DUNGEON FLOW: PLAYER EXPERIENCES OF FLOW IN WORLD …...WORLD OF WARCRAFT By RYAN THAMES A Thesis...
Transcript of 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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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(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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
14
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
15
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
16
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
17
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?
18
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
19
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
20
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
21
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
22
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
23
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
24
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
game.
Afteranopportunityforquestionsandtheobtainingofconsent,the
participantwasledtotheroom.Achoiceofnumeroustypesofchairsand
mousepadswasavailableinordertomaketheparticipantcomfortableandto
replicateanat‐homeplayingexperienceasmuchaspossible.Specialarrangements
couldbemadebeforehandforaparticipanttobringaspecialmousefromhome,and
fortunatelyWorldofWarcraftpreserveseachplayer’suserinterfacenomatterwhat
computertheyusetologontothegame.Theparticipantwasinformedthatafter
aboutanhourtheresearcherwouldreturnfromthenextroomtoaskafew
questions.Theyweretoldtheywouldhaveachancetowrapupwhatevertheywere
doingatthattime,inhopesthatitwouldreducethechancesoftheparticipant
worryingaboutthetimeandbeingdistractedfromaflowstate,giventhefindings
25
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
26
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
27
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
28
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
29
(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).
30
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
31
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
32
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
33
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?”
34
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
35
primaryconditionsofflowusedtotestH1includetheparticipant’smood,balanceof
skillstothechallenges,concentration,andlossofselfconsciousness.Inaddition,there
aresomeelementsofflowforwhichquestionswerenotspecificallyaddedorfound
inthesampleExperienceSamplingForm(ESF).However,giventheopen‐ended
natureofthepersonalinterview,theyareaddressedinsomeparticipantresponses.
Theseelementsofflowincludeamergingofactionandawareness,alteredtime
perception,perceivedcontrolpotential,andaperceptionofcleargoalswith
immediatefeedback.
Mood:
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
36
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.
37
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
38
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
39
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
40
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
41
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.
42
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…
43
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
44
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.
45
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).
46
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
47
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
48
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
49
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
50
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?
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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
52
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.
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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
54
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.
55
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
56
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
57
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,
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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
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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
60
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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
65
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
NPCs.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
86
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
87
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.
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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.
89
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
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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
91
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.
92
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
93
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.
94
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
95
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
96
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
97
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
98
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
99
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.
100
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
MMOs.
InthetwodecadessincethefirstgraphicalMMO,thesegameshavegained
rapidexposureinthepopularculture.AsthepopularityofMMOshasincreased,
moreresearchersinacademiahaverecognizedthegrowingneedtostudythem.The
resultsofthisstudyservetofurtherthatlineofresearch,aswellasbroader
researchonvideogamesingeneral.Theseimplicationswillhopefullyleadtofuture
studiesthatwillhelpusunderstandwhatisgoingoninthesegames,whyplayers
aredrawntothem,andwhattheireffectsmightbe.
101
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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?
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PROBE(ifmorethanonce):Hasitusuallyhappenedunderthesameconditions?
Whenyou’rereallygettingintothegame,whatisgoingthroughyourmind?
PROBE(ifenvironmentalfactorsaren’tmentioned,e.g.time,space,otherpeople):Whatwereyouawareofintheenvironmentaroundyou?
Abouthowlongwereyouusuallyplayinginatypicalsessionbeforeyoufeltlikeyouwerereallygettingintothegame?
Doyouordidyoufindthegamechallenging?
PROBEifyes:Doyoufeellikeyourskillswereuptothechallengesyouhavefacedinthegame?
Overall,whatdoyouthinkthemostinvolvingpartsofthegameare,momenttomoment?
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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?
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Ryan:Andwerethereothermomentswhileplayinginwhichyoureallygotintothegame?A:Yes.Ryan:Andwhatwereyoudoingduringthosetimes?A:Questing.Ryan:Whatdiditfeelliketoyou,whenyouwerereallygettingintothegame?Iknowthat’skindofasubjectiveterm.But,whatdoesgettinginthegamemeantoyou?A:Oh…NotreallypayingattentiontothetimeorthinkingaboutifIhavehomework,ifIneedtocallmyparents.Ismybodybotheringmeorsomethinglikethat?Um,butmoreI’mjustfocusedontheonetