedaflowstateduringtheplaysessionshouldingeneralreportpositive

emotionsfortheelementofmood.Theymayalsonotebeinginvestedintheactivity,

butthiswillonlybetakenasanindicatorofmoodiftheparticipantalsoprovidesa

positiveresponsetothequestion“Howimportanttoyouwastheactivityyouwere

justdoing?”(question4).

Thebalanceofskillstochallengesisperhapsthemostimportantelementof

flow.Itwasassessedprimarilywiththequestion,“Howwouldyousayyourskills

matchedthechallengesyouwerefacinginthegamejustnow?”(question6).As

discussedinthereviewofliterature,however,itwassuggestedthatmatchedskills

andchallengesonlyleadtoflowwhentheyarematchedandabovethesubject’s

averageskillsandtheaveragelevelofchallengesfaced(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.

Csikszentmihalyi,1988,p.260).Thus,aparticipant’slanguageinresponsetothis

question,alongwithanyotherrelevantdatathroughouttheinterview,were

examinedtodetermineiftheskillsandchallengeswereatalevelbelowwhatthe

participantisusedtoexperiencing.

Althoughnotanindicatorofflowalone,concentrationisanimportant

elementtheoreticallycoincidingwithastateofflow.AsCsikszentmihalyi(1990)

explains,“enjoyableactivitiesrequireacompletefocusingofattentiononthetaskat

hand—thusleavingnoroominthemindforirrelevantinformation”(p.58).This

elementwasprimarilytestedwiththequestion,“Wereyouveryconcentratedon

whatyouweredoing?”(question8).

Whilealossofselfconsciousnessmightplayaroleinone’smood,orin

whetheronefeelstheyareovercomingchallenges,theimportanceofthiselementto

flowliesinavoidingorbeingdistractedfromanyworriesorcriticismsabout

oneself,withnothoughtsbeyondone’sroleintheflowactivity.Csikszentmihalyi

(1988)devisedtwodifferentquestionsthatmeasuredthiselement.Thequestion,

“Wereyousatisfiedwithhowyouweredoing?”(question7),wastakenwordfor

wordfromCsikszentmihalyi’ssampleESF(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.

Csikszentmihalyi,1988,p.258).However,theotherquestion,“Howself‐conscious

wereyou?”(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.Csikszentmihalyi,1988,p.257),wasnot

includedbecauseoftheresearcher’sdesiretoavoidpsychologicalterminologyin

theinterviewquestions.Thehopewasthatthesatisfactionquestion,alongwith

follow‐upquestionsandtheopen‐endednatureofapersonalinterview,wouldyield

someinsightintotheparticipant’spotentialinsecuritiesornotablelackthereofand

supportthiselementofflow.

Theabovethreeflowelementsaretheprimaryelementsmeasuredin

Csikszentmihalyi’ssampleESF(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.Csikszentmihalyi,1988,

p.257‐258).Thereare,however,additionalflowelementsdescribedby

Csikszentmihalyi(1990),including:amergingofactionandawareness,altered

perceptionoftime,perceivedcontrolpotential,andtheperceptionofcleargoalswith

immediatefeedback.Ofalltheseelements,Csikszentmihalyi’sESFonlymeasured

control,withthequestion“Wereyouincontrolofthesituation?”(M.

Csikszentmihalyi&I.Csikszentmihalyi,1988,p.257).Ultimately,noquestionswere

askedspecificallytargetingtheseflowelements.Regardingthecontrolquestion,the

researcherthoughtthatanswerstotheabovenotedquestionsaboutsatisfaction

(question7)andthebalanceofskillstochallenges(question6)shouldalsoprovide

dataonhowincontroltheparticipantfelt.Asfortheremainingelements—merging

ofactionandawareness,alteredperceptionoftime,andtheperceptionofcleargoals

withimmediatefeedback—anyquestionstargetingthemwouldhavetoinclude

complexand/ordetaileddescriptionsoftheelementsandwouldthusbeleading

questions.Althoughtheseelementswerenotpromptedbyspecificquestions,data

fromallinterviewquestionswassearchedfordescriptionsthatmatchedthem

duringtheanalysis.

Asnotedabove,descriptionsindicatingaparticipant’sperceptionofcontrol

potentialwereanticipatedinresponsestothequestionsregardingsatisfaction

(question7)andtheskills/challengesbalance(question6).Giventheparticularsof

thiselementnotedinthereviewofliterature,theresearcherhadtokeepinmind

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)qualificationthattheelementinvolves“thepossibility

ratherthantheactuality,ofcontrol”(p.60),thatis,“whatpeopleenjoyisnotthe

senseofbeingincontrol,butthesenseofexercisingcontrolindifficultsituations”

(p.61).

Todetermineifaparticipant’sdescriptionsindicatedamergingofactionand

awareness,responseswerecomparedtoCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)descriptionof

theelementasnotedinthereviewofliterature,particularlythestatementthat

“peoplebecomesoinvolvedinwhattheyaredoingthattheactivitybecomes

spontaneous,almostautomatic;theystopbeingawareofthemselvesasseparate

fromtheactionstheyareperforming”(p.53)leadingtoanexperiencewhere,

“actionfollowsactionseamlessly”(p.54).Itisimportanttonotethat

Csikszentmihalyi(1990)linksthisaspectoftheflowexperiencewiththeflow

elementofconcentration,pointingoutthat,becauseofthisseeminglyautomatic

action,flow“appearstobeeffortless,”eventhough“anylapseinconcentrationwill

eraseit”(p.54).Thuspotentialdescriptionsofamergingofactionandawareness

couldonlybeconsideredvalidiftheparticipantsinquestionalsodisplayalevelof

concentrationthatbefitstheflowelement.

Toassesswhetheraparticipantdisplayedanalteredperceptionoftime,

interviewdatawassearchedforanyresponsesorcommentsmatching

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)description,mentionedinthereviewofliterature,that

“hourspassbyinminutesandminutescanstretchouttoseemlikehours,”(p.49).

Essentially,anydescriptionsoftimegoingquicklyor“flyingby,”ormovingvery

slowlywillbetakenasapositiveindicatorofthisflowcondition.Assessinga

perceptionofcleargoalswithimmediatefeedbackusedasimilarprocess.The

analysisinvolvedsearchingforparticipantresponsesandcommentsmatching

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)description,notedintheliterature,that,“thereasonitis

possibletoachievesuchcompleteinvolvementinaflowexperienceisthatgoalsare

usuallyclear,andfeedbackimmediate”(p.54).Unlikeotherflowelementsthe

clarityofgoalsandimmediacyoffeedbackarequalitiesthatcanbeobservedinan

activityitself,evenwithoutstudyingthosepeoplewhodotheactivity.Nevertheless,

thespecificmentionofcleargoalswithimmediatefeedbackinaparticipant’s

responsecouldofferanadditionalindicationthataflowexperienceoccurred.

PhaseIIApproachtoDataAnalysis

Ifduringdataanalysisaparticipant’sanswersfitwiththemajorityof

elementslistedabove,H1issupportedforthatparticipant.Inaddition,answersto

thequestion“WasitdifficultforyoutoquitthegamewhenIcamein?”(question3)

mayprovideadditionalsupportforH1.ThisquestionisnotadaptedfromtheESF.

However,basedontheliteratureandthefocusgroupdescriptionsoftask

concentrationandlosingtrackoftime,itwouldseemthattheparticipant’sdifficulty

quittingthegamewouldbeapossibleindicatorthattheresearcherinterrupteda

flowexperiencedirectly.Thequestion,“whatdoesitfeelliketoyouwhenyouare

reallyintothegame?”(question13)isanopen‐endedquestiondesignedtoelicitthe

participant’spersonalideaofanoptimalgamingexperience.Ifaparticipant’s

responsetothisquestionyieldsstatementsmatchingtheflowelementsabove,those

maybeconsideredinsupportofH1.Thesestatementswillonlybeconsidered,

however,iftheparticipantalsorespondspositivelytoeitherthequestion,“were

youreallyintothegamejustnowwhenIcamein?”(question10)orthequestion,

“werethereothermomentswhileplayingherewhenyoureallygotintothegame?”

(question11).

IfH1issupportedbythedataanalysisforaparticipant,furtheranalysisof

thatparticipant’sinterviewdatawillbegintoanswerRQ1,“Duringwhatsegments

ofthegamedoplayersexperienceflow?”Ifanalysisoftheparticipant’sresponses

indicatestheresearcherinterruptedaflowexperience,thequestion“whatwereyou

justdoinginthegame?”(question1)willpromptananswertoRQ1.Iftheanalysis

indicatesthattheparticipantexperiencedflowatanearliertimeduringtheirplay

session,thentheRQ1willbeansweredbythequestion“whatwereyoudoing

duringthosemoments?”(afollow‐upprobetoquestion11).Shouldaparticipant’s

responsesindicatethattheywereexperiencingflowwhentheresearcherentered

theroomandalsoduringpreviousmoments,thequestion“didhowintothegame

youwerevarywhileyouwereplaying?”(question12)mayservetoclarify.

Additionally,thequestion“waswhatyouweredoingimportanttoothersinany

way?”(question5),alongwithitsfollow‐ups,hasthepotentialtofurtherclarifyRQ1

ifaflowstateoccursduringsocialactivities.Thepointsorsegmentsofgameplay

thatservetoanswerRQ1arehereafterreferredtoas“flowsegments.”

IfthedataanalysisasoutlinedabovesupportedH1foragivenparticipant

andprovidedanswerstoRQ1,thentheresearcherbeganthenextstageofdata

analysisfortheparticipant.Thisstageinvolvedsimultaneousviewingofthe

gameplayrecordedbythescreen‐capturesoftwareandthetime‐synchedwebcam

recordingoftheparticipant’sface.Theresearcherwatchedthesynchedfootagein

itsentirety,comparingaparticipant’sflowsegmentstosurroundingfootagefrom

thesameparticipanttodiscernanynoticeabledifferencesinfacialexpression,eye

contact,andthefrequencyand/ortypeofthesubject’smanipulationsofthe

keyboardandmouse.IfsuchdifferencesarefoundineachparticipantforwhomH1

wassupported,theymayhelpfurtherrefinetheflowsegmentsinanswertoRQ1.

Giventheexploratorynatureofthismethodofanalysis,however,theresearcher

alsowatchedtime‐synchedfootageofparticipantsforwhomH1wasnotsupported.

Ifabetween‐participantcomparisonrevealsthattheseparticipantsalsodisplayed

differencesintheabovecategoriesduringcertainsegments,thenthevalidityofthis

methodmaybesuspect.

Thefinalstageofanalysisinvolveddescribingthecontentandactivity

occurringonthegamescreenduringflowsegments,asdefinedintheinterview

analysisandpossiblyrefinedinsubsequentdataanalysis.Forthisstage,the

researcherviewedonlythegameplayfootageoftheflowsegmentscapturedbythe

screen‐recordingsoftware.Alistofallmessagesoccurringonscreenwerecompiled,

toinclude:gameinterface,gameeffects,participantactions,participant‐created

dialogue,NPCactions,NPC‐createddialogue,aswellasanyactionsanddialogue

instigatedbyotherplayerswithinthegame.Tocompilethemessages,the

researcherwatchedfootageofeachflowsegmenttwiceat50%playbackspeedto

reduceerrorandrepeatedthisprocedureforeachofthemessagetypesdescribed

above.Actionswererecordedbytheirmostessentialandnoticeableeffectsrather

thanlistingthespecificspellorability(e.g.attacking,healing,crafting,resource

gathering,trading,etc.).Dialoguewasrecordedsimplybynotingitspresence,who

initiatedit,andtowhomitwasdirectedtowards(e.g.towardsthesubjector

someoneelse,allyoropponent,acquaintanceorstranger,someonenearbyinthe

gameworldorfaraway?).Inaddition,givenadiscussionamongthefocusgroup

participantsinPhaseIabouttheimportanceoftask‐basedcommunication,the

researcheralsonotedwhethereachmessagewasoff‐task,commentingaboutthe

taskathand,orservingtodirectotherplayers’actionsinthetaskathand.These

compiledlistsservetoanswerRQ2,“Whatmessagesarepresentinthosesegments

ofthegamewhereflowisexperienced?”Ifpreviousanalysisindicatedtwoormore

distinctflowsegmentsforagivenparticipant,awithin‐participantcomparisonwas

conductedtosearchforcommonelements.Finally,abetween‐participant

comparisonofallindicatedflowsegmentswasmadetosearchforanymessages

commontoallflowsegments,answeringRQ3,“Whatmessagesarecommontoall

thesegmentsofflowexperienceidentifiedbytheplayers?”

ChapterIII

Results

ThepresentstudyseekstoidentifyplayerexperiencesintheMMOWorldof

WarcraftthatareconsistentCsikszentmihalyi’sdescriptionofflow,usingdatafrom

personalinterviews.Italsoseekstoidentifythespecificmomentsofthegamewhen

theseflowexperiencesoccur(flowsegments)andtodescribethemessagesthat

appearduringthosemoments.Therefore,thischapterpresentsathematicanalysis

ofinterviewdatafromparticipants,followedbyavisualanalysisofrecorded

footageoftheparticipantsplayingthegame.

AnalysisforH1

H1:TheexperiencesparticipantsidentifyhavinghadwhileplayingWorldofWarcraft

willbeconsistentwithCsikszentmihalyi’sdescriptionofflow.

Thissectionteststheabovehypothesisbycomparingeachparticipant’s

interviewresponsestotheidealelementsofaflowexperienceproposedby

Csikszentmihalyi,asdiscussedinthepreviouschapters.Thefiveparticipantswillbe

referredtoasparticipantsA,B,C,D,andE(seeappendixes3,4,5,6,and7,

respectively).Itisimportanttoreiteratethatallelementsneednotbepresentina

givenparticipanttoconfirmH1,thoughamajorityshouldbe.Also,giventheopen‐

endednatureofaone‐on‐oneinterview,certainresponsesandcommentsmadeby

theparticipantsmayattimessupportorconflictwiththeirresponsestoother

questions.Therefore,resultswillbepresentedaccordingtowhichelementofflow

theyrelateto,regardlessofwhenintheinterviewthestatementoccurred.The

primaryconditionsofflowusedtotestH1includetheparticipant’smood,balanceof

skillstothechallenges,concentration,andlossofselfconsciousness.Inaddition,there

aresomeelementsofflowforwhichquestionswerenotspecificallyaddedorfound

inthesampleExperienceSamplingForm(ESF).However,giventheopen‐ended

natureofthepersonalinterview,theyareaddressedinsomeparticipantresponses.

Theseelementsofflowincludeamergingofactionandawareness,alteredtime

perception,perceivedcontrolpotential,andaperceptionofcleargoalswith

immediatefeedback.

Analysisofthedatalookedfortwothemescharacterizingmood:positive

emotionsandfeelinginvestedintheactivity.ParticipantsB,C,D,andEallreported

feelingsomeformofpositiveemotioninresponsetothequestionabouthowthey

feltwhileplaying(question2).ParticipantBanswered,“LikeIalwaysdo.Ienjoy

playing.”Inasimilarfashion,ParticipantCanswered,“Prettygood.Imean,that’s

mystandarddailyroutine,soit’s…likeawarmglove…Itfitswell.Youjustmovein

andfeellikeyou’reapartofsomething.So,itfeelsfine.”Thesetwoparticipantsboth

reportmoodsthateasilyregisteraspositive,thoughnotecstaticallyso.Participant

Dreportedfeelingtiredfromworkingallday,butnoted,“Iwasn’tasrelaxedasI

wouldhavebeen,youknow,playingmynormalsetup…Besidesthat,Imean,itwas

fun,itwasnormal.”Thisaddsyetanotherpositiveresponseinthesamemanneras

theothertwo.What’sinterestingaboutthesethreeresponsesishowtheyassociate

thepositivefeelingswiththeirnormalroutine,assomethingthatoccurswhenever

theyplay.Finally,ParticipantEsomewhatparadoxicallydescribedfeeling“jovial”

butalso“slightlyfrustrated”becauseofhowhewasfaringagainstthosehewas

playingwith.Thus,fourofthefiveparticipantsreportedfeelingpositiveemotions,

thoughtwoofthosealsoreportedanegativeemotionalongsideit.ParticipantA

reportedneitherhappynornegativeemotions.

Asforfeelinginvestedintheactivity,ParticipantsAandBbothdescribed

verysimilaremotions,withParticipantAreportinghismoodas“fixated,”and

ParticipantBsayinghewas“intent,”whileplaying.Thesetworesponsescould

indicateadegreeofinvestmentintheplaysessionthatwouldbeexpectedduringa

stateofflow.Unfortunately,inresponsetothemorespecificquestion,“How

importantwastheactivityyouwerejustdoing?”(question4),noneofthe

participantsconsidereditimportant.Also,whilethreeofthefiveparticipantskept

playingbrieflytowrapthingsupaftertheresearcherre‐enteredtheroom,onlyone

participantreportedhavingdifficultyquittingthegameinresponsetoquestion3.

Theparticipantwhohaddifficultyquitting(ParticipantE)explained,“Iwantedto

finishtheround.”Theresponsestoquestions3and4donotinanywaysuggestthat

flowdidnotoccuratallwhiletheparticipantswereplayingthegame.However,the

responsesareastrongindicatorthattheresearcherdidnotdirectlyinterruptaflow

stateuponre‐enteringtheroom.Todeterminewhetherparticipantsexperienced

flowatanyotherpointsduringtheirplaysessions,otherinterviewdataregarding

theelementsofflowmustbeanalyzed.

BalanceofSkillstoChallenges

Thebalanceofskillsandchallengesisperhapsthemostimportantelement

offlow.Recallagain,however,thatthiselementisonlyindicativeofflowwhenthe

skillsandchallengesarematchedandaboveaparticipant’saverage,orbaseline

levelofskillsandchallenges(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.Csikszentmihalyi1988,

Massimini&Carli1988).Whatthismeansisthatsomeoneperformingataskilllevel

lowerthantheyareusedtoshouldnotexperienceflow,evenifthechallengelevels

happentobelowertomatchthecurrentskilllevel.ParticipantsA,B,andDall

thoughttheirskillswerematchedoradequatetothechallengestheyfaced.Whilehe

ultimatelyansweredthathisskillswere“aboutmatchedwiththechallenges,”

ParticipantA’sfirstresponsewas“I’mnotverygoodatthisgame,um,

comparativelyspeaking,Iguess.”Thissuggestsalowpersonalbaseline.However,

ParticipantAalsoreportednotbeingsatisfied,saying,“Iwasveryinefficientwith

mybars,Iguess…inmycombatsequencesanduh,Ithinkitmighthavebeenthe

productofnervousness…butIdon’tknow,”whichsuggeststhateventhoughhis

personalbaselinemighthavebeenlow,hedidnotfeelhewasperformingator

aboveit.ParticipantA’smentionofdiscomfortandasurgeryearlierthatdayin

responsetoquestion9suggeststhat,whilehisskillsandthechallengesmighthave

beenmatched,theywerenotmatchedandabovehispersonalaverage.

Similarly,ParticipantBmentionedhisskillswere“average”comparedtothe

challengeshefaced,butthathewasn’tsatisfiedwithhowhewasdoing.However,

hisreasoningwasdifferent.AsSubjectBexplains,“I’mtryingoutanewrotation,so

myDPS[damagepersecond]isn’twhatitshouldbe…formylevel.That’swhyit’s

justadequateatthemoment.”Whatthismeansisthathehaschangedsome

essentialaspectsofhowhischaracterworks—theresourceshecanusetocomplete

thetasks.Playingaftermakingthischangecouldbeconsideredadifferentactivity

thatmayactuallybemorechallengingthanhisusualplaysessioneventhoughby

somestandardshedidn’tplayaswell.Tomakeananalogy,hittingmotorizedtargets

inthedarkbysoundalonewouldbeconsideredamuchgreaterandmoreengaging

displayofskillevenifonedidnothitthebullseyeofthetargetsasoftenasonewas

accustomedto.ThislineofthinkingissupportedbyParticipantB’slaterresponse

thatthereasonhewasconcentratingwhileplayingwas,“becauseI’mtryingto

figureoutmynewrotation.Imean,ifthiswouldhavehappenedacoupleofweeks

fromnow,I’djustbehere.”Theabovestatementclearlysuggeststhathewasmore

engagedthanhewouldbeifhehadalreadymasteredtherotationandbeensatisfied

withhisDPS.

ThethirdparticipanttoreportmatchedskillsandchallengeswasParticipant

D,whoalsoreportedsatisfactionwithhowhewasdoing.Hisresponsetothe

questionwas,“Ithinktheywereadequate.Idon’tthinktheywere,youknow,I’mno

Warcraftgodoranythinglikethat.Iconsidermyselfacasualplayer,soIthinkthey

wereadequatetothetasks.”Thisqualificationsuggestsabaselineaveragethatis

notoverlyhigh,whichalongwithhisreportedsatisfactionsupportsamatchedlevel

ofskillsandchallengesinlinewiththeproposedconditionforaflowstate.

ParticipantsCandEbothreportedamismatchbetweenchallengesandskills

whileplaying,inanswertothequestion.ParticipantCresponded,“I’mwayabove

average.”However,whenaskedifhefoundwaystotryandchallengehimselfmore,

heresponded:

Yeah…WithallthePVE,whichisplayerversusenvironment,therearehardmodesthatyoucannowdo,uh,whichrequiresalotmoreattentionthanjusttheregularmodes.They’lljustaddacoupleofthingsthatincreasethedifficultysignificantly.SoIdo,whenrunningtheendgamecontent,tryandlookforgroupsthataredoingthehardmodes.Uh,PVP,ontheotherhand,whenyou’replayingagainstotherpeopleobviouslyyou’regoingtocomeagainstsomepeoplethatarereallygood.Andthatisagreatchallenge…playingagainstanotherplayer,notknowingwhattoexpect…evenifyou’redoingthehardmodesintheseotherinstancesyouknowthatit’sapatternandthatonceyoumasterthatpattern,you’regoingtohaveitdownpatandthere’snothingelse.

WhileParticipantCdidnotplayanyPVPduringtherecordedplaysession,hedid

playtwoinstancesonhardmodes,oneofwhichwastheonlyplaysegmentwhere

heindicatedhewasreallyintothegame.Ashedescribesthesegment,wherehewas

tryingout“tanking,”arolethatinvolvesholdingtheenemies’(NPCs,orMOBs)

attentionsotherestofthegroupcandefeatthemunhindered:

Tankingisfun.It’ssomethingIhaven’tbeendoingverylong,andlikeyou weretalkingaboutwhenyougathertheMOBstogether.Umm…Fortunately thatwasaprettygoodgroup,soitmademelookprettygood.But,youknow, thatwasanintimidatingtaskbecausewithmyroguecharacter[theprevious characterplayed]it’sonlyDPS...andallI’mbasicallydoingismashing buttons,makingsureIwaskillingthingsasquicklyaspossible.Peopledon’t reallyrelyonyou,perse,butasateampeopledorelyonyoutodrawthe attentionofallthoseMOBsandkeepit.Whichkeepsthemalive,which allowsthegrouptoprogress.So,asatankIfeltprettygoodaboutgetting thatdone.InthatonerunthatIdid,yeah.

Despitehisfirstanswerthathewas“wayaboveaverage,”thelanguageoftheabove

description,particularlylabelingit“anintimidatingtask,”thathehadnot“been

doingverylong”suggeststhattherewassomechallengeatleastduringthat

particularsegment.ThatsegmentofplayseemstoshowthatParticipantCwas

tryingtoincreasethechallengestowardsmatchinghishighskilllevel,increasinghis

enjoyment.Thissuspicionisfurtherconfirmedbyalatercommentthat:

There’slikeaslightartistrytoit,youknow?You’rehavingtoreally—again you'reworkingwithartificialintelligence,soyouknowwithinacertain parameterwhatthey’regoingtodo.Butmakingthemcometogetherlike that,sothattherestofthegroupcandoAOEattacks,whichisAreaofEffect, youknow,itrequiresalittlebitofskillandtechnique,whichisfun.

Again,thelanguageindicatesachallengeslightlybeyondtheusual,butwiththe

skillstomatchit,inlinewiththechallenge/skillratioofflow.However,thisis

contradictedbyalatercommentbyParticipantCthat,“Ichosespecificallytasksto

dothatIknewwouldbeeasyhereforme.”Thus,ParticipantCdisplaysonlya

partialfitforthiscondition.

Finally,ParticipantEreporteddifferentchallengelevelsforthetwodifferent

tasksheattemptedduringplay.ThefirsttaskwasaPVEquest,facingNPCs,ofwhich

hesaid,“theNPC’sare…Imeanit’sprettymuchacakewalk.Theywantittobeeasy

soyouenjoyyourself,Iguess.So,it’snotreallyachallenge…It’sjustgoout,bring

your10thingsback,goout,doitagain,andhere’syourgloves.”Coincidentally,this

taskwastheparthereportedbeingsatisfiedabout,thatwas“prettystraightforward

andfairlyeasy,”furthersupportingthathisskillswerefargreaterthanthe

challenges.Speakingaboutthesecondtaskheattempted,aPVPmatch,henoted,

“it’salotharderversuspeople.Skills,andIguessdifferentclasses,workoneach

otherdifferently.”Whenaskedinthefollow‐upquestionifhedoesPVPoranything

elsetochallengehimselfmore,heresponded,“IliketoPVPoccasionally.That’s

definitelywheremoreofthechallengecomesthrough.Imean,ifit’sPVEI’lltryto,

youknow,takeonasmanyaspossibleordostufflikethatjusttosortofliventhings

up.”However,ParticipantEreportednotbeingsatisfiedwiththePVP,citing“ten13‐

year‐oldswhoopingyourass.”Thisstatementsuggeststhatthoughthechallenge

washigherforPVP,ParticipantE’sskillswerenotmatchedwiththosechallenges.

Earlierintheinterview,ParticipantEindicatedhehadbeenfrustratedbecause,

“onceyougettothetopendofthingsthespreadisalittlebithigherasfaras

equipment,andI’monthelowerendandmostofthoseguysareonthehigherend,

soIdiedquickly.”Thiscouldsuggestmoreofalackofresourcesmatchingthe

challenge,ratherthanlackofskillsmatchingthechallenge.Regardless,givenhow

tiedskillsandresourcesareinthegame,aswellastheparticipant’scomments,

ParticipantEdoesnotseemtoreportabalanceofskillsandchallengesinlinewith

thiselementofflow.

TheaboveanalysisshowsthatparticipantsBandDgaveresponsesinline

withtheflowelementofbalancedchallengesandskillsthatmightbeconsidered

aboveapersonalaverage.TheresponsesofParticipantCweremixedandonly

partiallyfitthiselement,whiletheresponsesofparticipantsAandEdonotfitwith

thiselement.Becausethisbalanceisthedefiningelementofflow,theseresultswill

weighheavilyintestingH1fortheseparticipants.However,duetothegreat

difficultyofmeasuringthetheoreticalbaselineaverageoftheparticipantsinastudy

suchasthis,otherelementsofflowputforthbyCsikszentmihalyimustbetakeninto

account.

Concentration

Fouroutofthefiveparticipantsansweredyestothisquestion,withthe

exceptionbeingSubjectC.Interestingly,participantsA,B,D,andEalsodescribed

someformofintenseconcentrationwhentheyareaskedtodefinewhatbeing

“reallyintoagame”meanstothem(question13),whileSubjectCdoesnot.

ParticipantAdefinedbeingintothegameas:

NotreallypayingattentiontothetimeorthinkingaboutifIhavehomework,IfIneedtocallmyparents.Ismybodybotheringmeorsomethinglikethat?Um,butmoreI’mjustfocusedontheonetaskathandanddoingwhatIcantocompleteit..

ParticipantBrelated,“ifit’sgotacaptivatingstoryIwanttoseeit…ifyoucatchme

rightinthemiddleofdoingaquestline,youmightaswelljustleavemealone,

becauseI’mnotgoingtotalktoyou.”Similarly,ParticipantDsaid,“everythingelseis

kindofshutout.Youdon’treallyrealizewhat’sgoingonaroundyou.”Finally,

ParticipantEidentifieditaswhenhisgirlfriendistalkingtohimandhedoesn’thear

whatshe’ssaying,“I’mprettymuchfocusedonthescreenandwhat’shappening.

Therestoftheworldgoesbywithoutyourfocus.”

Whenaskedwhyhehadnotbeenconcentratingonthegame,ParticipantC

replied,“Justbecause,again,it’ssomethingIgenerallydo—whatIjustdidis

somethingthatIwilldo,atleastinsomepart,everyday.So,Icoulddothatalmost

blindfolded.”Thoughitispossiblethataparticipantmightrespondtothequestion

selectively,forgettingabriefperiodofconcentrationearlierintheplaysession,in

thiscasethatisnotsolikely.AtellingstatementbyParticipantCelsewhereinthe

interviewmentioned,“Normally,Ihavemygamewindowed,soIcanjustquicklygo

out.So,whenI’mwaitingandthere’snothinggoingon,I’ll,youknow,gobrowse…

blah,blah,blah,blah…listentoiTunes,umchatonAIM.”Thisstatementsuggests

thatnotconcentratingsolelyonthegameispartofhiseverydayplayhabits,rather

thanbeingattributabletoparticipantreportingerrorortodiscomfortwiththe

study’ssetup.Interestingly,ParticipantC’sstatementheredirectlyconflictswith

ParticipantD’sstatedreasonforconcentration,“Justimmersioninthegame.Your

widescreen,foronething.Imean,thebiggerthescreen,tome,it’salmostyou

becomemoreimmersedinit.”ParticipantCplayinginwindowedmodewould

certainlylessenthiseffect,withthegameonlytakinguphalfthesizeorlessof

whateverscreenitisplayedon.Preciselyhowthelackingconcentrationon

ParticipantC’spartrelatestoflowcannotbedeterminedfromthisstudy,butfrom

theanalysisitisclearthatParticipantCdoesnotfitwiththisparticularelementof

flow,whileparticipantsA,B,D,andEdo.

LossofSelf‐Consciousness

Asnotedinthereviewofliterature,Csikszentmihalyi(1990)speaksofthis

elementasa“lossofself‐consciousness,”arguingthat,“inflowthereisnoroomfor

self‐scrutiny.Becauseenjoyableactivitieshavecleargoals,stablerules,and

challengeswellmatchedtoskills,thereislittleopportunityfortheselftobe

threatened”(p.63).Asprevioussectionsofthischaptershow,responsestoquestion

7provedquiteusefulforcontextualizingotherflowelementssuchasmoodandthe

balanceofskillstochallenges.Thisquestionwasalsoquiteusefulformeasuringthis

elementofflow.Theresultsofthequestionweremixed:twoparticipants(CandD)

respondedyes,anothertwoparticipants(AandB)respondedno,andParticipantE

respondednoforonesectionofplaybutyesforanother.Thetellingpartofthedata

liesintheresponsestothefollow‐upquestion.Ofcourse,alltheparticipantsrooted

theirexplanationsintheworkingsofthegame,aswasexpected,butsomeoftheir

self‐scrutinyorlackthereofcameoutintheresponses.

SubjectA’sresponseparticularlystoodoutforananalysisofthiselement.As

mentionedinthesectiononskillsandchallengesabove,SubjectAsaidhewas

unsatisfiedbecause,“Iwasveryinefficientwithmybars,Iguess.Uh…inmycombat

sequencesanduh,Ithinkitmighthavebeenaproductofnervousness.”The

mentionofnervousnesshereistheantithesisofwhatshouldbereportedforthis

elementduringflow.Nervousnessindicatesself‐consciousness,notthelossofit.

Nervousnessalsoindicatesaperceivedpotentialthreattotheselfofsome

magnitude,beitlargeorsmall.Theothersubjectwhomentionedbeingunsatisfied,

ParticipantB,notedthereasonthat,“myDPSisn’twhatitshouldbe…formylevel.”

Thisstatementisslightlylessproblematic,asitdoesnotinvolveself‐consciousness

directedatanythingoutsidethegame.However,itisstillacritiqueoftheself,rather

thantheconfidentapproachtothetasksthatshouldepitomizethiselementfora

stateofflow.Similarly,forthesegmentofplayParticipantEreportedbeing

dissatisfiedwith,hewasbotheredbywhathereferredtoas“ten13‐year‐olds

whoopingyourass.”Whilestillrootedinthegameplay,thiscommentshowsa

critiqueoftheself,comparedtoothers,thatisnotconsistentwiththelossofself‐

consciousnessthatshouldbepresentinaflowstate.

Ontheotherhand,thetwoparticipantswhoansweredthattheywere

satisfied,participantsCandD,avoidedthesenegativecritiquesandcomparisons.

Theclosesttheycamewasinexplainingwhatwasexpectedofthem,buttheydidso

inawaythatconveyedaretrospectiveconfidenceintheirabilitiesandhowthey

playedtheirroles.Indeed,bothaccountsincludedadetaileddescriptionofwhat

wasexpectedofthemalongsideadescriptionoftheskillstheyemployedin

completingthosetasks.ForParticipantC,thisdescriptioninvolvedthetaskof

“tanking,”asquotedpreviouslyintheskillsandchallengessection.Thekeypartof

thatquoteforthisdiscussionwashisassertionthat,“peopledorelyonyoutodraw

theattentionofallthoseMOBsandkeepit.Whichkeepsthemalive,whichallows

thegrouptoprogress.So,asatankIfeltprettygoodaboutgettingthatdone.”Ina

likemanner,ParticipantDspokeabouthissatisfactionwithbothofthecharacters

heplayed:

Well,onmy80character,I’vespentquiteabitoftimeonhim,soIthink…he wasgearedupenoughtomorethantakecareoftheDPSthatheneededto whenthetimecame.MywarriorI’veswitchedtoprotectionfromarmsand it’samazing,actually,howmuchDPStheycando.

Theabovedescriptionsarerepletewithsatisfactionandpride.Onemightarguethat

pridecouldalsobeconsideredaformofself‐consciousness,butthemajorinsistence

ofthisflowelementisthattherebenonegativescrutinyoftheself.Regardless,itis

importanttorememberthatthesedescriptionsareafter‐the‐fact,andpositive

revelationsafteraflowexperienceisoverholdaparticularplaceinflowtheory.

RecallCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)propositionthat:

Afterward,whentheactivityisoverandself‐consciousnesshasachanceto resume,theselfthatthepersonreflectsuponisnotthesameselfthatexisted beforetheflowexperience:itisnowenrichedbynewskillsandfresh achievements(p.66).

AnalysisoftheresponsesbyparticipantsCandDaboveclearlydemonstratesa

degreeofsatisfactionandafocustowardsskillsandachievementsconsistentwith

Csikszentmihalyi’sdescriptionofpost‐flowreflection.Thus,participantsCandDfit

thisflowelement.However,eventhepositiveresponsebyParticipantElackedthis

enthusiasmanddetailedfocus.ParticipantErelatedthat,“therestwasfine.Itwas

prettystraightforwardandfairlyeasy,I’dsay.”Therefore,participantsA,B,andEdo

notfitthisflowelement.

MergingofActionandAwareness

Someofthedescribedelementsofaflowexperiencearedifficulttomeasure

withtargetedquestions.Asmentionedpreviously,oneoftheseelementsiswhat

Csikszentmihalyi(1990)calls,“themergingofactionandawareness…oneofthe

mostuniversalanddistinctivefeaturesofoptimalexperience,”astatewhere,

“peoplebecomesoinvolvedinwhattheyaredoingthattheactivitybecomes

spontaneous,almostautomatic;theystopbeingawareofthemselvesasseparate

fromtheactionstheyareperforming”(p.53).RecallthatCsikszentmihalyi(1990)

alsoidentifiesthiselementasthepartoftheflowexperiencethatinspiredthename

flow,where“actionfollowsactionseamlessly”(p.54).Itisalsoimportantto

rememberthelinkbetweenthiselementandtheelementofconcentrationpointed

outinthepreviouschapter.

ParticipantsBandDbothdescribedexperiencesthatfitwiththiselementof

flowatdifferentpointsduringtheinterview.WhenParticipantDansweredthe

questionabouthismood(question2),headded,“youknowwhenyou’relevelingit’s

almostlikeyou’reinagroove.Youalmost,afterawhile,candoitblindfolded.”

ThoughthisdescriptionfollowsadiscussionofhowtiredParticipantDwas,italso

fitsquitewellwithCsikszentmihalyi’sdiscussionofthemergingofactionand

awareness.Furthermore,aspreviousanalysisconfirms,themeasureof

concentrationforParticipantDisinlinewiththeflowelement.Amoreextreme

examplecanbefoundinParticipantB’sresponsetothequestionofwhatitmeansto

beintothegame(question13).Hereferencedapreviousoccasionwhenhe“played

avideogamefor24hoursstraight,”beforehespokeabouthowmuchheenjoys

“questlines”andhow,“ifit’sgotacaptivatingstoryIwanttoseeit…Icansayit

falters,alittlebit…asthequestchangesorstartscomingtoanend,but…ifyou

catchmerightinthemiddleofdoingaquestlineyoumightaswellleavemealone,

becauseI’mnotgoingtotalktoyou.”Thisdescriptionequates“beingintothegame”

withnotonlyintenseconcentrationbutalsoapatternofquesting,oractions

followingactions,inlinewiththeconditionofflowunderanalysis.Infurther

supportofthislineofanalysis,ParticipantBalsofittheflowelementof

concentration,andindicatedhewasreallyintothegameduringtherecordedplay

session.Thus,despitethefactthatnoquestionswereaskedwiththisflowelement

inmind,itfitsdescriptionspresentedbysubjectsBandD.

AlteredTimePerception

Theelementofalteredtimeperceptioninvolvesthefeelingthattimeiseither

movingveryquickly,orveryslowly,asdescribedinpreviouschapters.Despitethe

factthatnoneoftheinterviewquestionsmentionedtime,threeofthefive

participants—participantsA,B,andD—discussedfeelingsinlinewiththis

associatedelementofflow.WhenParticipantAansweredthathewasreallyintothe

game(question10/11)andwasaskedtodefinewhatbeingintothegamemeantto

him(question13),partofhisdefinitionwas“notreallypayingattentiontothe

time.”Similarly,ParticipantDnotesthatwhenhe’sreallyintothegame,“hourscan

passandyouhavenocluethattimehasflownby.”Itisalsointerestingtonotethat

whentheresearcherreturnedtotheroomafterthehourplaysessionwasup,

ParticipantDcommented,“Oh,youlosetrackoftimeinthisgame,Itellyah.”Finally,

ParticipantB,whenaskedifhewasreallyintothegamewhentheresearcher

entered(question10),responded,“Yeah.IwasabouttohelpsomebodybutthenI

realizedthehourwasupandthought‘oh,great.’…IsaidI’msorry,Ididn’trealize

whattimeitwasandthatI’dbeonafterdinner.”Thesedescriptionsareallvery

muchinlinewiththisassociatedflowelement,andtheywillbeconsideredwhen

determiningifH1issupportedfortheseparticipants.

ControlPotential

Theperceptionofcontrolisacommonlyreportedelementoftheflow

experience.However,itisimportanttoagainrecallCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)

explanationthat,it“isthepossibilityratherthantheactuality,ofcontrol”(p.60),

thatis,“whatpeopleenjoyisnotthesenseofbeingincontrol,butthesenseof

exercisingcontrolindifficultsituations”(p.61).Thisflowelementdoesnotinvolve

beingsoincontrolthatnothingcouldpossiblyposeachallenge,butratherthe

perceptionthatonehastheknowledgeandconfidencetodealwiththechallenges

onewillface.Assuch,itisobviouslytiedtotheflowelementsdealingwiththeloss

ofself‐consciousnessandthebalanceofskillstochallengesdiscussedabove.Indeed,

theonlydatasupportingthiselementwerethosesameresponseswhichsupported

self‐satisfactionforparticipantsCandDintheaboveanalysis,andforthesame

reasons—namely,theirexpressedconfidenceinfacingthechallenges.Fromthe

responses,itwasdifficulttodeterminethecriticaldistinctionbetweenthe

possibilityandactualityofcontrol.Thusananalysisofcontrolpotentialisnot

consideredinsupportofH1fortheparticipants.

ClearGoalswithImmediateFeedback

Thefinalelementofflowtobeanalyzedhereistheperceptionoftasksthat

havecleargoalswithimmediatefeedback.Participantresponsesthroughoutthe

interviewwereexaminedtoseeiftheparticipantmadeparticularmentionofhow

clearthetasksinthegamewere,orofhoweasyitwasfortheparticipanttokeep

trackofhowtheyweredoinginthesetasks.Thedatashowsonlyoneparticipant

whogavearesponseinlinewiththiselement.Whenexplainingwhyquestingwas

satisfyingtohim,ParticipantEexplained,“Youjustgoonanddoit.Youknowwhat

you’resupposedtodo.”However,asseenintheanalysisabove,ParticipantEalso

gavetheevaluationthatthissametaskwaseasy,whichisinconflictwiththemost

importantelementoftheflowexperience.Thus,only1ofthe5participantsgavean

indicationofcleargoals,andnoparticipantsmentionedimmediatefeedback.

Becausetheonlyindicationofcleargoalsalsoconflictswithoneoftheprimaryflow

elements,theelementofcleargoalswithimmediatefeedbackisalsonotconsidered

inasupportofH1.

ResultsforH1

H1wastestedwiththeaboveanalysis,comparingsubjectinterview

responsestoCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)descriptionofflowelements,withtheadded

generalelementofsubjectmood.Asdiscussedabove,theelementsofcontrol

potentialandcleargoalswithimmediatefeedbackwerenotconsidered,leavingsix

elementstotestH1.Fortheelementofmood,4outofthe5participantsprovided

responsesfittingaflowexperience.Thebalanceofskillstochallengesflowelement

wasdisplayedby2ofthe5participants.Concentrationwasindicatedin4ofthe5

participants.Alossofselfconsciousnesswasshownin2ofthe5participants.

Statementssuggestingamergingofactionandawarenesswereprovidedby2ofthe

5participants.Finally,3outofthe5participantsdisplayedalteredtimeperception.

Ofthe5participants,oneparticipant(D)exhibitedall6oftheflowelements.

Anotherparticipant(B)exhibited5ofthe6flowelements.Theremaining

participantsdisplayed2flowelementseach.Onaverage,theyshowed3of6flow

elements.Ultimately,H1wassupportedonlyforparticipantsBandD,andthesetwo

participantswillbetheprimaryfocusofthenextphasesofdataanalysis.

AnalysisandResultsforRQ1

RQ1:Duringwhatsegmentsofthegamedoplayersexperienceflow?

Thissectionseekstoanswertheabovequestionregardingthoseparticipants

forwhomH1wassupported.Asdiscussedinthepreviousanalysis,negative

responsesonthepartofallparticipantsabouthowimportantthelastactivitythey

weredoingwastothem(question4),suggestedtheresearcherdidnotdirectly

interruptastateofflow.Thus,thequestion,“Whatwereyoujustdoinginthe

game?”(question1)doesnotanswerRQ1.Additionaldatafromtheinterviewswill

suggestcertain“flowsegments”inanswertoRQ1,whichmightthenberefinedby

watchingthetime‐synchedgamefootageandweb‐camrecordings,asdescribedin

theMethodschapter.

InterviewDataAnalysis

Datafrombothparticipantssuggestedsimilarsituationsfortheirflow

segments.ParticipantBnotedthathedidn’tenjoythegameasmuchashewillafter

thenewcontentisreleased,“butIenjoygoingintotheinstancesbecauseit’sa

differentfeel.Imean…it’sawholestorylineinitself.Imean,ifyou’vedonethe

questsleadinguptothat…thenyoukindofknowwhat’sgoingoninside…soit’s

enjoyable.”ParticipantDpointedtothesametypeofsituation,butfordifferent

reasons,ashestated:

AnytimeI’minadungeonItrytobeintothegamebecauseIknowthereare othersrelyingonmyactionsalso.So,ifthingsaregoingaround,Itrytoshut themout.Andit’sfairlyeasytodointhatgame,anyway.Because,likeIsaid before,immersion.

Itshouldbenotedthatdungeonsandinstancesdescribemoreorlessthesame

situationinthegame,beingself‐enclosedareaswithaparticularstorylineusually

undertakenbysmallgroupsofplayers.FromParticipantB’saccount,itisclearthat

thestorylineoftheseplaysegmentscontributestohisenjoyment.ParticipantD,

whenaskedthedifferencebetweenplayinginthesedungeonareasandwhathewas

doingwhentheresearchercamein,explained,“it’smoreofacasualfeelingwhen

youareoutbyyourselfjustquesting.Youknowthatthere’snoconsequences,really,

toyourcharacteroranybodyelse’scharacterbecauseyoucanjustquit.”Thesocial

aspectofotherplayersrelyingonhimisclearlyamajorfactorinParticipantD’s

enjoymentofthisplaysegment.

Bothoftheparticipants’responsestoquestion5indicatethatboth

undertookthesesegmentsofplayaspartofagroupoffiveplayers.However,these

playersweredrawnrandomlyfrominterestedplayersonmanydifferentWorldof

Warcraftservers,andthattheparticipantshadnopriorcontactwiththeseother

players.ThisfindingsuggeststhatwhatcontributedtoParticipantD’senjoyment

wassomethingaboutplayingasagroupingeneral,ratherthanpreviously

establishedrelationshipswithcertaingroupmembers.ForParticipantB,thefact

thathewasgroupedwithothersmayalsobeacontributingfactorinsomeway,

evenifhisprimaryareaofenjoymentcenteredonthestory.Ultimately,both

participantsindicatedsimilarsegmentsofthegametobeflowsegments,answering

RQ1,despitethedifferenceintheirstatedreasonsforthisindication.Becausethese

reasonsdonotnecessarilypresenttheonlycontentcoincidingwithflow,nofurther

clarificationofRQ1canbemadefromthisdata.Therefore,theentiresegmentsof

playoccurringinthesedungeons,orinstances,areconsideredtobeflowsegments.

Time‐SynchedRecordingAnalysis

Asdiscussedinthepreviouschapter,thisanalysisinvolveslookingatweb‐

camfootageofeachparticipant’snonverbalsalongsidescreen‐recordingsof

participant’sactionsinthegameduringthepreviouslyindicatedflowsegments.

Thisfootagewasthencomparedwithotherfootageandrecordingsofthesame

participant.Thehopewasthatifnotabledifferencesoccurredduringthesebroadly

definedflowsegments,butwerenotpresentinothersegmentsofplay,thenthe

definitionofaflowsegmentmightbenarrowedtoonlythosemomentswherethe

differencesoccurred.Successfulresultsmighthavesuggestedamoreprecise

answertoRQ1thancouldbeobtainedfromtheinterviewdata.Unfortunately,this

wasnotthecase.Thenoteddifferencesofnonverbalandgameplaybehaviorproved

inconclusiveforparticipantsBandD.Also,thoughthesmallsamplesizelimited

conclusivecomparisonsbetweenparticipants,someofthesamebehaviorswere

alsonotedintheotherthreeparticipantsforwhomH1wasnotsupported.

TheonlybehaviorthatwasnoticeablyanydifferentinparticipantsBandD

duringtheidentifiedflowsegmentswasthatatcertainpointswhileinthedungeons

theybothleanedintowardsthescreenfurtherthantheydidwhileplayingbeforeor

afterthosesegments.However,theystillleanedintowardsthescreen,albeittoa

lesserdegree,atotherpointswhileplaying.Furthermore,participantsA,C,andEall

leanedintowardsthescreenatcertainpointsduringtheirrespectiveplaysessions.

AsH1wasnotsupportedforthoseparticipants,thefactthattheydisplayedthe

samebehaviorasparticipantsBandDchallengesthevalidityofthismeasurement.

Intheabsenceofsophisticatedequipmentmonitoringsubjectpositionrelativeto

thescreen,itisimpossibletodetermineifanyofthesedifferencesaresignificant,

whetherwithinparticipantsorbetweenparticipants.Therefore,theflowsegments

thatserveasananswertoRQ1mustremainbroadlydefinedasthosesegmentsof

playduringwhichparticipantsBandDwereinadungeon.

ResultsforRQ2andRQ3

RQ2:Whatmessagesarepresentinthosesegmentsofthegamewhereflowis

experienced?

RQ3:Whatmessagesarecommontoallthesegmentsofflowexperienceidentifiedby

theplayers?

Asexplainedinthelastchapter,theseresultswereobtainedbywatchingthe

recordedgameplayfootageforthosesegmentsofplayidentifiedasflowsegments,

notingtheoccurrenceofmessagesinsuchcategoriesas:gameinterface,game

environment,participantactions,participant‐createddialogue,NPCactions,NPC‐

createddialogue,aswellasanyactionsanddialogueinstigatedbyotherplayers

withinthegame.Fortunately,theflowsegmentsindicatedbythedatafor

participantsBandDwerealldungeoninstances,whicharedistinctivelyboundedby

loadingscreenswithinthegame.Thus,thereislittlequestionofappropriatestart

andendtimesfortheanalysis.Duringhissecondflowsegment,ParticipantDdid

leavethedungeonbrieflywhenhischaracterdied,butoneoftheotherplayersin

hispartytransportedhimback.However,uponhisreturn,hefoundhehadlostan

itemcrucialtoprogressingthroughthedungeonandquitafteralittleoveraminute.

Therefore,messagesoccurringinthatminutewerenotincludedwiththeresults.

Thesectionthatfollowswillpresenttheresultsarrangedbymessagetype,

describingallmessagesofthattypepresentduringeachflowsegmentandalso

determiningwhichwerecommonamongallthreeflowsegments.

GameInterface

Themostconsistentlyappearingmessagesforalmostanyvideogameare

foundinitsvisualinterface—thatcollectionofmultiplemessages,betheywords,

numbers,orotherindicators,thattogethergivetheplayerfeedbackonwhatis

goingoninthegame.Forgamesplayedonacomputer,suchasWorldofWarcraft,

thevisualinterfaceisalsoheavilyinvolvedintheplayer’sabilitytoactinthegame

withanythingfromthesimplemousecursortothecomplexarrayofactionbars,

withabuttonforeachcharacterability.Allplayer’sinthegamestartfromthesame

basesetofmessagesintheirvisualinterface,butmanyaspectsoftheseare

extremelycustomizable,sotherecouldbeimportantdifferences.Thebasicmessage

areasare:theactionbarwhereaplayercanassignbuttonsthatactivatehis

character’sabilitiesandtrackthetimedelaybeforeanabilitycanbeusedagain;a

menubarwithbuttonsforgamesettings,characterdetails,map,questdetails,help,

andinventory;thecharacter’spicturewithabarthattrackshealthandtheresource

acharacterexpendstoactivatetheirabilities;aminimapthattellswherethe

characterisandshowsanoverheadviewofthelocalareaalongwithside‐buttons

thatcontroltheiconsdisplayedonitoropenupacalendarofgameevents;a

dialogueboxthatallowstheplayertosendandreceivemessagesonthechat

channelsaswellasdisplayingfeedbackregardingplayeractions;numerousiconsat

thetopofthescreenthatindicatetemporaryenhancementsandpenalties;and,

finally,anXPbarthattracksthecharacter’sprogresstowardsthenextlevel.Whena

playerisinagroup,orparty,withotherplayers,picturesofthoseplayers’

charactersandbarsfortheirhealthandresourcesalsoappear.Alltheabove

messageswerepresentduringtheflowsegmentsforbothparticipantsBandD,with

theexceptionoftheXPbarbecausethecharacterswerealreadyatthemaximum

levelattainable.Someofthesemessageswerealtered,asdescribedbelow.Beyond

theseconstantlydisplayed,thoughconstantlyupdated,messages,othermessages

poppedupatcertaintimesprovidingfeedbackandsometimesrequiringinput.

Thesewillalsobedescribedbelow.

Thetwoparticipantsshowedagreatdealmoresimilaritythandifferencein

whatmessagesweredisplayedintheirrespectivevisualinterfaces,andalthough

ParticipantDhadtwoflowsegmentstheinterfacewasexactlythesameinboth.

Becauseofthis,andduetothesheernumberofmessagesthatmakeupthevisual

interface,thosegameinterfacemessagescommonamongallthreeflowsegments

aredescribedherefirst,followedbyalistoftheindividualdifferences.Both

participantshadfouractionbarsfortheircharacterabilities,twoatthebottomof

thescreenandtwoontherightsideofthescreen.Asisstandard,bothalsohad

characterpictureswithhealth/resourcetrackingbarsnexttothemfortheir

characterandforpartymembers.Throughoutalltheflowsegments,thedialogue

boxdisplayedalistofthelootthattheplayerandthepartyhewasgroupedwith

werereceiving.Alsodisplayedinthedialogueboxwereoccasionalplotdescriptions

ofNPCactions(e.g.“Moorabibeginstotransform!”),andthegroupchatdialogue

thatwillbedescribedinmoredetaillater.Beyondbeingdisplayednexttotheir

health/resourcebars,thenamesofgroupmembersandtheiraffiliationsfloated

abovetheiravatars’headsinwhite.

Flowsegmentsforbothparticipantsalsoshowedcertainvisualinterface

messagesoccurringinresponsetocertainthingshappeninginthegame.When

eithertheparticipantoramemberofhisgroupwasincombat,thecharacter

portraitwouldflashred.Also,wheneitherofthetwoparticipant’scharacterswas

healed,greennumbersrevealingtheamountofdamagehealedwouldfloatoverhis

characterportrait.WhentheparticipantsmovedtheircursoroveranNPCopponent

oranotherplayer,detailedinformationwouldpopup,andevenmoredetailed

informationwouldappearatthetopofthescreeniftheparticipantclickedtoset

thatNPCorplayerasatarget.Lessfrequently,certainmessageswouldpopupto

alertaparticipantthathehadmovedtoanewlocationwithinthedungeon,flashing

it’snameonthescreenbriefly.Othermessageswouldpopupwheneveritems

besidesgoldwerelootedfromdefeatedNPCenemies,sometimespromptingthe

participanttoclickabuttonandrollavirtualdietoseeifhewontheitemorif

someoneelseinthegroupwouldgetit.Attheendofthedungeon,amessage

poppedupshowingthatthedungeonhadbeencompleted.

Thereweresomedifferences,however.ForParticipantB,nexttohis

characterpicture,hishealth/resourcebarshadnumbersoverlayingthestandard

graphicaldepiction(e.g.24655/24886).Thecharacterhewasplayingduringthe

flowsegmentalsohadapet,andthepet’spictureandhealth/resourcetrackingbars

weredisplayedjustbelowthoseforhischaracterinthesamefashion.Belowthat,

thepicturesandhealth/resourcetrackingbarsforhisgroupmembersalsohad

numbersoverlayingthegraphicaldepiction.Thesamenumberoverlayappearedon

thehealth/resourcetrackingbarsinthedetailedinformationofNPCenemieshe

targeted.Thepethaditsownactionbar,whichwasdisplayedabovethecharacter’s

twobottomactionbars.Theminimapwasasdescribedabove,exceptforthe

notablefeaturethatbelowitwasaclockdisplayingthereal‐worldtime.Messagesin

thedialoguewereofthesametype,exceptthatParticipantB’sdialoguebox

displayedNPC‐initiateddialoguethatwillbedescribedinmoredetaillater.Atthe

bottom,wheretheXPbarwouldhavebeenforalower‐levelcharacter,therewasa

bartrackingthecharacter’sreputationwithaparticularNPCfactioninthegame.In

additiontothenamesoftheotherplayersinhispartyfloatingabovetheirheadsin

white,thenamesofNPCenemiesfloatedabovetheirheadsinred.Beyondthese

alterations,ParticipantBalsohadanobjectives‐trackingwindow,transparent

exceptforthetextthatdisplayedthenameofaquesthewasonandwhathestill

neededtodotocompleteit.Finally,attheendofthedungeon,ParticipantB

receivedamessagepop‐uponthescreensayinghehadearnedanachievement,and

similar,smallermessagesnotingthatsomeofhispartymembersearnedan

achievement.

ParticipantD’stwoflowsegments,ontheotherhand,lackedmanyofthese

messages.ParticipantDhadnopet,noobjectivetracker,nonamesinredfloating

aboveNPCenemies,andnoreal‐worldtimeclockunderhisminimap.Allofthe

health/resourcetrackingbarsinhisinterfaceprovidedgraphicalfeedbackonly,

withnonumbers.However,unlikewithParticipantB,theinterfaceduring

ParticipantD’sflowsegmentshadfloatingnumbersaboveavatarandNPCheadsto

indicatedamageorhealing.InParticipantD’sdialoguebox,NPC‐initiateddialogue

wasnotdisplayed,suchdialogueappearingovertheNPCs’headsalone.Participant

D’sdialogueboxdid,however,containmessagesabouthischaracter’schanging

reputationwithcertainNPCfactionsinthegame,whichwasnotfoundin

ParticipantB’sdialoguebox.Finally,nomessagespoppedupalertingParticipantD

thatheoranyotherplayer’sinhispartyhadearnedanachievement,thoughitisnot

clearwhetherthisisbecausethatfeaturewasturnedofforbecauseeveryonehad

alreadyearnedthatparticularachievement.

GameEnvironment

Whilethegameinterfacepresentsmessagesthatplayersareexpectedto

modifytosuittheirpreferences,the3Dgraphicsdepictingtheenvironmentofthe

gameworldanditsinhabitantsvarymuchmorebetweenthefictionalplaceswithin

thegamethantheydobetweentwodifferentplayersinthesameplace.Eachflow

segmentoccurredinadifferentdungeon,however,sothissectionwilldescribeeach

flowsegmentbutalsonotewhattheyhaveincommon.

Allthreedungeonsbeganwithaloadingscreen,uponwhichwasthe

dungeon’snameaboveapaintingofsomepartofthedungeoninthestyleoffantasy

artworkthatmightbeseenonthecoverofbooks,oringraphicnovels.Afterthe

loadingscreen,aseachparticipantmovedtheiravatararoundinthedungeon,they

weretreatedtolargeopenareasandoccasionallypointswhereotherareaswere

depictedinthedistance,givingtheimpressionofalargerspacethanwhatthe

avataractuallymovesthrough.Theactualpatheachparticipantdirectedhis

characteralongwasineachcaseveryclearlyrepresentedontheminimap.Allthe

environmentsdisplayedintricatedetails,thoughperhapsappearingmoredrawn

thanrealistic,aswellasambienteffectssuchasshadows,lightingchanges,flames,

andmagicalenergies(allofwhichwouldbedisplayedforanyplayersolongasthey

wereplayingonamachinewithacapablegraphicscard).Alongwiththese,there

werecertainplot‐connectedobjectsthatchangedinresponsetoplayeractions.

Thedistinctmessagesforeachofthethreeflowsegmentsintermsofgame

environmentlargelyinvolveslightdifferencesinthetypeoramountofthosethings

describedabove.Forinstance,ParticipantB’sflowsegmentinvolvedadungeon

withalotofspiderwebs.ParticipantD’sfirstflowsegmentinvolvedboneslittering

thefloor,lotsofmovingwater,andmist/haze.ParticipantD’ssecondflowsegment

includedalotofrocks,snow,ice,andavisiblesky.Whileallthreeflowsegments

hadplot‐connectedobjects,ParticipantB’sflowsegmentincludedmanymoresuch

objects.Theseobjectsincludednumerousmagicalcrystalsthatitemscouldbetaken

fromand,atonepoint,eggsthathatchedintonewNPCenemiesforParticipantBto

fight.Ontheotherhand,ParticipantD’sflowsegmentsonlyincludedonesuchplot‐

connectedobjecteach.InParticipantD’sfirstflowsegment,therewasabridgethat

rotatedtoclearapathafterthedefeatofacertainNPCenemy.Inhissecondflow

segment,therewasamagicalportalhecouldinteractwith,transportinghimto

anotherplaceinthedungeon.However,theenvironmentduringbothofParticipant

D’sflowsegmentsdisplayedagreatervarietyofambienteffects,thaninParticipant

B’sflowsegment.

ParticipantActions

Thissectiondescribes,ataverygenerallevel,theactionstakenduringeach

flowsegmentbythesubjectinvolved,andwhattheyhaveincommon.Inalltheflow

segments,theparticipantsspentthemajorityoftheirtimeattackingNPCenemies

andtryingtodoasmuchdamageaspossiblewhennotmovingfromoneplaceto

another.Constantattackingisnotnecessarilythecaseforallplayers,assome

playersspendalmostalltheirtimeinadungeonhealingorenhancingtheother

playersintheirparty.Nevertheless,attackingwasthemostcommonactiontakenby

theparticipantduringeachflowsegment.Alsoinallcases,theparticipantsinitiated

theseattacksbyclickingbuttonsintheirabilitybarwiththeirmousecursor,despite

thefactthatmanyoftheseabilitiesalsocorrespondedtonumbersonthekeyboard.

Theresultwasnear‐constantclickingduringeverycombatsequence.Theother

commonactiontakenbesidesmovingwaslootingthecorpsesoffallenNPCenemies.

Duringeachflowsegment,theparticipantwouldclicktolootateverychanceonce

allNPCenemiesintheimmediateareawereslain.

Themajordistinctioninthewaythetwoparticipantsplayedwasthat

ParticipantD’smovementsweremuchfaster,withthecameraangleturningmore

frequentlyandthemousemovingmorequickly.Also,ParticipantDhealedhis

characterafewtimesduringbothofhistwoflowsegments,andtookanactionto

enhancehischaracterwithatemporarybonusonceduringeachofthesegments.

ParticipantDenhancedanotherplayer’scharacterwithatemporarybonusduring

hissecondflowsegmentinresponsetoarequest,andheusedanabilitythathealed

theotherplayersinhispartyslightlyduringhisfirstflowsegment.InParticipantD’s

firstflowsegment,healsogatheredresourceswithhisminingskillontwo

occasions,presumablyforcraftingpurposes.Thefinaldistinctiontobenotedisthat

ParticipantBdiedonceduringhisflowsegment,andParticipantDdiedonceduring

hissecondflowsegment,thoughbothwereresurrectedbyotherplayersintheir

party.

ParticipantDialogue

Asnotedinthepreviouschapter,whilewatchingthegameplayfootageof

eachflowsegmentacountwastakeneachtimeaparticipantengagedindialogue.

Addedtothecountofmessagesweredetails,including:whothemessagewas

directedtowardsandtherelevanceofthemessagetothetaskathand.Participant

dialoguewastheonlytypeofmessageforwhichnocommonalitywasfound

amongstthethreeflowsegments.ParticipantDdidnotengageinanydialogue

duringhisfirstflowsegment.Inhissecondflowsegmentheonlyengagedin

dialogueonce,withtheexclamation“lol,”inresponsetooff‐taskjokesmadeby

othersinhisparty.

ParticipantB’sflowsegmentwasadifferentmatter,containingfrequent

dialogueinitiatedbythesubject.Duringhisflowsegment,ParticipantBsenttwenty

separatemessages,allinitiatingorcontributingtodialoguewithotherplayersinhis

party.Ofthesetwentymessages,seventeenwereaboutthetaskathand.Tenof

thoseseventeenmessagesweregeneralcommentsinitiatedbytheparticipantabout

thedungeontheplayerswerein,fourwereshortresponsestootherplayers’

commentsaboutthedungeon,andthreewereprovidinginformationaboutwhat

couldbeexpectedasthepartyundertookitstask.OneofParticipantB’smessages

wasaresponseinvolvedindirectingthetaskathand—castingavoteonacourseof

action.Theothertwomessageswerebothoff‐task,withoneseekingoff‐task

informationandanotherbeinganexclamationinresponsetothatinformation.

OtherPlayerDialogue

Messagesinitiatedbyotherplayersduringtheflowsegmentswerecoded

withsimilarcategoriestothosemessagesinitiatedbytheparticipant,exceptthat

particularcarewastakentodistinguishbetweenmessagesdirectedtowardsthe

participantandthosedirectedtowardsotherplayersintheparty.Unlikewith

ParticipantDialogue,somecommonmessagetypeswereidentifiedacrossallthree

flowsegmentsamongthosemessagessentbyotherplayers.Inallcasesthemajority

ofmessagesreferredinsomewaytothedungeonortothetaskathand.Alsoinall

cases,moreofthesemessagesweresimplytalkingaboutthedungeonortask,while

slightlylessofthesemessageswereactuallyinvolvedindirectingsomeaspectofthe

party’sactionsinthedungeon.

Variationamongthethreeflowsegmentslayeitherindifferingamountsof

themessagetypesdiscussedabove,orwiththepresenceofmessagetypesnotfound

inallthreesegments.ParticipantD’ssecondflowsegmentdisplayedthelargest

amountofmessages,at34separatemessages,andalsothemostofeachparticular

messagetype.Off‐taskmessagesandexclamationssuchas“lol”werefoundin

ParticipantB’sflowsegmentandinParticipantD’ssecondflowsegment.Neitherof

thesemessagetypesappearedinParticipantD’sfirstsegment,however.Participant

D’sfirstflowsegmentwasalsoconspicuousinthatitcontainednomessages

directedtowardstheparticipantbyotherplayers.

NPCDialogue

Dialoguebynon‐playercharacters,scriptedtooccurwheneitherthe

participantsortheotherplayersintheirpartyapproachedaparticularlocationor

tookcertainactions,wasfoundinallthreeflowsegments.Thesemessageswereall

relatedtothefictiveplotofthegameinsomeway:eithercontextualizingthestory

ofwhattheplayersarelookingforinthedungeon,bringingtolifetheNPC’s

personality,orgivingtheplayermotivationtopursuethestoryline.Inadditionto

these,actiondescriptionsofNPCswerepresentinallthreeflowsegments,with

messagessuchas“Moorabibeginstotransform!”Whilethesearenotdialogueinthe

strictdefinition,theyservedthesamepurposeincontextualizingthestorylineofthe

dungeonandprovidingplotexplanations.

Regardingthedistinctionsamongflowsegments,ParticipantD’sfirstflow

segmentwaslackingNPCdialoguedirectedspecificallytowardsthesubject.AllNPC

dialoguecommonamongallthreeflowsegmentswasdirectedtowardsthepartyas

awhole,otherplayersincluded,describedinthedialogueboxastheNPC“shouting”

themessage.However,inParticipantB’sflowsegment,andinParticipantD’s

secondflowsegment,therewereafewmessagesdirectedspecificallytowardsthe

subject.InParticipantB’scase,thesemessagesallcamefromanNPCenemy,and

werelabeledas“whispers”inthedialoguebox,atypeofmessageplayersfamiliar

withthegamewillidentifyasprivatecommunicationdirectedsolelyatthem.Itis

possible,evenlikely,thattheotherplayerswerereceivingthesamewhispers,but

thedistinctionisneverthelessworthnoting,becauseofthepersonalassociationofa

whisperasopposedtoashout.ParticipantD’ssecondflowsegmentalsoincluded

somewhispers,thoughinthiscasefromafriendlyNPCgivingadvice.Inaddition,

ParticipantD’ssecondflowsegmentalsodisplayedsomesegmentsofinteractive

dialoguewithfriendlyNPCsinseparatepop‐upwindows,withtheparticipant

havingachoiceamongpresetoptionstopromptdialoguefromtheNPC,suchas:

“Whatshouldwedonext?”or“WhatabilitiesdoAmberDrakeshave?”Other

distinctionslayintheamountofmessagesofeachtypepresent,withParticipantB’s

flowsegmentcontainingmanymoreplot‐relatedmessagesinitiatedbyNPCs.

NPCActions

ObservableactionstakenbyNPCswereverysimilaracrossallflowsegments.

Thereweredistinctionsinminutedetail,suchasexactlywhatcreatureswere

depictedandtheexactnatureoftheirabilities.Someweremuchlargerthanthe

participants’avatarswhilesomewerethesamesize,butNPCsofallsizewerefound

acrossthethreeflowsegments.AcommonthreadwasthatthesmallerNPC

opponentswouldswarmingreatnumberaroundasubjectandtheotherplayersin

hisparty.LargerNPCswouldengagetheparticipantandhispartyoneortwoata

time.Inafewcases,bothoccurredsimultaneously.However,themostnotablefact

todrawfromtheseNPCactionswasthattherewasaconstantamountofactivity

duringcombat,withspecialeffectsgoingofffromspellsorabilitiesinitiatedbythe

OtherPlayerActions

LikeNPCactions,thegeneralactionstakenbyotherplayersinaparticipant’s

partywereverysimilaracrossallflowsegments.Ineachcasethereweretwoother

playersattackingNPCenemieswiththeparticipant,anotherplayerdrawingthe

attentionofNPCenemiestolessenthedamagedealttotherest,andoneplayerthat

couldprovidehealingoraidtotheparticipantandtherestoftheplayerswhenit

wasnecessary.Inadditionto,andattimesdifficulttodistinguishfrom,thespecial

effectsinitiatedbyNPCactions,theactionsofotherplayersalsoincreasedthe

amountofactionduringcombat.Withfourotherplayersallcastingspellsandusing

abilities,thearrayofspecialeffectsonscreenduringcombat(e.g.flashinglights,

hoveringmarksoverenemies,glowingaroundcertainareas)wasnearlyconstant.

AdditionalDataforParticipantC

TheresultsofRQ1indicatethatforthethreeidentifiedflowsegments,all

occurredwithinwhatareknownasdungeons,ordungeoninstances,inthegame.

AlthoughH1wasnotsupportedforParticipantC,healsoplayedthroughtwoof

thesedungeonsduringhisplaysession,eachwithadifferentoneofhischaracters.

Whilesamplesizesaretoosmallforanyconclusivecomparison,itmightbe

worthwhiletodescribethemessagespresentduringParticipantC’splaythroughof

thesetwodungeons.AswithRQ2andRQ3above,thesegmentofplaybetweenthe

loadingscreensofeachdungeonwasanalyzed.Thissectionfollowsthesame

generalformatastheresultsforRQ2andRQ3above.

GameInterface

ParticipantCdisplayedmostofthebasicvisualinterfacemessages,as

describedabove,butwithsomevariations.Inbothofhisdungeons,ParticipantC’s

visualinterfacedisplayedfouractionbars,twoonthebottomandtwoonthetop,as

wellasaclockshowingreal‐worldtimeunderhisminimap,andanobjectives‐

trackingwindow.Inbothdungeons,thehealth/resourcetrackingbarsnexttohis

andhispartymembers’characterpicturesweregraphicallypresented,withno

numericaloverlays.ThesameistrueforenemyNPCs.However,duringthefirst

dungeon,barswithnumbersshowingtheNPC’shealthappearedovertheirheads

duringcombat.Duringtheseconddungeon,floatingnumbersappearedoverthe

headsofbothNPCsandtheavatarsofhispartymembersshowingwhatdamagewas

currentlybeingdoneorwhatdamagewasbeinghealed.Finally,inthefirstdungeon

ParticipantC’sinterfacehadabartrackingreputationwithanNPCfactionwhere

theXPbarwouldbeforalower‐levelcharacter.WithParticipantC’scharacterinthe

seconddungeonthiswasnotpresent.

GameEnvironment

ThegameenvironmentinbothofParticipantC’sdungeonswasverysimilar

towhathasbeendescribedabove,withintricatedetail,manyambienteffects,and

numerousplot‐connectedobjects.Ofthetwo,theseconddungeon’senvironment

wasclosestothedescriptionanddetailprovidedpreviously,withlargeopenspaces

andclearpathsdisplayedontheminimap.Theseconddungeonalsohadagreatdeal

ofambienteffects,aswellasdetailedobjectsinthegameenvironmentwithmoving

parts.TheenvironmentinParticipantC’sfirstdungeon,however,wasmuchmore

enclosed.Itwasalargecavernwithfewpathways,andnofar‐awayviewshintingat

abiggerspacebeyondwhattheparticipantwasmovingthrough.ParticipantCand

hispartywouldmovebackandforthfacingNPCenemies,occasionallycrossingthe

samespacestheyhadjustcrossed.Afinalnotethatrelatestogameenvironmentis

thatinParticipantC’sfirstdungeonhehadthepointofviewsetveryfarbackabove

hisavatarandtheavatarsofhispartymembers.Thealteredpointofviewresulted

inshowingmoreofthegameenvironmentatonce,butwithlessoftheintricate

detailthanwouldappearwithacloserviewpoint.

ParticipantActions

InParticipantC’sfirstdungeon,themostnoticeablecharacteristicofhis

actionswasthathewasnottakingactionsveryoftenbeyondmovinghischaracter.

Theroleoftheparticipant’scharacterinthisdungeonwastohealtheotherplayers

inhisparty,butheonlydidthisafewtimesduringcombat,andmostlyaftercombat

wasover.Thereasonfortheinfrequentactivitywasgenerallybecauseduring

combatthehealthoftheotherplayercharactersinhispartydidnotdroplow

enoughtorequirehealing.Therewerelongperiodsoftime,evenduringcombat,

whentheparticipantwastakingnoactionsotherthanmovinghisavatarandthe

camera,simplywatchingtheactionsoftheothers.Inbothdungeons,ParticipantC

usedthehotkeybuttonsonthekeyboard,ratherthanthemousecursor,toactivate

hischaracter’sabilities.Intheseconddungeon,withhis“tanking”character,he

activatedtheseabilitiesveryoften.Hewasusuallythefirstinhispartytogointo

combat,andhewouldbeactivatingdifferentabilitiesnon‐stopuntiltheNPC

enemiesintheareaweredefeated.Still,eventhoughhewasactivethrougheach

combatinthisseconddungeon,hisvisibleactions—fromthemovementofhis

viewpointinthegametothemovementofthemousecursorintargetinghis

enemies—wasverycontrolledandlackedanyjerkiness.

ParticipantDialogue

ParticipantC’sdialogueinbothdungeonswassomewhatlimited.Heonly

senttwomessageswhileplayinginthefirstdungeon.Oneofthesemessageswasto

afriendthatwasn’tcurrentlyplayinginthatdungeon,replyingtoamessagethe

friendhadsentaboutatopicunrelatedtothedungeon.Thesecondmessagewasto

thepartyhewasplayingwithregardingthetaskathand,butittookplaceafterthe

dungeonwascompletedandconsistedofasimple,“ty,”whichiscommonshorthand

for“thankyou.”Intheseconddungeon,heonlysentonemessage,againa“ty”

messageafterthedungeonhadbeencompleted.Itshouldbenotedthathealso

startedtosendanothermessagewhileintheseconddungeon,agreetingtoafriend

outsideofthedungeonwhohadjustloggedon.However,hedecidednottosendthe

message,deletingitandgettingbacktofocusingonthetaskathand,whichwasto

approachanotherclusterofNPCenemiesandattackthem.

OtherPlayerDialogue

Dialogueinitiatedbyotherplayerswasalsoverylimitedduringbothof

ParticipantC’sdungeons.Inthefirstdungeon,therewereonlythreemessagessent

byotherplayers.Twooftheseweremessagesdirectedspecificallytowardsthe

participantbythefriendoutsidethedungeonthathewastalkingto.Bothofthese

messageswereoff‐task,unrelatedtothedungeon.Thethirdmessagewasamessage

of“thanks”directedatthepartyplayingthedungeonasawhole.Thiscamein

responsetoParticipantC’smessageof“ty”mentionedabove.Inthesecond

dungeon,twomessagesweresentbyotherplayers.Thesetwomessageswerefrom

otherplayersintheparticipant’sparty,anddirectedatthepartyingeneral,sent

afterthedungeonwascompleted.Onemessagewas,“tyfortherun”(“run”beingat

termplayersoftenusetodescribegoingthroughadungeonandcompletingit),and

theothermessagewas,“gg,”likelyshortfor“goodgame.”Likesimilarmessages

describedabove,thesearemessagesaboutthetaskathandafteritscompletion,

thankingorrecognizingotherplayersinthepartyfortheirroleincompletingthe

dungeon.

NPCDialogue

ThetwodungeonsthatParticipantCplayedthrougheachdisplayedsome

dialogueinitiatedbyNPCs,scriptedintothegameinresponsetoplayeractions.

Thesemessagesvariedbydegreeandtypebetweenthetwodungeons,butinalmost

allcasesweredirectedatthepartyasawholeandneverdirectedtothesubjectin

particular.ThefirstdungeondisplacedthemostNPCdialogue,with36separate

messages.Ofthese,25wereplot‐relatedthreatsbyenemyNPCs,directedtowards

theplayers,andanother10weremessagesfromNPCsthatcontextualizedtheplot

ofthedungeon.Also,therewasonemessagefromafriendlyNPCtothepartyatthe

beginningofthedungeon,providingsomeplotbackgroundandmotivationtothe

players.AnothermessagefromthesamefriendlyNPCwasdirectedatotherfriendly

NPCs,butstillservedtofurtherrevealtheplot.Inadditiontothese,thefirst

dungeondisplayed18actiondescriptions,asdiscussedpreviously,thatdetailed

NPCactionstosupplementorforeshadowtheactualgraphicrepresentationsof

thoseNPCs.Thesewereallplot‐relatedaswell.

ParticipantC’sseconddungeondisplayedfarlessNPCdialogue,withonly16

separatemessagesofdialogue.Ofthesemessages,10wereplot‐relatedthreats

directedatthepartyasawholeand6weremessagesthatonlyservedtodevelop

theplotortoprovideafictionalcontextforit.Finally,theseconddungeondisplayed

oneactiondescriptionmessage.Thatactionmessagemayhaveservedmoretoalert

theplayersofstrategythantoprovideplot,however,asitindicatedthattheNPCin

questionhadtaken“adefensivestance.”

NPCActions

TheactionstakenbyNPCsinthetwodungeonsParticipantCplayedwere,in

general,verysimilartotheNPCactionsdescribedregardingprevioussubjects.

Smallerenemieswouldattackthepartyinswarms,whilelargerenemieswouldface

thepartyeitheraloneorwithoneortwootherNPCenemies,withtheexceptionofa

coupleoftimeswhenbothofthesetacticscoincided.Therearesomeactionsworth

noting,however.InParticipantC’sfirstdungeon,ratherthanwanderingaround

untiltheplayersengagedthem,theNPCenemiesappearedoutofplot‐connected

objectsthatdepictedmagicalportals.Thewaytheportalsworkedmeantthat

insteadofwatchingenemyNPCs’movementsfromafar,thesubjectandother

playerswouldgotoacertainplaceinthegameenvironmentandtheirarrivalatthat

locationwouldtriggertheNPCenemiestoappear.Intheseconddungeon

ParticipantCplayed,however,theNPCsweremovingaroundthegame

environment.ThenotableoccurrenceintheseconddungeonisthatoneenemyNPC

wasdepictedwithsomesortofmagicalenergyorelectricitybetweenhimanda

swarmofenemyNPCssurroundinghim.

OtherPlayerActions

TheactionstakenbyotherplayerswithinthetwodungeonsParticipantC

playedthroughdisplayedthesametypeofactionsandrolesasdescribedpreviously

fortheothersubjects.Duringeverycombatsituationthereweremanyspecial

effectsrepresentingotherplayers’actions.Thesespecialeffectsfilledthescreen

aroundwherethecombatwastakingplace.InParticipantC’sfirstdungeon,these

specialeffectsdidnotfilltheentiretyofthescreenbecauseofthefar‐backpointof

viewdescribedearlier.ParticipantC’sroleasahealerinthisfirstdungeonmeant

thatalltheotherplayerswereattackingduringeachcombat.Intheseconddungeon,

however,ParticipantC’srole“tanking”meantthatwhilethreeoftheotherplayers

wereattackingtheenemiesaroundhisavatar,oneotherplayerwasdoinglittle

beyondhealinghimwhenhewastakingdamage.

ChapterIV

Discussion

Theresultsofthisexploratorystudyarelargelydescriptiveinnature.They

suggestmanypossiblecorrelations,butnovariableswereisolatedorcontrolled

enoughtoproposeanyformofcausation.Inaddition,thisstudychoseasmall

numberofparticipantsinordertoexplorethetopicin‐depth,andthuscannotbe

assumedtohavegeneralizability.Nevertheless,thereareseveralinterestingresults

thathaveimplicationsforfutureresearch.Inaddition,theenormousamountofdata

gathered,giventhehouroftime‐synchedgameplayandfacialexpressionfootageof

eachparticipant,mayyetyieldfurtherinsightstoflowresearchandtoresearchon

severalothertopicsifthepropermethodsofdataanalysisaredevised.

FlowExperiences

Ultimately,ofthefiveparticipants,onlyparticipantsBandDdescribed

experiencesthatfitmostoftheflowelements.Theywere,indeed,theonly

participantsthatdescribedbothofthemostrecognizableelementstheorizedtobe

symptomaticofaflowexperience:alteredtimeperceptionandamergingofaction

andawareness.Thoughbothoftheseparticipantswereobviouslyskilledplayers

withmultiplecharactersatthehighestlevelcurrentlyattainable,bothreportedthat

thechallengestheyfacedintheplaysessionmatchedtheirskills.Responsesby

participantsAandE,ontheotherhand,indicatedanimbalanceofchallengesand

skills,whileParticipantC’sresponsesweremixedinthatregard.Itshouldbenoted

thattheresultsdonotprovethatparticipantsA,C,andEdidnotexperienceflow

whileplaying.Rather,thoseparticipantsdidnotconsistentlydisplayenoughflow

elementstobeconsideredinaflowstateforthisstudy.Theseresultsledtoa

numberofpossibleimplicationsfortheconditionsoftheflowexperience.

TheSkills/ChallengesBalanceandOtherFlowElements

Aspreviouslymentioned,Csikszentmihalyieventuallyidentifiedthebalance

ofskillstochallengesastheprimarymeasureofflow(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.

Csikszentmihalyi,1988).Theresultsofthisstudydonotdeviatefromthat

hypothesis.Thethreeparticipantswhoindicatedanegativeormixedfitwiththe

skills/challengesratiowerealsothoseparticipantswhoseresponsesfailedtofit

withthemajorityofotherflowconditions.Whileanycomparisonisinconclusive,

giventhesmallsamplesize,theseresultsfallinlinewithpreviousresearch.

Giventhecontextualinformationthatopen‐endedquestionscanpromptin

aninterview,someexplanationofthelackofbalanceintheskills/challengesratioin

thesethreeparticipantsmightbeputforth.Asnotedintheresults,ParticipantA

reportedfeelingdissatisfiedanduncomfortable,aswellasbeing“notverygoodat

thisgame.”Hehadjusthadsurgeryearlierthatday,andontopofthishementioned

feelingsof“nervousness”andindicatedhewasquiteawareofbeing“observed.”

ParticipantE’sstatementsrevealthatheperceivedonetaskhedidasa“cakewalk”

butthattheothertaskwastoodifficult.Finally,ParticipantCstatedthathisskills

were“wayaboveaverage”whencomparedtothechallenges.ParticipantCin

particularwillbediscussedinmoredetaillater.

ImplicationsoftheSkills/ChallengesBalance

Sinceabalanceofskillstochallengesisconsideredsuchanimportant

conditionforallowingflowtooccur,itisinterestingtohighlightwhatparticipantsB

andDindicatedasthecauseofthisbalanceforthem.ForParticipantD,thefactthat

hisskillsmatchedbutdidn’texceedthechallengesislikelyduetohisbeing“acasual

player.”Thereisnoofficialdefinition,butingeneralcasualplayersareplayerswho

eitherdon’thave,ordon’ttake,thetimetokeepupwithanddevelopthemost

effectivetacticsandcharacterequipmentcombinationstoapproachparticular

situations.Theyalsorarelyspendthemanyhoursinthegameittakesjustto

acquireoneofthebestitems,or“toptiergear”fortheircharacter.Because

ParticipantDhasafamily,andkidsthatlimithisplaytime,helikelyisunableto

develophisskillsandhischaractertothepointwherethegameposesnochallenge

tohim.

ThestatedreasonforwhyParticipantB’sskillsmatchedbutdidnotexceed

thechallengesfacedwasslightlydifferent.Certainly,thoughhedoesn’tcallhimselfa

casualplayer,ParticipantBnotes,“I’mnot…uh,haven’tgothighlevelgearor

anythinglikethat.”Yet,thereasonhegivesforhisskillsbeing“justadequateatthe

moment”is:“Ijust…respec’dmydeathknightandI’mtryingoutanewrotation.”It

seemsthattheneedtolearnanewstyleofplayingactuallyrenewedthechallengeof

thegameandleftParticipantBmoreengagedwhileheworkedonmasteringit.As

heputsit,“ifthiswouldhavehappenedacoupleofweeksfromnow,I’djustbe

here.”Thisisreminiscentofacommentsomeonemadeinthefocusgroupindicating

thatsincetheygosolongwithoutplaying,theyarechallengedwhentheystartagain

whilethey’re“relearning.”

Theaboveimplicationssuggestquestionsthatmightbetestedinfuture

studies,suchashowflowvariesbetweenplayerswithdifferentamountsof

experienceinacertainplaystyle.Inaddition,onemightconductasurveyof“casual”

and“hardcore”playerstoseehowtheymeasureonadevelopedflowscale.Ifthe

resultsofthatstudyweretoconfirmthatsignificantlymore“casual”players

experienceflow,itwouldbeanintriguingstepforflowresearch.If“hardcore”

players,whobydefinitionplaymorethan“casual”players,werefoundto

experiencelessflow,theneithertheirexperienceisdrivenbysomethingotherthan

flow,orflowmeasurementssuchastheskills/challengesbalancewouldneedtobe

re‐assessed.

TheStateofControl

ResponsesfromParticipantCdidnotfitthemajorityofflowelements,yet

theywerecuriouslymixedregardingthebalanceofskillstochallenges.Though

obviouslynotconclusivegiventhesample,itispossiblethatwhatParticipantC

experiencedduringhisplaysessionwasastateofcontrol,ratherthanastateof

flow.Nottobeconfusedwiththeperceptionofpotentialcontrolindicativeofthe

flowelementdiscussedinpreviouschapters,thestate,or“channel”of“Control”isa

typeofexperiencedescribedbyMassiminiandCarli(1988)intheirresearchon

flow.BasedontheirstudiesusingtheExperienceSamplingMethod(ESM),

MassiminiandCarli(1988)characterize“Control”asinvolving“moderate

challenge,”but“highskill,”while“Flow”involves“highchallenge,highskill,”and

“Boredom”involves“lowchallenge,highskill”(p.270).Thisconceptofcontrolleans

moretowardsan“actuality”ofcontrolthantheperceived“possibility”thatindicates

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)proposedflowconditon(p.60).Asdiscussedinthe

previouschapter,eventhoughhewas“wayaboveaverage”inskill,ParticipantC

neverthelessspokeofthe“intimidatingtask”of“tanking,”whichrequires“alittlebit

ofskillandtechnique.”DuringthisactivitywastheonlytimeParticipantCreported

being“reallyintothegame.”Althoughhislackofindicationforthemajorityofflow

conditionsyieldslittlesupportforflow,itispossiblethatduringthisoneactivitythe

highlyskilledParticipantCwasconfrontingslightlyhigherchallengesandmoving

fromastateofboredomtoastateofcontrol.Futureresearchmaywanttoaddress

thestateofcontrolasanenjoyablestateinandofitself.

MeasuringFlowExperiences

Thestudyemployedaqualitativeanalysisofpersonalinterviewdata,andin

thisrespectitwassimilartoCsikszentmihalyi’s(1975)earlyresearchonthe

conceptofflow.Thismethodwasadeparture,however,fromthequantitative

surveymethodsemployedbysomerecentstudiesofflowingames(Bowman&

Boyan,2008;Voiskounskyetal.,2004;Weibeletal.,2007).Theprimarypurposefor

usingaqualitativemethodwastoprovidecontextandadepthofdescriptionfor

thosesegmentsofplaywhenflowoccurred.However,theinterviewsalsoyielded

datathatmightholdconceptualimplicationsformeasurementsinflowresearch.

Theseimplicationslackthevalidityofacontrolledexperimentandthe

generalizabilityofalargesamplesize,buttheyareneverthelessworthnotinghere.

BalanceofSkillstoChallenges

Onemightarguethatthequestionmeasuringabalanceofskillstochallenges,

“Howwouldyousayyourskillsmatchedthechallengesyouwerefacinginthegame

justnow?”(question6),alongwithitsfollow‐upprobes,maynotfullygetatthe

phenomenologicalexperienceofflow.Futurestudiesmaywanttomorefully

describetheexperienceofthisimportantflowelement.Whilefollow‐upprobes

weredesignedtopromptmoredetailiftheskillsandchallengeswereoutof

balance,noneweredesignedtofurtherexplorehowparticipantsfeltwhenfacing

thosechallenges.Questionsaskingmoredetailsaboutthesechallengesandthe

stepstakentomatchthem(orthefailuretomatchthem)mightbebeneficialtoflow

researchasawhole,andtobuildinganunderstandingofthisflowelementin

particular.

LossofSelf‐Consciousness

InadaptingquestionsfromoneofCsikszentmihalyi’s(1988)Experience

SamplingForms(ESFs)towardsaqualitativemeasurementinlinewith

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)elementsofflow,itseemedthatthe“lossofself‐

consciousness”element(p.62)mightbedescribedintwodistinctways.Recallagain

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)statementthat,“inflowthereisnoroomforself‐scrutiny.

Becauseenjoyableactivitieshavecleargoals,stablerules,andchallengeswell

matchedtoskills,thereislittleopportunityfortheselftobethreatened”(p.63).

Thisstatementspeaksofalackofself‐criticismorself‐involvementduringaflow

state.Yet,alsorecallCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)proposalthat:

Afterward,whentheactivityisoverandself‐consciousnesshasachanceto resume,theselfthatthepersonreflectsuponisnotthesameselfthatexisted beforetheflowexperience:itisnowenrichedbynewskillsandfresh achievements(p.66).

Thispropositiondetailsasenseofprideandself‐satisfactionafteraflowstate.To

someextent,boththesedescriptionsaremeasuredinCsikszentmihalyi’ssample

ESFwiththequestions“Howself‐consciouswereyou?”and“Wereyousatisfied

withhowyouweredoing?”(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.Csikszentmihalyi,1988,p.257‐

258),respectively.Asnotedinthemethodschapter,thefirstofthesequestionswas

notusedduetotheresearcher’sdesiretoavoidpsychologicallychargedlanguagein

theinterview.Itwashopedthatdescriptionsansweringbothwouldberevealedin

theopen‐ended“WhyorWhynot?”follow‐upandincontextualizingdatafrom

responsestootherquestionsthroughouttheinterviewsuchas,“Wereyou

comfortablewhileplayinginhere?”

Interestingly,theinterviewdatadidindeedyieldresultsregardingboththe

duringandtheafterdescriptionsofthisflowcondition,bothinresponsetothesame

question,“Wereyousatisfiedwithhowyouweredoing?”anditsaddedfollow‐up,

“WhyorWhynot?”Evenmoreintriguing,alltheparticipantswhoindicatedthat

“no,”theywerenotsatisfied,gavefollow‐updescriptionsthatshowedself‐criticism

and/orself‐consciousnessduringthedescribedactivity,inantithesisof

Csikszentmihalyi’s(1990)descriptionofa“lossofself‐consciousness”inflow(p.

62).Furthermore,alltheparticipantswhoindicatedthat“yes,”theyweresatisfied,

gavefollow‐updescriptionsthatdisplayedasenseofpride,self‐satisfaction,and

achievementinlinewithCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)descriptionofwhathappensto

self‐consciousnessafteraflowstate.Theseresultssuggestthattheafterthefact

descriptionmightbethebestindicatorofpositiveresultsforthiscondition,while

theduringdescriptionmightbethebestindicatorofnegativeresults.Amore

targetedexperimentwithalargersamplesizewouldbenecessarytotrulyexplore

thisimplication,butitmakessenseconceptually.Ifsomeonewastrulynotself‐

conscious,heorshewouldnotbepondering,“Ididn’tfeelself‐consciousthen.”

ControlPotential

Previousdiscussionsandanalyseshavesuggestedthattheflowelement

involvingtheperceptionofpotentialcontrolbearsstrongconceptuallinkstothe

balanceofskillstochallenges,aswellastotheself‐satisfactionindicatorjust

discussed.Indeed,asmentionedinthelastchapter,theonlydatasupportingthis

flowelementwasthesamedatathatsupportedthelossofself‐consciousness

element.Thoughonceagaininconclusive,atfirstglancetheseresultsseemto

suggestthatthetwoelementsaresoconceptuallycloseastodescribethesame

thing,orthatparticipantsmightnotdistinguishbetweenthetwo.Athird

implicationtakesintoaccountCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)useoftheword

“possibility,”alongwithhissampledescriptionsofthecondition,whichinvolve

peoplespeakingaboutsomehobbyingeneraloraboutthepreparationsthatgive

themasenseofcontrolwiththathobby(p.60).Thesesampledescriptionsdonot

seemtobebasedonimmediaterecollectionsofactivities,butratherbasedon

peoplethinkingaboutdoingtheactivityinthefuture.Reportedafterthefact,a

person’sfeelingsthatheorshemaintainedcontrolinthefaceofchallengesare

conceptuallyindistinguishablefromtheself‐satisfactionandsenseofachievement

discussedabove.However,projectedfeelingsofpotentialcontrolandconfidencein

theprecautionsthepersonwilltaketofacethechallengesaheadmightbe

conceptuallydifferentandmorerevealingoftheflowcondition.Thisimplication

couldonlybeexploredbyconductinganinterviewbefore,aswellasafter,aplay

session,whichwasnottheprocedureforthisstudy.

DegreesandVariabilityofFlow

Littleresearchhasbeendoneaboutwhethertherearedegreesofflowor

ratherthatflowisasinglestatethatapersoncaneitherbeinornotbein.Flow

researchhasfocusedondifferentstatesor“channels”experienceddependingonthe

balanceofskillsandchallenges,forwhichflowisconceivedofasasinglestate

amongsevenotherstatesor“channels”(M.Csikszentmihalyi&I.Csikszentmihalyi,

1988;Massimini&Carli,1988).However,giventhefindingsthatthreeparticipants

experiencedsomeelementsofflow,butnotthemajorityofthoseelements,itisa

possibleimplicationthatdifferentdegreesofflowleadtoanexperienceofmoreor

lessoftheflowelements.Again,atargetedstudywithalargersamplesizewouldbe

requiredtoexplorewhetherflowisastatethatcanbeexpressedindegrees.

Ifflowisindeedasinglestatewithoutdegrees,onemightstillaskthe

questionofwhetherapersonmaymoveinandoutofaflowstatemultipletimes

duringacertainactivity.Responsestothequestion,“Didhowintothegameyou

werevarywhileyouwereplaying?”(question12),mayyieldimplicationstothe

variabilityofflow.Remember,however,thatbeing“intothegame”isnotnecessarily

synonymouswithflow.ParticipantsDandEbothstronglyindicatedthathow“into

thegame”theywerevariedwhileplaying.However,theirresponsestothefollow‐

upquestionabouthowusualthisvarianceiswereproblematicindetermininghow

thephenomenologicalexperienceofflowvaries.ParticipantDnotedthat:

Itvariesdependingonwhatisgoingonaroundme.ItdependsonifI’mat home.I’vegotkids,I’vegotafamily,sotheymaypopinandI’llstoptheplay ortheymaybesayingsomethingandI’mconcentratingonthemandI’mnot concentratingonthegame.

Similarly,ParticipantErespondedthat“withanMMOlikethis,youknow,it’s…you

canspendatonoftimefocusedonitbut,youknow,itcanvaryIguess.”Bothof

theseresponsesindicateavariabilityofconcentration,butnotnecessarilya

variabilityofflow.

Shouldfuturestudiesaddresstheimplicationsofthedegreesorvariabilityof

flowdiscussedabove,theymaywishtoutilizeothermethods.Inparticular,ifsome

linkagewerefirmlyestablishedbetweenflowandphysiologicalchangesthese

implicationscouldbeexploredinmoredetail.Suchstudiesmightmeasureflowwith

physiologicalarousalasutilizedbyLimandReeves(2009),orwithfMRItechnology,

asproposedbyWeberetal.(2009)inconjunctionwithanintervieworESFdata.

Variationsinthosephysiologicalmeasurementscouldthendeterminewhetherflow

variesandiftherearedegreesofflow.

FlowSegments

Theultimategoalsofthisstudyweretolocatesegmentsofplaywhereflow

mayhaveoccurred,andtodescribewhatsortsofmessagesappearedonthescreen

duringthosesegments.ParticipantsBandDweretheonlytwowhosedescriptions

stronglyindicatedanexperienceofflow.Therefore,theonlysegmentsofplay

consideredtobeflowsegmentswerethosepartsofthegameparticipantsBandD

describedasbeingthemostenjoyable,whentheywere“reallyintothegame.”Both

ofthesesubjectsindicatedthesesegmentstobewhentheywereplayingthrough

dungeons,whichinvolvedonedungeonplaythroughforParticipantBandtwofor

ParticipantD.Interestingly,thetwosubjectswhoshowedtheleastsupportfora

flowexperience,participantsAandE,didnotplayadungeonduringtheirplay

sessions.Meanwhile,ParticipantC,whoshowedmixedsupportforaflow

experience,alsoplayedthroughtwodungeons.Theseflowsegments,andthe

messagesappearingwithinthem,revealsomeinterestingimplicationsthatmightbe

furthertestedinthefuture.

DungeonsandFlow

Thecorrelationthatallidentifiedflowsegmentsoccurredwithindungeonsis

aparticularlyintriguingone.Thoughthisfindingisproblematicgiventhesample

size,aswellasthefactthatParticipantCalsoplayedthroughdungeons,its

implicationsshouldbenotedhere.Adungeonisatypeofareainthegamecalledan

“instance,”whichisaboundedspaceinthegamethatonlyacertainnumberof

people,usuallyagroup,canbeinatatime.Itgetsthename“instance”becauseeach

groupisplayingadifferentinstanceofthesamegameenvironment.Inthisway,

multiplegroupscanberunningthesamedungeonsimultaneously,butbecausethey

areindifferentinstancesofthisdungeon,whattheyseeisunaffectedbywhatthose

othergroupsaredoing.Dungeonsarealsotechnicallyconsidered“raids”by

Blizzard,thecompanythatmakesthegame,thoughmanyplayersonlyusetheterm

“raid”torefertothoseinstanceswhereanywherebetween10and40peopleteam

upasabiggroupcomprisedofsmallergroupsallplayingthesameinstance.The

participantsinthisstudyonlyplayedthroughdungeonsdesignedforfive‐player

groups.Interestingly,alltheparticipantsinthefocusgroupforthisstudymentioned

“raiding”asbeingthemostinvolvingpartofthegameforthem,thoughitisnotclear

whethertheymeanttodistinguishbetweenthesesmallfive‐playerdungeonsand

thelargerinstances.Regardless,itisworthlookingatthesesegmentsofthegamein

particularforfuturestudiesofflowinMMOs.

Afterlookingattherecordeddata,somenoticeablecharacteristicsof

dungeonsareworthhighlightinghereinrelationtoflow.First,adungeonisa

boundedspacewithverycleargoals—usuallytofollowthepathstotheendand

defeatthemostdangerousNPCenemy,defeatingotherNPCenemiesalongtheway.

Thisseemstofeedintothecleargoalsandimmediatefeedbackelementofflow.

Second,becauseitisaninstance,therearenootherplayersrunningthroughthat

arenotpartofyourparty,whichmeanseveryoneisconcentratingonthesamegoal.

Inmoreopenpartsofthegame,agroupmaygettoacertainNPCenemyfirstand

killthem,soanyothergroupsintheareahavetowaitfortheNPCto“respawn”for

theirturn.Thisproblemisnotpresentinadungeoninstance,soaplayermightbe

moreabletoconcentrateonthetaskathandwithoutperiodsofwaitingor

distraction.Furthercontributingtotheflowelementofconcentration,inadungeon

aplayerdoesnotneedtomoveveryfarbetweenperiodsofactivityorcombat.In

thefocusgroup,oneparticipantcommentedthatwhiletheygotrightintothegame

assoonastheyweredoingaquest,ittooklongeriftheyhadtotravelsomewhereto

gettothequest.Inadungeon,asseenfromtheparticipants’gameplayfootage,the

playerisalreadyinthegeneralareatocompletetheirtasks,andtheyneverhaveto

travelveryfartoreachthenextgoalforthattask.Futureresearchmightfindways

toisolateandtesttheseparticularfactors,seeingtowhatdegreetraveltimeorthe

presenceofothergroupsaffectsflow.

ThePersonalNatureofFlow

Inundertakingflowresearch,onemustunderstandthattheexperienceof

flowissubjective.Whiletheremightbecertainelementsormessagesthat

commonlyencourageflow,thereareotherfactorsthatmightbeparticularto

personalpreferencesoftheonehavingtheexperience.Thismightexplainsomeof

thedifferencesbetweentheflowsegments.Forinstance,ParticipantBstatedthat

hismainpurposeofplayingthegameis“fortheRPGpartofthegame.It’sfordoing

thequestline,seeingthestoryline.Ilikejustseeingallthatunravel.”Inlightofthis,

itisinterestingtonotethatthedungeonParticipantBenjoyeddisplayedalmost

twiceasmanyplot‐relatedmessagesfromNPCswhencomparedwiththedungeons

oftheotherflowsegments.Italsoincludedmoreplot‐connectedobjects.Participant

Dreportedbeingintothegameduringdungeonsbecauseoftheotherplayers

relyingonhim,andalsonotedhowimportantimmersionwastohim.Though

ParticipantDhimselfonlyspokeonceacrossbothofhisflowsegments,hissecond

flowsegmentdisplayedtwiceasmanymessagesbyotherplayerswhencompared

toParticipantB’sflowsegment.Asforimmersion,bothofParticipantD’sflow

segmentsdisplayedagreatervarietyofambienteffects.Theseimplicationsareeven

morequestionablethanotherresultsrevealedinthisdiscussion,however,dueto

thefactthatthedungeonsinquestionwererandomlyselectedbythegame,not

chosenbythesubjects.Ifonewantedtolookattherelationshipbetweenplayers’

personalpreferencesandthedungeonsinwhichtheyexperiencedflow,onewould

havetogetmultiplesetsofdatainvolvingthesamedungeonforeachperson,aswell

asallotherpossibledungeons.Thiswouldbeatedioustask,butcombinedwith

othertheories,suchasUsesandGratifications,mightyieldinterestingdata

regardinggameplayersandflow.

PlayingwithOthers

Akeyfeatureofdungeonsisthattheyinvolveplayingwithothersand

sharingthesamegoalsandtasks.Allsubjectsspentthemajorityoftheirtimeduring

therecordedplaysessiondoingsoloactivitiesinthegame,butitisnotsurprising

thattheparticularlyenjoyablemomentsindicatedinvolveotherpeople.Worldof

Warcraftis,afterall,aMassivelyMultiplayerOnlineGame.Whileflowcanoftenbea

soloexperience,Csikszentmihalyi(1990)pointsoutthatitcanjustasofteninvolve

otherpeople,andnumerousflowstudiessupportthis,(Han,1988,Sato,1988,

Weibeletal.,2008).Althoughitdoesnotexploreplayingwithotherplayers,Weibel

etal.’s(2008)studydidshowsignificantlymoreflowwhenplayersbelievedthey

wereplayingagainstahumanthanwhentheythoughttheywereplayingagainstan

NPC.Similarly,LimandReeves(2010)showedthatplayersexperiencegreater

physiologicalarousalwithotherplayersthanwithNPCs,whetherplayingagainst

theotherplayersorwiththem.Giventhispreviousresearch,theresultsofthe

presentstudyinregardtosocialaspectsofplayinrelationtoflowareworth

discussing.

Thedesignoftheinterviewquestions,andthesubsequentdataanalysis,took

caretolookatanysocialinteractionsthatmightbegoingoninthegame.The

primaryreasonforthis,otherthantheliterature,wasthatallofthefocusgroup

participantsdiscussedotherplayersinsomeway.Mostofthemmentionedstarting

toplaywithfriendstheyalreadyknew,andmanysaidtheykeepplayingtostayin

touchwithfriendsandmightquitiftheirfriendsquit.ThoughparticipantsBandD

werenotplayingwithfriends,butratherrandomotherplayersassignedbythe

game’sprogramming,theirdatastillindicatesthatplayingwithotherswasan

importantfactor.ParticipantDnotes,“anytimeI’minadungeonItrytobeintothe

gamebecauseIknowthereareothersrelyingonmyactions,”andlateradds,“you

know,tomethatmeanssomething.Idon’twanttojust,youknow,dump‘em.”

ParticipantDcontraststhisdungeonexperiencewiththe“casualfeelingwhenyou

areoutbyyourselfjustquesting.Youknowthatthere’snoconsequences,really,to

yourcharacteroranybodyelse’scharacter.”WhileParticipantB’smainfocusisthe

game’sstoryline,andhestates,“mostofmydailyroutineissolo,”healsohappily

mentionedthat“Igotagoodgroup,”whendescribinghisenjoymentwhileplaying.

ParticipantBalsoparticipatedinthemostcommunicationwiththeotherplayershe

wasplayingwith,sending20messagesduringhisoneflowsegmentasopposedto

the1messagesentbyParticipantD.Thedistinctionbetweengroupandsoloplay

onlineisaninterestingtopicthatthisstudyonlybarelytouchesupon.Itwouldbe

interestingtoseemoreresearchinthefutureonwhatdifferencestheremightbein

floworenjoymentingeneralbetweenthesetwotypesofplay,bothwithin

participantsandbetweenparticipants.

Communication

Communicationwithinthegame,orlackthereof,wasaninterestingtypeof

messagerevealedinthedata.Inthefocusgroup,5ofthe7participantsnotedhow

importantcommunicationwasinthegame.Whentheconductorofthefocusgroup

triedtoteaseoutwhatkindofcommunicationtheyweretalkingabout,many

indicatedthattask‐basedcommunicationwasprominent.Thesecommentswere

takenintoaccountwhenanalyzingthegameplayfootagefortheflowsegmentsand,

asnotedintheresults,mostofthemessagesinvolvedcommunicationaboutthetask

athand.Ofthesemessages,fewerwereactuallyintendedtodirecttheparty’saction

inacertaintaskthansimplytotalkaboutthetaskingeneral,however.Regardless,

therewereveryfewoff‐topicmessagesthatinvolvedsocializing.Alargersample

sizewouldberequiredtoestablishwhethertheseresultsarecommon.Thisdata

doesofferinsightthatshouldbeexploredinthefuture.Perhapsrecruitingalarge

groupofplayerstorecordtheirplaysessionsforaweekmightprovidemoredata

abouthowprominenttask‐communicationisinplayer‐to‐playerdialogue.

Theamountofcommunicationoccurring,regardlessofwhattype,mayalso

berelatedtoflow.Therewerenotabledifferencesintheamountofcommunication

amongtheflowsegments,andalsobetweentheflowsegmentsandParticipantC’s

dungeonsegments.Futurestudieswithlargersamplesizeswillbeneededtotest

theseimplications,buttheyareworthnoting.Thereweremoreplayer‐to‐player

messagesoverallineachoftheflowsegmentsascomparedtoParticipantC’s

dungeonsegments.Themostnotabledifferenceisinotherplayers’messages,as

ParticipantC’sfirstdungeononlydisplayed3suchmessagesandhissecond

dungeononlydisplayed2.Incontrast,ParticipantB’sflowsegmentcontained17of

thesemessages,ParticipantD’sfirstflowsegmentcontained12,andParticipantD’s

secondflowsegmentcontained34.Asfortheamountofmessagessentbythe

subjects,ParticipantDsentonly1suchmessageoverallandParticipantCsent3,

whileParticipantBsent20.Additionalresearchshouldbedoneconcerninghow

player‐to‐playerdialoguerelatestoflowandwhethermessagesinitiatedbyother

players,orbytheparticipantthemselves,orsomecombination,isthemost

significantfactor.

GoalsandFeedback

Amongallthemessagesintheflowsegments,describedfromanalysisofthe

gameplayfootage,mostoftheserelatetogoalsand/orfeedbackinsomeway.Many

oftheplayer‐to‐playermessagesdiscussedaboveinvolvesomesortofinformation

ordirectionrelatedtothetaskathand.Byitsverydesign,thegameismadeto

provideconstantandimmediatefeedbackateveryframe,dungeonornot.The

visualinterface,despiteindividualdifferencesinpreference,providesaconstant

formoffeedbackonthestatusofaplayer’savatarandthatoftheirenemiesand

allies.AlltheabilitiesactivatedbyplayersandNPCsalikehavevisualeffectsinthe

gamethat,whilealsoperhapsproducingexcitementandimmersion,alsoprovide

constantfeedbackforexperiencedplayersthatcanrecognizethem.Eventhemost

basicactwithinthegame,movement,isaconstantfeedbackofthechanginglocation

oftheplayer’savatar.Addedtothisconstantfeedback,asdiscussedpreviously,the

veryenvironmentofthedungeonprovidescleargoals.However,amongother

gameplayfootageoutsideofdungeons,therewerealsoclearlyidentifiablegoals,

withquesttrackingwindowsandevenmarkersonthemappointingthewayto

certaingoals.Whetherthegoalsareclearerinadungeonthaninothersegmentsof

thegame,thusencouragingflow,wouldrequiremuchmoreextensiveresearchwith

alargersamplesize,butthispossibilityissomethingtolookforinfuturestudies.

TheImportanceofConstantActivity

Inadditiontocleargoals,oneintegralaspectofadungeonisthatprogression

towardsthosegoalsisnearlyconstant.Asnotedearlier,theboundedspacewithin

thegamedecreasesdistractionsandleadstosmallerdistancesaplayerhastotravel

togettothenextstepinaccomplishinggoals.Fortheflowsegmentsidentifiedin

thisstudy,advancingtowardsagoalmeantaprogressionofperiodsofconstant

action(combat)interspersedwithbriefperiodsofinactionthatgavethesubjects

andtheirpartymemberstimetoprepareforthenextcombat.Duringthemoments

ofcombat,actionsbytheparticipant,NPCenemies,andotherplayersalikefilledthe

participant’sscreenwithconstantflashingcolors,markings,andotherspecial

effects.Inallflowsegments,eachparticipantspenttheseperiodsofcombatclicking

variousabilitybuttonswiththemousecursor,initiatinganewattackassoonashe

wasableuntilallnearbyenemyNPCsweredefeated.

Whilethesamplesizemakesconclusivecomparisonsimpossible,comparing

theseresultswithParticipantC’sdungeonsegmentsbringsupsomeinteresting

questions.InParticipantC’sfirstdungeonsegment,theamountofconstantaction

describedaboveisnotpresent.Thepointofviewforthissegmentwassetsofar

abovetheavatar’sheadthatthespecialeffectsfailedtofillthescreen.Inaddition,

theparticipanthimselfwasdoingverylittle,incontrasttothefuriousclicking

displayedintheflowsegments.Thisseemedmoretobebecauseconstantactionby

theparticipantwasnotnecessary,whichcouldberelatedtoalowchallengelevel.

ParticipantC’sotherdungeonsegmentwasthe“tanking”segmentthatheenjoyed

somuch,asdescribedintheresultschapter.Interestingly,thissegmentshowed

constantactionduringcombatcomparabletotheflowsegments.Theonly

noticeabledifferenceswerethatinsteadofclickingwiththecursor,ParticipantC

usedhotkeysthroughouthisplaysession,andheingeneralmovedandturnedthe

pointofviewmuchmoreslowlythantheothersubjects.Futureresearchofflowin

videogamesshouldtakeamoretargetedapproachtotheamountofactivity

displayed,anditsrelationshiptoflow,ifany.Moreprecisemeansofmeasuring

differencesintheactivitydisplayedonthescreen,perhapswithspecialsoftware,

wouldalsobenecessaryforsuchstudies.

DefiningFlowSegments

Theuseoftime‐synchedwebcamandgameplayfootagetonarrowdown

potentialflowsegmentswasinteresting,butinconclusive.Previouseyesonscreen

research(Krugman,Cameron,&White,1995;Miller,2006)measuredorientationof

thefaceandeyestowardsthescreenduringcertainsegments.Thesestudieswere

focusedontelevisionviewinghowever,whichisaverydifferentactivitythan

playingacomputergame.Whileplayingthecomputergame,aparticipant’sfacewas

oftenverynearthescreen,andtheparticipant’seyeswouldwanderandflickerback

andforthtodifferentpartsofthescreen.Whilemomentsoflookingawaywere

thereforequitenoticeable,thesemomentswerefew.Withinthelongspanoftime

whentheparticipant’seyeswereonthescreen,therewasnowaytodistinguish

whethersomemomentsindicatedmoreinvolvementthanothers.Researchdoneby

Smilek,Carriere,andCheyne(2010)ismorerelevanttocomputerusage,showing

somecorrelationbetween“eyeblinking”and“mindwandering.”However,that

researchusedaspecialeye‐trackingsystemandthuswasunhelpfulinanalyzingthe

presentdataset.However,theeyemovementsobservedinthedatasuggestthatthe

useofsucheye‐trackingtechnologymightbeusefulforfuturestudiesofvideo

gamesandflow,particularlysinceitcanbedoneunobtrusively.

Theanalysisalsorevealedpossiblevariationsinhowfarparticipantsleaned

intowardsthescreen.However,asnotedinthelastchapter,noexactconclusions

couldbedrawnduetothesmallsamplesizeandthelackofeffectivemeasurement.

Ifequipmentweresetuptomeasurethedistanceofaparticipant’sfaceinrelation

tothescreen,futurestudiescoulddetermineifleaningbehaviorcouldbeapotential

indicatorofflowincomputergames.Thesestudiesmayalsowanttodifferentiate

betweenflowandconcentration,asthisbehaviormightbeanindicatorofeitheror

bothofthoseconditions.

ImplicationsofPlayLengthandInterviewTiming

Giventhesmallsamplesize,aswellasthefocusgroupfindings,itwas

decidedthatthetimetostopplayandbegintheinterviewshouldremainconsistent

acrossallparticipants.Futurestudiesfollowingasimilarproceduremaywishto

varywhentheinterviewtakesplace.Randomvariation,withquestionsfocusedon

onlythemostrecentactivitytheparticipantwasengagedin,mightyieldresults

regardinghowlongittakesparticipantstoreachaflowstate.Conversely,

interruptingplayduringvariousspecificactivitieswithinthegamemayindicate

howflowvariesacrossthoseactivities.Forinstance,thoughtheflowsegments

identifiedinthisstudyalltookplacewhileparticipantswereinadungeon,there

wasspecificmentionofquestingasanimportantactivityofthegameby

participantsAandB.Severalparticipantsalsomentionedordisplayedactivities

suchasresourcegathering,crafting,andtraveling.Theclosed‐circuitcamerawould

allowaresearchertoseewhenoneoftheaboveactivitieswastakingplace,andto

thenstopplayforaninterviewdirectlyafterthatactivity.Ifalargeenoughsample

groupwererandomlyassignedtoeachoftheseactivities,differencesin

participants’flowexperiencesacrossthoseactivitiescouldbeassessed.

FutureVideoGameResearch

Theresultsofthisstudyyieldimplicationsforthelargerbodyofvideogame

research,evenbeyondWorldofWarcraft.DuetoWorldofWarcraft’sstatusasan

exemplaroftheMMOgenre,manyotherMMOshaveadaptedsimilargameplay

elements.Therefore,itislikelythatmostoftheimplicationsofthisstudycouldbe

exploredinresearchonotherMMOsoronthegenreofMMOsingeneral.Beyond

thegenre,therearesomeimplicationsthatmaybeappliedtoallvideogames.

Themostnotableimplicationforvideogamesingeneralisthefinding

regardingconstantactivityandthepaceofgameplay.Ifthespacingofperiodsof

constantactivityisindeedrelatedtoflow,thenthisisafindingthatshouldholdtrue

formostvideogames.Allvideogameshaveapacetothem,definedbytheperiods

promptingfrenziedactivityonthepartoftheplayerandperiodsofdowntimefor

theplayertorecoverfromthelastperiodofactivityandprepareforthenext.The

resultsofthisstudysuggestedthattheperiodsofactivitymaypromptflow,andthis

isanimplicationthatshouldbeexploredinothervideogames.

Anotherimplicationinvolvesthefeelingoffamiliarity.Recallfromthe

analysisthatanumberofparticipantsassociatedpositivefeelingsofenjoymentwith

familiarity.ThisisevidencedincommentssuchasParticipantC’sthatplayingmade

himfeel,“prettygood…it’slikeawarmglove…itfitswell.”Otherparticipants

suggestedthesamefeelings,suchasParticipantB’sstatementthathefelt,“likeI

alwaysdo.Ienjoyplaying.”ParticipantD,similarly,notedthat,“itwasfun,itwas

normal…whenyou’relevelingit’salmostlikeyou’reinagroove.Youalmost,after

awhile,candoitblindfolded.”ItisinterestingthatparticipantsBandD,whoboth

displayedevidenceofaflowstate,weretwoofthethreewhonotedthisfamiliarity.

Noconclusionscanbemaderegardingtherelationshipoffamiliarityandroutineto

flowandenjoyment,butifsucharelationshipexists,itwouldcertainlybean

importanttopictoexploreinfuturevideogameresearch.Itisalsopossiblethat

positivefeelingsoffamiliarityandroutinerepresentanotherprocessentirely

separatefromflowthatcouldexplainwhyplayersenjoyparticulargamesandwhat

keepsthemcomingback.

Finally,theappearanceofflowsegmentsonlyduringplayinthedungeons,

whileprimarilyapplicabletootherMMOs,mayyieldimplicationsforvideogame

researchingeneral.Oneofthemostimportantthingstonoteaboutadungeon,as

previouslymentioned,isthatitisaboundedspace—withinit,distractionsare

limitedandmostactivityisdirectedtowardsthetaskathand.InWorldofWarcraft,

manyofthedistractionsthatthedungeonspacecontrolshavetodowithlimiting

interferencefromotherplayersthatdonotsharethesamegoals,whichwouldbe

difficulttoapplytoasingleplayergame,oreventoasmall(2‐4person)multiplayer

game.However,ifoneconceivesoftheboundedspaceaslimitingdistractionsin

generalandfocusingtasks,thenitbecomesmuchmoreapplicable.Manysingle‐

playergameshavethistypeofboundedspaceinspecialmissions.Thesemissions

oftendisplaymanyfunctionalaspectssimilartoadungeoninWorldofWarcraft.

Theyareoftenenclosed,oratleastinsomewaysmaller,boundedspaceswithclear

goalsandconstantactivity.Likedungeons,theyareanoccurrenceinthegamethat

isrepresentedtotheplayerashavingsomedegreeofimporttothestorylineand/or

totheplayer’sadvancementinthegameintermsofrewardsorleveling.Becauseof

thesesimilarities,andthenotedimportanceoftheboundedspaceofadungeon,

futurevideogameresearchshouldlookattheseboundedareasofplayinanumber

ofgamestoseewhatrelationshipsuchplaysegmentshavewithflowand

enjoyment.

Inadditiontothoseimplicationsdiscussedabove,thereareseveralexciting

possibilitiesforfuturestudiesinthemediumofvideogames.Thefootageofthe

hourlongplaysessionscapturedbythescreenrecordingsoftwareprovidedan

immenseamountofdataforeachparticipant,evenmoresowhencombinedwith

thetime‐synchedwebcamrecordingofeachparticipant’sface.Withalargersample

size,thepropersoftwareandequipment,andtherightmethodology,datalikethis

couldrevealmuchabouthowpeopleinteractwithcomputers,evenbeyond

nonverbalindicatorsofenjoyment.Thesheeramountofdetailcapturedineach

frameofgameplayfootagecouldbeusedtoresearchanynumberoftheoriesin

relationtovideogames.Inparticular,analysisofmessagessentbetweenplayers

mightberevealingforresearchoninformationseeking,politenesstheory,andself‐

disclosureontheInternet.IfaresearchercouldrecruitalargeWorldofWarcraft

“guild”andrecordtheirgameplayoverthecourseofaweek,theywouldmakegreat

stridesinadvancingorganizationalcommunicationtheoriesaboutgroupsworking

togetheronline.

Limitations

Thisexploratorystudywassubjecttoanumberoflimitations.Themost

notableoftheselimitations,aspreviouslydiscussed,wasitssmallsamplesize.This

preventedconclusivecomparisonsbetweenparticipantsandledtoaverylowlevel

ofgeneralizability.Additionally,themethodofanalysis—qualitativecomparisonof

participantresponsestoCsikszentmihalyi’sdescribedflowconditions—isan

untestedmethod.Itwasdesignedtoprovideadepthofdetailandcontext,but

futurestudieswillbeneededfurtherrefineit,aswellastotestthevalidityand

reliabilityofthemeasurements.Asnotedabove,theanalysisofthewebcamfootage

ofparticipantnonverbalsrequiresadditionalequipmentandmethodsinordertobe

conclusive.Also,whilegreateffortwastakentoavoiderrorwhilecompilingthe

messagesthatappearedduringeachflowsegment,asdescribedinChapterII,there

isalwaysthepossibilitythatsomemessageswentunnoticed.

Additionallimitationsworthmentioninginvolvethestructureandprocedure

oftheinterviews.Theresearcherconductedalltheinterviewspersonally,which

maybeproblematiceventhoughallattemptsweremadetorecognizeandavoid

potentialbiases.Thebenefitoftheinterviewsbeingconductedthiswaywasthatthe

researchercouldbetterunderstandresponsesandposefollow‐upquestionsdueto

hisknowledgeofthegame.Thatbenefitwasthoughttooutweightherisksforthis

exploratorystudy,thoughfuturestudiesshouldemployresearchassistantsto

conducttheinterviews.

Theorderingofcertainquestionsmayaddtothelimitationsofthe

interviews.Inparticular,thequestions,“Wouldyousayyouwerereallyintothe

gamejustnowwhenIcamein?”(question10),“Werethereothermomentswhile

playingherewhenyoureallygotintothegame?”(question11),and“Didhowinto

thegameyouwerevarywhileyouwereplaying?”(question12),allprecedeany

definitionofwhatbeing“intothegame”means.Howtheparticipantdefinesbeing

intothegamewasmeasuredlastwiththequestion,“Whatdoesitfeelliketoyou

whenyouarereallyintothegame?”(question13).Infutureresearch,theremight

bemoreclaritywithregardtoidentifyingflowsegmentsiftheparticipantswere

firstaskedtodefinebeing“intothegame”andthenaskedwhatmomentsduring

theirplaysession,ifany,suchastateoccurred.Inthisway,ifaparticipant’s

definitionofbeing“intothegame”fitwithCsikszentmihalyi’s(1990)descriptionsof

flow,thenamoreconclusivelinkcouldbemadewithaparticularsegmentof

gameplay.

Finally,itshouldbenotedthatthreeoftheparticipantsexpressed

somediscomfortduringtheirplaysession.ParticipantAexpressednoticeable

discomfortfromhisprevioussurgery,whichisafactorthatcouldnotbeanticipated

inthisstudy.However,bothparticipantsAandDmentionedthatitwas“alittlehot”

intheroomattimes,thoughParticipantDsaidthishad“minimal”effectonhis

experience.Afterthefirstparticipantindicatedthis,stepsweretakentomakethe

roommorecomfortable,suchasopeningthedoorsmore.However,theresearcher

hadnocontroloftemperatureinthebuilding,particularlybecausemany

participantschosetocomeatnightafterthebuildingwasclosed.Forsimilarstudies

inthefuture,researchersmaywanttoensurethattheyhavedirectcontrolof

temperatureandotherenvironmentalfactorsinthespacewheretheyconductthe

study.ParticipantCexpressedslightdiscomfortinnotplayingonhishomesetup,

thoughheaddedthat“itwascomfortableenough.I’musedtoitenoughtogetthe

hangofit.”Again,therewaslittlealternativeforthisstudy,asitwouldhavebeen

impossibletogatherallthedatafromtheparticipants’homes.However,future

studiesthatfocusonjustthescreenrecordingofgameplaymightbeableto

accomplishthisbyhavingparticipantsrecordtheirowngameplaysessionsfrom

theirhome.

Conclusion

Theresultsofthisstudyoffermanyinterestingimplicationsforfuture

researchontheexperienceofflowinMMOslikeWorldofWarcraft.Theyalso

contributetothebodyofflowresearchingeneral.Incontributiontoflowresearch,

theimportanceofthebalanceofskillstochallengeswassupported.However,

researchregardingthepreferencesforchallengelevelsin“hardcore”playersand

“casual”playerswasproposedinordertotestthemeasurementsofthiselementof

flowortodiscernotherprocessesatworkinplayerswhoseemtoenjoyhavingtheir

skillsoutweighthechallenges.Alongsidethis,itwassuggestedthatfuturestudies

furtherexamineplayers’reportedexperienceofchallengesandtheskillsthey

employtofacethosechallengesonamoredetailedlevel.Newwaysofmeasuring

certainelementsofflow,suchasthelossofself‐consciousnessorfeelingsofcontrol

potential,werealsoproposed,aswerenewmethodsofinterviewtimingtobetter

measurecertainaspectsofflowduringvideogameplay.Finally,furtherresearch

regardingthedegreesandpotentialvariabilityofflowwascalledfor,withanumber

ofmethodsproposedsuchaseye/pupiltrackingtechnology,brainwaveorfMRI

scanners,andothermeasurementsofphysiologicalarousal.

TheimplicationstofuturesstudiesofMMOsandothervideogameswere

many.Theimportanceofdungeons,orinstances,asboundedspaceswithinthe

gamethatlimiteddistractionsandprovidedcleartaskswithfrequentactivitywas

discussed.Theconceptoftheseboundedspaceswaslaterappliedtovideogames

beyondMMOs,evenmanysingle‐playergames.Theimportanceofthepaceof

gameplayactivityandtheenjoymentoffamiliarityandroutinewerealso

implicationsthatspannedbothWorldofWarcraftandothervideogames.

Relationshipsbetweenflowexperiencesandplayerpreference,possiblycombined

withUsesandGratificationstheory,werealsoproposed.Formultiplayergames,the

importanceofplayingalongsideotherplayerswasdiscussed,alongwithfuture

studiesthatmightexploretheon‐taskandoff‐taskcommunicationoccurringduring

play.Finally,themethodofthisstudy,particularlytherecordingofgameplay

segments,yieldedanimmenseamountofdata,andcouldbeusedformanyfuture

studiesofvideogames,whetherthesubjectsofstudyaresingle‐playergamesor

InthetwodecadessincethefirstgraphicalMMO,thesegameshavegained

rapidexposureinthepopularculture.AsthepopularityofMMOshasincreased,

moreresearchersinacademiahaverecognizedthegrowingneedtostudythem.The

resultsofthisstudyservetofurtherthatlineofresearch,aswellasbroader

researchonvideogamesingeneral.Theseimplicationswillhopefullyleadtofuture

studiesthatwillhelpusunderstandwhatisgoingoninthesegames,whyplayers

aredrawntothem,andwhattheireffectsmightbe.

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Appendix1

FocusGroupQuestions

WhatfirstdrewyoutoWorldofWarcraft?

Whatkeptyouplayingforaslongasyoudid?

InWorldofWarcrafttherearemanybuiltintoolsforcommunicatingandsocializingwithotherplayers,includinggeneralchatchannels,guildchat,groupchat,mail,andwhispersortells.Whenplaying,howmuchfocusdoyouordidyouusuallyplaceonthesesocialaspectsofthegamecomparedtootheraspects?

PROBEifplayersengageinsocialaspects: Hasanyonefeltinterruptedbythesesocialaspectsofthegameattimes?

Whatpartofthegameplayitselfdoyouordidyouenjoythemost?

Haveyoueverbeeninasituationwhereyoucouldn’tbringyourselftostopplayingatthemoment?

PROBEifyes:Whatwashappeninginthegameatthattime?

PROBE:Whatwereyoufeelingatthetime?

PROBE: Whatneededtobedonebeforeyoufeltlikeyouwereatagoodstoppingpoint?

PROBE:Howoftenhasthishappenedtoyou?

PROBE(ifmorethanonce):Hasitusuallyhappenedunderthesameconditions?

Whenyou’rereallygettingintothegame,whatisgoingthroughyourmind?

PROBE(ifenvironmentalfactorsaren’tmentioned,e.g.time,space,otherpeople):Whatwereyouawareofintheenvironmentaroundyou?

Abouthowlongwereyouusuallyplayinginatypicalsessionbeforeyoufeltlikeyouwerereallygettingintothegame?

Doyouordidyoufindthegamechallenging?

PROBEifyes:Doyoufeellikeyourskillswereuptothechallengesyouhavefacedinthegame?

Overall,whatdoyouthinkthemostinvolvingpartsofthegameare,momenttomoment?

Appendix2

InterviewQuestions

1)Whatwereyoujustdoinginthegame?2)Howdidyoufeelwhenplayingjustnow? PROBE(iflimitedresponse):Whatkindofmoodwereyouin? PROBE:Why?3)WasitdifficultforyoutoquitthegamewhenIcamein?4)Howimportanttoyouwastheactivityyouwerejustdoing? PROBE:Why?5)Waswhatyouweredoingimportanttoothersinanyway? PROBE(ifyes):Howso? PROBE(ifnotansweredinresponse): Werethereotherswithyouwhereyouwereinthegame, orwereyouplayingsolojustnow? PROBE:Wereyoucommunicatingwithothers? PROBE:Arethesepeopleyouoftenplay/communicatewith? PROBE(ifnotansweredinresponse): WereyouplayingagainstotherplayersoragainstNPCs?6)Howwouldyousayyourskillsmatchedthechallengesyouwerefacinginthegamejustnow? PROBE(iflimitedresponse):Wouldyousaythechallengewasabove, below,ormatchingyourskilllevel? PROBE(ifchallengehigher):Doyoutrytofindwaystomakethegame easierforyou?

PROBE(ifchallengelower):Doyoutrytofindwaystochallenge yourselfmore?7)Wereyousatisfiedwithhowyouweredoing? PROBE:WhyorWhynot?8)Wereyouveryconcentratedonwhatyouweredoing? PROBE:WhyorWhynot?9)Wereyoucomfortablewhileplayinginhere? PROBE(ifnot):Whywereyouuncomfortable? PROBE:Howmuchdoyouthinkyourcomfortlevelaffectsthe gameplayexperience?10)WouldyousayyouwerereallyintothegamejustnowwhenIcamein?11)Werethereothermomentswhileplayingherewhenyoureallygotintothegame? PROBE(ifyes):Whatwereyoudoingduringthosemoments? PROBE(ifyestothisquestionbutnotoquestion10): Whatdoyouthinkthedifferencewasbetweenwhen youwerereallyintothegameandwhenIcamein?12)Didhowintothegameyouwerevarywhileyouwereplaying? PROBE:Wasitmoreorlessthanusualwhenplayingforthisamountof time?13)Whatdoesitfeelliketoyouwhenyouarereallyintothegame?

Appendix3

TranscriptforParticipantA

Ryan:Tostartoffwith…whatwereyoujustdoinginthegame.A:Okay.Um,letssee…Irananinstance,uh,questedforawhile,leveledprofessionsandworkedtheauctionhouse.Ryan:Ok,Howdidyoufeelwhileplayingjustnow?A:Observed!(laughs)No,um…Ryan:Whatmoodwouldyousayyouwerein?A:Fixated,Iguess,justsortofnotreallypayingattentiontomuchelse.Ryan:AndWhy?Iguessthatmightseemanobviousanswerbut…A:Uh,Isuppose…uh,nothingelsetodoorbedistractedbyRyan:Wasitdifficultforyoutoquitthegame?Iseeyouweredoingtransport…A:(Laughs)No.Ryan:Um…Howimportanttoyouwastheactivitythatyouwerejustdoing?A:Notvery.Ryan:Andwhywasthatnotaveryimportantactivity?A:Uh,Iwaslevelingprofessions,which,youknow,isagolddump.It’ssortofanotpleasantthingwithinthegame.Ryan:Waswhatyouweredoingimportanttoothersinanyway?A:No.Well…IguessIcoulduhsayitwouldbeimportanttopeoplewhowerebuyingthethingsthatIwasmakinginthegame.Ryan:Ok…um,werethereotherswithyouwhenyouwereinthegame?A:Attimes.Ryan:Andwereyoucommunicatingwithothersviachatservices?A:Yeah,yeah.

Ryan:Arethesepeopleyouoftenplayorcommunicatewith?A:Yes.Ryan:Um…Let’ssee…WereyouplayingagainstotherplayersoragainstNPCs?A:Uh,NPCs.Ryan:Andhowwouldyousaythatyourskillsmatchedthechallengesofthegame?A:(laughs)I’mnotverygoodatthisgame,um,comparativelyspeaking,Iguess.But…uh…Ryan:Wouldyousaytheywereaboutright,orabovethechallengesorbelow?A:Aboutmatchedwiththechallenges,I’dsay.Ryan:Ok,wereyousatisfiedwithhowyouweredoing?A:No.Ryan:Whynot?A:Uh,Iwasveryinefficientwithmybars,Iguess.Uh…inmycombatsequencesanduh,Ithinkitmighthavebeentheproductofnervousness…butIdon’tknow.Ryan:Wereyouveryconcentratedonwhatyouweredoing?A:YesRyan:Andwereyoucomfortablewhileplaying?A:Um,so‐so.Ryan:Andifnot,why?Whatcausedyourdiscomfort?A:WellIhad…surgeryearliertoday…soI’mkindofuncomfortablealittlebit…just…justfrombeingkindofachey.Mybodyiskindofdistractingmealittlebitandit’salittlehotinhere…but….Ryan:Ok.Goodtoknow.Um,wouldyousayyouwerereallyintothegamejustnowwhenIcamein?A:Yes.

Ryan:Andwerethereothermomentswhileplayinginwhichyoureallygotintothegame?A:Yes.Ryan:Andwhatwereyoudoingduringthosetimes?A:Questing.Ryan:Whatdiditfeelliketoyou,whenyouwerereallygettingintothegame?Iknowthat’skindofasubjectiveterm.But,whatdoesgettinginthegamemeantoyou?A:Oh…NotreallypayingattentiontothetimeorthinkingaboutifIhavehomework,ifIneedtocallmyparents.Ismybodybotheringmeorsomethinglikethat?Um,butmoreI’mjustfocusedontheonetaskathandanddoingwhatIcantocompleteit.

Appendix4

TranscriptforParticipantB

Pre‐interviewB:Onesecond…somebodyumtextedme…Pre‐interviewRyan:Alright,that’sfine.Pre‐interviewB:Ididn’tevenhearit.Ihaditturned…Imean,IhearditbutIdidn’t...(trailsoff)Ryan:Tostartoffwith,whatwereyoujustdoinginthegame?B:Well,mymainthingisIwasjustdoingsomeDailiesandrantheDailyRandom,thatwasaboutit.Ryan:So,whatistheDailyRandom?B:Oh,youcan,uh…ItscalledDailyRandom/DailyHeroic,you’veprobablyheardofthatafewtimes.I’mnotsureifanybody’sdonethatwithyou,hereinthis,but,uh,allitis,uh,inNorthrendandbeforeWrathoftheLichKing,inBurningCrusades,therewasheroics.Theyjustimplementedituh,umthreepatchesago?Twopatchesago?Somethinglikethat.Twomajorpatchesago…Uh,whereyoucanqueueupforaRandom.Whichmeansyoucan,um,groupwithpeoplefromdifferentrealmsjusttomakethedungeonsearchalittleeasier.Andthey’vemadea“Daily”outofit,so…..Ryan:Oh,ok.Well,howdidyoufeelwhileyouwereplayingjustnow?B:LikeIalwaysdo.Ienjoyplaying.It’samatterof,uh,whatareyouasking?Ryan:Like,whatkindofmoodwereyouin?B:Uh...intent.Hah,ifthatevenexplainsthemood.Itwasjust…whenIlogon,Ilogonforareason,anduh,youknow,typically…ifIdidn’thaveareasontogeton,I’djustbestandingtheresayingwhatdoyouguyswanttodo?Ryan:Alright.WasitdifficultforyoutoquitthegamewhenIjustcamein?B:No.No.Ryan:Howimportanttoyouwastheactivitythatyouwerejustdoing?B:Icantakeitorleaveit.Areyoutalkingaboutplayingthegameingeneralor…?Ryan:No,thegame

B:TheDailies?Ryan:Yes,thatspecificactivity.B:Eh.It’smoney.It’sgold.YouknowwhatImean?Icantakeitorleaveit.It’sjustsomethingtodowhileI’monwaitingonotherstogetonorsomethinglikethat.Ryan:Ok.Waswhatyouweredoingimportanttoothersinanyway?B:Probably.Likeareyoutalkingabout“others”injust…Ryan:Othersinthegame.B:Oh.Probably.Itsuh,youcanmakeanywherebetween250to300goldadayinjust,justdoingDailies.So,I’msure.Ryan:Um,wereyouractions,Iguess,affectingothersinwhatyouwerejustengagedin?B:No.Ryan:Ok.So,uh,werethereotherswithyouinthegame?B:Yeahuh,whenwe,when…whenyoudotheDailyHeroicyougroupupwithfivepeopleandthenyougodoaninstance.Ryan:Didyoudosoloaswellor…?B:Yeah.Mostofmydailyroutineissolo.Ryan:Ok.Wereyoucommunicatingwithothers?B:Sure,sure.Ryan:Andarethesepeopleyouoftencommunicatewith?B:No.No.Uh.AlotofthepeoplethatIoftencommunicatewithareonattwoo’clockinthemorning.YouknowwhatImean?Ryan:Ok.Sodifferenttimes.B:TheyliveinTexas.Imean,alotoftimesthey’renotevenon…I’mtheGuildMaster…Soalotofmyguild….Iuh,quitplayingafewmonthsagoanduh,justrecentlygotbackintoitaboutamonthandahalfago.And,um,Ireally….overthattwomonthspanmyguildfrom120membersto40.Yeah.So,it’suh…Andmostof

those40areAlts,youknow,justsamepeople,justdifferentcharacters.So,nobody’severon.So,Idon’tknowifthathelpedansweryourquestion.Ryan:No,no.Thatansweredit.WereyouplayingagainstotherplayersoragainstNPCs?B:NPCs.I’mnotabigfanofPVP…ifIcanhelpit.Ryan:Howwouldyousayyourskillsmatchedthechallengesthatyouwerefacingduringthegame?B:Average.UmI’mnot…uh,haven’tgothighlevelgearoranythinglikethat,butforwhatIwasdoing…IdiditRyan:Soyouwerematchedaboutevenly?B:YeahRyan:Wereyousatisfiedwithhowyouweredoing?B:No.(Laughs)Myuh….Ijustuh….respec’dmydeathknightandI’mtryingoutanewrotation,somyDPSisn’twhatitshouldbe.For…formylevel.That’swhyit’sjustadequateatthemoment.Ryan:Wereyouveryconcentratedonwhatyouweredoing?B:Yes.Ryan:Andwhy?Whatleadtothatconcentration?B:Uh,becauseI’mtryingtofigureoutmynewrotation.Imean,ifthiswouldhavehappenedacoupleofweeksfromnow,I’djustbehere.Ryan:Wereyoucomfortablewhileplaying?B:Yeah.Ryan:Howmuchingeneral,doyouthinkwhetheryouarecomfortableornotaffectshowyouenjoythegame?B:Uh.Iwouldsayitwouldaffectitalot.Because,ifI’msittinginacomfychairand,youknow,ifI’mcomfortablethenItendtoenjoyplayingalittlebitmore.Imaynotbeasintent,youknow,dependingonwhatdayitis.Butyouwouldenjoyitalittlebetter.Becauseifyou’resittingIndianstyleonthefloorandyou(makesgameplayingmotions)doesn’tworktowell.Comforthasalottodowithit.

Ryan:Wouldyousaythatyouwerereallyintothegame,justnow,whenIcamein.B:Yeah.IwasabouttohelpsomebodybutthenIrealizedthehourwasupandthought“oh,great.”Ryan:Well,tellthemIsendmyapologies.B:Yeah,IsaidI’msorry,Ididn’trealizewhattimeitwasandthatI’dbeonafterdinner.Ryan:Alright.Werethereothermoments,previously,whileplayingherethatyougotintothegame?B:Beforethis?Ryan:BeforeIjustcamein.Wasit,Iguess…Doesitvarythroughout?Wereyouinandoutorwereyoualwaysjustintothegame?B:Mymaingoal,now,isbecauseIknowCataclysmiscomingout,soI’mkindofhoardinggold,anduhjustkindofgettingstuffsituated.BecausewhenCataclysmcomesout,that’swheremyintentnessandmyconcentrationandmyenjoymentwillmax.BecauseIlikerunningraids,Ilike,uh,youknow,doinginstancesandstuff.But,mymain,uh,purposeofplayingthisgameisnotforallthat.It’sfortheRPGpartofthegame.It’sfordoingthequestline,seeingthestoryline.Ilikejustseeingallthatunravel.Ryan:Ok.So,becauseyou’vealreadydoneeverything,you’rejustkindofwaitingforthenextcontent?B:Yeah.IgotalloftheachievementsinNorthrendalready,so,doneallofOutlands,soyeah,I’mprettymuchwaiting.Ryan:Ok.So,Iguess,yousaidyouwereintothegame,butnotasmuchasyouwouldbe.B:Correct.Ryan:So,likeIguessonascalefrom1to10howintothegamewereyou?B:Probablyabouta7.Imean,because,Ienjoy.Imean,nottosaythatIdon’tenjoyonepart.Ijustreallyenjoythequestlines.Um,butIenjoygoingintotheinstancesbecauseit’sadifferentfeel,Imean,it’sadifferentuh,it’sawholestorylineinitself.Imean,ifyou’vedonethequestsleadinguptothat,youknow,thenyoukindofknowwhat’sgoingoninside.Andyoukindof…it’sawholestorylineitself.So,it’senjoyable.

Ryan:Didyourenjoymentlevelsvarywhileplaying,likethroughoutthehour?Orjust…B:No.Duringthisparticulartime,no.Um.IguessitfalteredalittlebitwhenIrealizedwhatinstancewewereactuallydoing,butotherthanthat.Iendedupgetting…Idon’tknowifitwasbeinghereorsomehowIgotagoodgroup.BecauseitsallPUG,youknow,youdon’tknowwhoitis.Youdon’tpickwhoyouget.And,uh,luckilyenough,Igotagoodgroup.So.Thereyougo.Ryan:Sowouldyousaythatthisexperiencewasmoreorlessusualforyouramountofenjoymentwhenyouwereplayingathome?B:Yeah.Ryan:Andwhatdoesit…youknow…Iknowthat“into”thegameiskindofasubjectiveterm.Whatdoesitfeelliketoyou?Whatdoesitmeantoyoutobeintothegame?B:Uh.Areyou….Letmekindofaskyoutoclarifythequestion.Um,areyousayinglike,doesitmakemefeelanydifferenttobe“in”,likewhileI’mplaying?Ryan:Just,like,howwouldyoudefinebeing“into”thegame?B:Like,howintoitIam?Ryan:Like,whenyou’rereallyintothegame,howwouldyoudefinethat?Howwouldyoudescribethat?Howthatfeelstoyou.B:Well,Um,I’llansweryourquestion.Iwentfrom55to80inabout2weeks.Ryan:Wow.B:So,whenI’minto,I’mintoit.Umits…Ithoroughlyenjoythequestlines.I’veplayed,Idon’tknowifthisisagoodorabadthing,butwhenIwasincollegeIplayedavideogamefor24hoursstraight.Ryan:Wow.B:So,Imean,itsoneofthosethingsthatyou,know,onceit‐ifitsgotacaptivatingstoryIwanttoseeit.So,um,whenits‐Icansaythatitfalters,alittlebithas,um,asthequestschangesorstartscomingtoanend,but,um‐ifyoucatchmerightinthemiddleofdoingaquestline,youmightaswelljustleavemealone,becauseI’mnotgoingtotalktoyou.Well,unlessitssomegraveimportance,likeyouknowsomebody—Icanstopatanytime.Imean,Iquitfortwomonths.Youknow,forjustnorealreason.Justoneday…

Ryan:Decidedtoquit?B:Yeah,andthenmyfriendtoldmethat,“yeahI’mgettingyouakeyfortheAlpha.”So,I’mlike,ok,mightaswellstartplayingagain.Ryan:Motivation.B:Yeah,Imightaswellgetbackintoitsoyoucanatleasthavesomethingtofallbackon.

Appendix5

TranscriptforParticipantC

Ryan:Whatwereyoujustdoinginthegame?C:RightbeforewestartedthisIwasgatheringmineralsforcraftingprofessions.Ryan:Ok.Andhowdidyoufeelwhenplayingjustnow?C:Prettygood.Imean,that’smystandarddailyroutine,soit’s…it’slikeawarmglove,youknow?Ryan:Ok.C:Itfitswell.Youjustmoveinandfeellikeyou’reapartofsomething.So,itfeelsfine.Ryan:Wasitdifficultforyoutoquitthegame?C:No,no.Uh‐uh.Notatall.Ryan:Howimportanttoyouwastheactivitythatyouwerejustdoing?C:Hmm…Atthispointless…Ryan:Lessimportant?C:Imean,nowI’matthepointwhereI’mprobablyinthewaningcycleoftheaddiction.So,itcomesinspurts.Ryan:So,whywasthatparticularactivitynotthatimportanttoyou?C:Oh,theMining?BecauseIdon’tneedit.Iwasjustsortofdoingit.Ryan:Ok.Waswhatyouweredoinginthegameimportanttoothersinanyway?C:Yeah.Itallowsmetocraftitemsforthemandgivethemnewstuff.Ryan:Ok.And,whileyouwereplayinginthegamewerethereotherswithyouorwereyouplayingsolo?C:Avariety.TherewereacoupleoftimeswhereearlyonIjoinedagroupwhichautomaticallypairspeopletogether‐apartyoffive‐So,thereweretwo:inonecaseIwashealingagroupoffivepeopleandintheothercaseIwastankingforagroupof

fivepeople.Um,I’minaguildwithpeoplecomingonline,offlineallthetime,soI’malwaysatleastabletobesocial.Ryan:Um,howmuch…what’sthebalancebetweensocialandsoloforyou.Imean,Iknowit’sdifferentfordifferentplayers.C:Uh,IlikethesocialaspectalotwithpeoplethatIknowandlike.But,thereareahugenumberofpeopleontherethatIwouldprefernottobesocialwith.So,itreallydependsonwho’s…Ryan:Who’sonlineatthetime?C:Yeah.Ryan:Ok.Wereyoucommunicatingwithothersviathechatservicealot?C:Notalot.Justonoccasion.AbuddyofminefromCaliforniagotonlineandItalkedtohimforaminute.Andthenacoupleofpeoplewerelookingforpeopletocraftthingsforthem,soIrespondedtothem,andImetthemandcraftedthingsforthem.Thentheysaid,“Thanks.Seeya”.Ryan:So,howmanyofthepeoplewouldyousaythatyouoftenplayorcommunicatewith?C:Probablyaboutfifteen.Regulars.Ryan:Whileyouwereontherewereyoucommunicatingwithmany?C:Justacouple.Twoorthree.Ryan:So,therestofthepeopleyouweregroupingwithearlierwerepeopleyoudidn’tplaywithoften?C:Randompeople,yeah.Andthey’llevenmatchyounowacrossservers.So,therearepeoplethatareondifferentserversIwouldn’totherwisehavetheopportunitytoplaywith.But,becauseofthismatchingsystem…itjustpairsyourandomly.Ryan:Iheardaboutthat,that’sinteresting.WereyouplayingagainstotherplayersoragainstNPCs?C:NPCsexclusivelyinthisgoaround.Ryan:Howwouldyousayyourskillsmatchthechallengesyouwerefacing?C:I’mwayaboveaverage

Ryan:Wayaboveaverage?C:Yeah.Ryan:Doyoufindwaystotryandchallengeyourselfmore?C:Yeah,thereareum…WithallthePVE,whichisplayerversesenvironment,therearehardmodesthatyoucannowdo,uhwhichrequiresalotmoreattentionthanjusttheregularmodes.They’lljustaddacoupleofthingsthatincreasethedifficultytosignificantly.SoIdo,whenrunningtheendgamecontent,trytolookforgroupsthataredoingthehardmodes.Uh,PVP,ontheotherhand,whenyou’replayingagainstotherpeopleobviouslyyou’regoingtocomeagainstsomepeoplethatarereallygood.Andthatisagreatchallenge…so,uh,youknow,playingagainstanotherplayer,notknowingwhattoexpect…evenifyou’redoingthehardmodesintheseotherinstancesyouknowthatit’sapatternandthatonceyoumasterthatpattern,you’regoingtohaveitdownpatandthere’snothingelse,youknowwhatImean?Ryan:Yeah.C:ButwithPVP,I’dsaythat’sprobablythegreatestoverallchallenge,justgettingusedtothedifferentplaystylesandwhatnotofotherpeople.Ryan:Let’ssee,wereyousatisfiedwithhowyouweredoing?C:Yeah,yeah.Ryan:Andwhatwasparticularlysatisfyingaboutwhatyouweredoing?C:Tankingisfun.ItssomethingIhaven’tbeendoingverylong,andlikeyouweretalkingaboutwhenyougathertheMOBstogether.Umm…Fortunatelythatwasaprettygoodgroup,soitmademelookprettygood.But,youknow,thatwasanintimidatingtaskbecausewithmyroguecharacterit’sonlyDPS,whichisDamagePerSecond,andallI’mbasicallydoingismashingbuttons,makingsureIwaskillingthingsasquicklyaspossible.Peopledon’treallyrelyonyou,perse,butasateampeopledorelyonyoutodrawtheattentionofallthoseMobsandkeepit.Whichkeepsthemalive,whichallowsthegrouptoprogress.So,asatankIfeltprettygoodaboutgettingthatdone.InthatonerunthatIdid,yeah.Ryan:Um,wereyouveryconcentratedonwhatyouweredoing?C:No.Ryan:Whynot?C:Justbecause,again,it’ssomethingIgenerallydo–whatIjustdid‐issomethingthatIwilldo,atleastinsomepart,everyday.So,Icoulddothatalmostblindfolded.

Ryan:Alright,um,wereyoucomfortablewhileplayinghere?C:Mmmm.There,again,playingonalaptop.Normally,Ihavemygamewindowed,soIcanjustquicklygoout.So,whenI’mwaitingandthere’snothinggoingon,I’ll,youknow,gobrowse…blahblahblahblah…ListentoiTunes,umchatonAIM.Soitwasn’texactlylikebeingathome,but,itwascomfortableenough.I’musedtoitenoughtogetthehangofit.Ryan:Ok.Howmuchdoyouthinkyourcomfortlevelaffectsthegameplayexperience?C:Alot.Ryan:So,youthink,um,Iguess,doyouthinkthat,that,Iguessyourmomentswhileplayingherewere,Iguess,notcomparabletoplayingathome?Or…or…C:No,IchosespecificallytaskstodothatIknewwouldbeeasyhereforme.SothatIdidn’trunintoaproblemwith….uh…becausetherewerekeybindsonmymouseandwhatnotthatweren’t.Iguesswewouldneedtohavethatprogram.So,IonlydidthingsthatIknewIwouldsucceedin.,Ryan:Alright,thenwouldyousaythatyouwerereallyintothegame,justnow,whenIcamein?C:No.Iwasreadytobedone.Ryan:Werethereothermoments,before,whileplayingthegame,thatyouwerereallyintothegame?C:Justduringthetanking.Iwasenjoyingthat.Yeah,Ilikedthat.Ryan:Ok.Umm…Iguessyou’vealreadykindofdescribedwhatexactlyyoulikedaboutthat…umm.Isitjustbecauseitssomethingyouhaven’tdoneveryoften…asmuchassomeoftheotherstuff?Or…?C:That.And,justthere’slikeaslightartistrytoit,youknow?You’rehavingtoreally…again,you’reworkingwithartificialintelligence,soyouknowwithinacertainparameterwhatthey’regoingtodo.But,makingthemcometogetherlikethat,sothattherestofthegroupcandoAOEattacks,whichisAreaofEffect.Youknow,itrequiresalittlebitofskillandtechnique,whichisfun.Ryan:Ok.So,Iguesswhatwasdifferent?Iknowyousaidyouweren’treallyintothegamewhenIcamein….thedifferencebetweenwhenyouwerereallyintothegameand…uh…

C:Justthat,I’matthepointwheretheonlythingthat’sreallygoingtomakemehappyiskillingtheLichKing,whichis,atthispointintheevolutionofthegame,that’stheend.Youknow,that’stheendcontent.Andonmymaincharacterthat’swhereI’mat,so,Imeaneverythingelserightnow,isjustsortofdailymaintenancetokeepmygoldup,keepmysuppliesupandwhatnot.Soitsjustsortofaneh.Ryan:Andfinally,Iusethetermbeingintothegame,andIknowthat’skindofasubjectiveterm.So,whatdoesitmean…Whatdoesbeingintothegamemeantoyou?C:Wantingtoprogresswithotherpeople,umandestablishingbondswithpeoplethatyou’reprogressingwith,tome,isfun.Youknow,IcouldprobablyjumpshipwiththegroupofguysthatI’mwithandactuallygoonlineandapplyforabetterguildandmaybeprogressfurther.But,beingwithagroupofguys,gettingusedtotheirplaystyleandprogressingwiththemandhelpingthemandthenlettingthemhelpme.Youknowworkingtogether.That’sprobablythemostfunaspectofthegameforme.

Appendix6

TranscriptforParticipantD

PreInterview:D:Oh,youlosetrackoftimeinthisgameItellyah

Ryan:Tostartoffwith,whatwereyoujustdoinginthegame?

D:Youmeanfromthebeginning?Iplaytwodifferentcharacters.I’vekindofbecomeanalt‐aholic.I’vegotabout10charactersIrotatebetweenwhenIplay.So,Iwasplayingoneofmy80susingthedungeonfinderandplayedacoupleofdungeons…thenIgotkindofboredwiththat,soIswitchedovertoawarrior,awarriorI’mworkingonRyan:Ok.Howdidyoufeelwhenplayingjustnow?D:Well,Iwasn’tasrelaxedasIwouldhavebeen,youknow,playingmynormalsetup,Iguess.LikeIsaid,Inormallyplayononeofourlaptops,andactually,I’vegottentowhereIusethetrackmore.Whichseemsveryclunky,anditwasatfirst,butonceyougetusedtoit,it’sactuallyveryresponsive.Besidesthat,Imean,itwasfun,itwasnormal.Ryan:Whatkindofmoodwouldyousayyouwerein?D:Well,Iworkedallday,soIwasalittlebittired.Imayhavedozedoff,maybeoncethere.Youknowwhenyou’relevelingit’salmostlikeyou'reinagroove.Youalmost,afterawhile,candoitblindfolded.Ryan:Yeah,wasitdifficultforyoutoquitthegamewhenIcamein?D:Oh,no.Notatall.Ryan:Howimportanttoyouwastheactivityyouwerejustdoing?D:TheactivityIendedonwasnotthatimportant.Iwasn’tworkingwithsomeoneelseinthegame,soIcouldprettymuchquitatanytime.Iwasn’tdoingadungeonoranything.Ryan:So,atanypoint,waswhatyouweredoingthroughoutthegameimportanttoothersinanyway?D:Yes.Yes.I…Wedidtheum…Whichonedidwedo…IthinkOculus…soIwasaDPS,Iwasn’tahealeroratank,andsomeonequitsowehadtogetsomebodyelse,andIthinkitwastedprobably15minutesofourtime.

Ryan:So,youwereplayingwithothersinthedungeon.Wereyoualsocommunicatingwithpeoplethatyouweren’tindirectplaywith,aswell?D:No,Notreally.Ryan:And,werethepeopleyouwereplayingwithpeoplethatyouoftenplaywith?Or,werethey…D:No,totalrandom.Ryan:Random,Ok.I’massumingfromwhatIsaw:wereyouplayingagainstNPC’scompletely?TherewasnoPVP?D:Yes,therewasnoPVP.IcheckedthewinterspringbecauseIdoliketodowinterspring,butitwas…itwouldhavetakentwohours,so…But,IdolikePVPquiteabitalso….Ryan:ButyouwerejustagainstNPCsrightnow?D:Yes.Ryan:Howwouldyousaythatyourskillsmatchedthechallengesyouwerefacing?D:Ithinktheywereadequate.Idon’tthinktheywere,youknow,I’mnoWarcraftgodoranythinglikethat.Iconsidermyselfacasualplayer,soIthinktheywereadequatetothetasks.Ryan:Ok.Andwereyousatisfied,ingeneral,withhowyouweredoing?D:Yes,yes.Ryan:Andwhywaswhatyouweredoingparticularlysatisfying?D:Well,onmy80character,I’vespentquiteabitoftimeonhim,soIthinkhe’s…hewasgearedupenoughtomorethantakecareoftheDPSthatheneededtowhenthetimecame.MywarriorI’veswitchedtoprotectionfromarmsandit’samazing,actually,howmuchDPStheycando.PlusI’vegotheirloomsonhim,solevelingislikefivetimesfasterthanitwaswhenthegamefirststarted.Thegame’schangedsomuch.Ryan:Wereyouveryconcentratedonwhatyouweredoing?D:Yes,I’dsayso.Ryan:Andwhy,Imeanwhatledtothatconcentration?

D:Uh,Justimmersioninthegame.Yourwidescreen,foronething.Imean,thebiggerthescreen,tome,it’salmostyoubecomemoreimmersedinit.Andoutsidethings…Plusthesound,youknow…AlotoftimesIdon’tplaywithsounduprealhigh,but,uhjustimmersion.Ryan:Wereyoucomfortablewhileplayinghere?D:Itwasalittlehotattimes,butyeah.Ryan:Howmuchdoyouthinkyourcomfortlevelaffectsthegameplayexperience?D:Well,Ithinkittotallyaffectsit.Imean,ifyou’renotcomfortableplayingthegame,then…Thewholepointofthegameistohavefun.So,theenjoymentexperienceisgoingtogodownhillifyou’renotcomfortable.Ryan:Butyourdiscomforthere,didthatreally…um…D:No,minimal.Ryan:WouldyousaywhenIcameinthatyouwerereallyintothegame?D:No.Iknewithadbeenaboutanhour,soIwaskindofwrappingitup.Ryan:Werethereothermomentswhileyouwereplayingthatyouwouldsayyouwerereallyintothegame?D:Yes,yes.Ryan:Whatmoments?Whatwereyoudoing?D:AnytimeI’minadungeonItrytobeintothegamebecauseIknowthereareothersarerelyingonmyactions,also.So,ifthingsaregoingaround,Itrytoshutthemout.Anditsfairlyeasytodointhatgame,anyway.Because,likeIsaidbefore,immersion.Ryan:Sokindofthedifferencebetween,say,whenyou’reinadungeonandyouknow,justattheendthere,whenyouwerequestingandyouwerekindoftired.Whatwouldyousaythedifferenceis?D:It’smoreofacasualfeelingwhenyouareoutbyyourselfjustquesting.Youknowthatthere’snoconsequencesreallytoyourcharacteroranybodyelse’scharacterbecauseyoucanjustquit.Youknow,quitallofthesudden.Sinceit’srealtime,youknow,youwanttoreportbacktoyourmainhometogetadditionalXPorwhatever.But,there’snorealneedtoasopposedtoifyou’reinadungeon,thenotherswillrelyonyou.

Youknow,tomethatmeanssomethingIdon’twanttojust,youknow,dump‘emorwhatever.Ryan:So,wouldyousaythathowintothegameyouwerekindofvarieswhileyou’replaying?D:Yes.Ryan:Andwasthatvariance…Isthatsomethingyouusuallyexperienceorsomething…Aretheretimeswhenyouareintothegamethroughouttheplayordoesitalwaysvarythroughoutaplaysession?D:Itvariesdependingonwhatisgoingonaroundme.ItdependsonifI’mathome.I’vegotkids,I’vegotafamily,so,theymaypopinandI’llstoptheplayortheymaybesayingsomethingandI’mconcentratingonthemandI’mnotconcentratingonthegame,so…Ryan:So,itusuallyvaries?D:Yes,itvaries.Ryan:IknowI’vebeenusingtheterm,“intothegame”,andthat’skindofasubjectiveterm.Whatdoesthatitmeantoyou?Whatdoesitfeelliketoyouwhenyouarereallyintothegame?D:Uhm,everythingelseiskindofshutout.Youdon’treallyrealizewhat’sgoingonaroundyou.Hourscanpassandyouhavenocluethattimehasflownby.

Appendix7

TranscriptforParticipantE

Ryan:Tostartoutwith,whatwereyoujustdoinginthegame?E:Justthen?Ryan:Yes,justthen,oryoucangiveasummaryifyouwant.E:Startedouttryingsomequestsoutinanareaandthenumm…andthentriedmyhandatalittlePVP.Ryan:Alright,soyouwerejustdoingPVP?E:Yeah.Ryan:Howdidyoufeelwhenplayingjustnow?Likewhatkindofmoodwereyouin?E:Umm…Iguessjovialandslightlyfrustrated.Ryan:Why?E:Uh,Well,IguessonceyougettothetopendofthingsthespreadisalittlebithigherasfarasequipmentandI’monthelowerendandmostofthoseguysareonthehigherend,soIdiedquickly.Ryan:Ok.WasitdifficultforyoutoquitthegamewhenIcamein?E:Iwantedtofinishtheround.Ryan:Howimportanttoyouwastheactivityyouwerejustdoing?E:Eh,Icouldtakeitorleaveit.Ryan:Ok.Whywasn’titthatimportantreally?E:Well,Imeanthere’snogreatergoalbehindit.It’sjustaquickround,youknow,inthegame.There’sno…itdoesn’tchangeanythingwithinthegameasfarasstoryline,orwhatever.Ryan:Ok.Waswhatyouweredoingimportanttoothersinthegame?E:Potentially.Somepeoplereallyseemedto,youknow,wanttobe,numberonebutIdon’tcare!

Ryan:Alright,so,therewereotherswithyouwhileyouwereplaying?E:::affirmativenod::uh‐huhRyan:Andwereyoucommunicatingwiththemviathechat?E:No.Ryan:Arethesepeopleyouoftenplayorcommunicatewith?E:No,notthattime.Ryan:Nooneyourecognizedonthere?E:::shakesheadno::Ryan:Andso,whenyouwereplayingjustnowwasitmostlyNPCsexceptforthatlastoneorwerethereotherPVP?E:Uh,initiallyIwasplayingjustwithNPCsandthenwhenIstartedPVP,itwasnothingbutotherpeople.Ryan:ButwhenyouwereplayingearlierbeforethePVPyouwerealsoplayingsolo?E:Yeah,Iwas.Ryan:Howwouldyousayyourskillsmatchedthechallengesyouwerefacingthegame?E:ThePVP,orPVErather,theNPC’sare…Imeanit’sprettymuchacakewalk.Theywantittobeeasy,soyouenjoyyourself,Iguess.Soit’snotreallyachallenge…It’sjustgoout,bringyour10thingsback,gooutdoitagainandhere’syourgloves.Ryan:WhataboutthePVP?E:That…it’salotharderversespeople.Skills,andIguessdifferentclassesworkoneachotherdifferently.Ryan:So,doyoufindways,sinceyousaidthePVEwasn’treallychallenging,doyoufindwaystochallengeyourselfmore,eitherbydoingPVPtochallengeyourselfordoingotherthingstochallengeyourselfwhenyouplay?E:Imean,yeah,IliketoPVPoccasionally.That’sdefinitelywheremoreofthechallengecomesthrough.Imean,ifit’sPVEI’lltryto,youknow,takeonasmanyaspossibleordostufflikethatjusttosortofliventhingsup.

Ryan:Ok.Um,wereyousatisfiedwithhowyouweredoingintheend?E:Attheend?No.Ryan:Whatabouttheothertimes?E:Yeah,therestwasfine.Itwasprettystraightforwardandfairlyeasy,I’dsay.Ryan:Whatmadethosepartsmoresatisfyingthanthelastpart?Otherthan…Wasitjustthedifficultylevelorthegearthatotherpeoplehad?E:Um…Gearcomesintoit.Itsjust…I’msorry.Canyourepeatthequestion?Ryan:Yeah,yousaidyouenjoyedyourselfearlier,butyouknow,youweren’tverysatisfiedwithhowyouweredoingwiththelastpart.Whatmadethefirstpartsoenjoyablethen?E:Imean,itwasjustsomethingtodo,somethingtokilltime.Youjustgoonanddoit.Youknowwhatyou’resupposedtodoandyoudidn’thave,youknow,Iguess,ten13yearoldswhoopingyourass.Ryan:Wereyouveryconcentratedonwhatyouweredoingwhileyouwereplaying?E:I’dsayIwasprettyfocused.Ryan:Andwhy?Whatledtothatfocus?E:Um,towardstheendyou,youknow,everythingisbasedonhowlongittakestodo,Imean,withmyclassparticularly,ittakesthismanysecondstocastaspell,andthenyoumoveandwaitonacooldown.So,youknow,everysecondcounts.Ryan:Wereyoucomfortablewhileplayinghere?E:Yeah.Ryan:Howmuchdoyouthinkthatcomfortleveloverallaffectsthegameplayexperienceforyou?E:Um,itcandefinitelyleadtodistraction.AndforPVPthatmightpotentialyleadtoyougettingkilledmoreoftenthanyoumightlikeormightcauseyoutobecomefrustratedwithsomethingfaster,youplaylessoften.Ryan:WouldyousayyouwerereallyintothegamejustnowwhenIcamein?E:Uh,yeah.

Ryan:Andwerethereothermomentswhileyouplayingherewhereyougotintothegame?E:Um,itwaslesssowiththeNPCs.Ryan:Oksoyouweremoreintothegamewith…E:Yeah,becauseImean,withNPCsit’s,youknow,ifyoustopandyoulookforasecondyoucantellwhattheirpatternisandyouknowwhatthey’regoingtodowhentheycomeafteryou.It’s…youknow.Ryan:Ok,sothattakesyououtofthegame?That’sthedifferencebetweenthetwo?E:Yeah.Youdon’thavetogototownasmuch,youcansortofmulti‐taskanddosomethingelseatthesametimeifyouwant.Ryan:Ok.Soitkindofvariedwhileyouwereplaying,howintothegameyouwere?E:I’dsayso.Ryan:Um,isthatkindofusual?Thatitgoesinandout?E:Yeah.Imean,withanMMOlikethis,youknow,it’s…youcanspendatonoftimefocusedonitbutyouknow,itcanvaryIguess.Ryan:So,Iusetheterm“reallyintothegame,”butit’skindofasubjectiveterm.Sohowwouldyoudefinebeing“reallyintothegame”?Howwouldyoudefinethatstate?E:IsayitswhenmygirlfriendwasbehindmetalkingtomeandIturnaroundandwent“Huh?”ShewouldsayIwasreallyintothegame.So,whatevershesaidjustwentinoneearandouttheother.Yes,dear.Ryan:Ok,so,whenyourconcentrationonwhat’saroundyoukindoffades?E:I’mprettymuchfocusedonthescreenandwhat’shappening…therestoftheworldgoesbywithoutyourfocus.

CurriculumVitae

RyanClarkThames________________________________________________________________________RESEARCHINTERESTS

VideoGameStudies RhetoricofInteractiveTexts

InteractionPatternsinOnlineForums Multi‐modalOnlineRelationships

CommunicativePotentialsofNewTechnologies

EDUCATION M.A.inCommunication,WakeForestUniversity,2010 ThesisTitle:EncounteringWorldofWarcraftasText: MessagesandFlowinMassivelyMultiplayerOnlineGames OverallGPA:3.9 B.A.inAnthropology/Sociology,RhodesCollege,2006 B.A.inEnglishWriting,RhodesCollege,2006 OverallGPA:3.6TEACHINGEXPERIENCETeachingAssistant,PublicSpeaking,WakeForestUniversity,2008‐2010

• Taughttwolabsections,eachtwodaysaweek

• Assignedandevaluatedstudentspeeches

• Assistedseniorprofessorwithassigningfinalgradesandcourseplanning

AWARDS• GraduateAssistantship,WakeForestUniversity,2008‐2010

PAPERS/PROJECTS

• JointpaperwithDr.MichaelHazenandZixuanZhou:“TheRoleof

ModeratorsinOnlineForums”(NotYetSubmittedforPublication)

• ConferencePaper:“DigitalDistribution:ExpandingPower,Voice,and

Content?”PresentedattheAoIRInternetResearch10.0Conference2009

AFFILIATIONS

• MemberoftheAssociationofInternetResearchers

DUNGEON FLOW: PLAYER EXPERIENCES OF FLOW IN WORLD …...WORLD OF WARCRAFT By RYAN THAMES A Thesis...

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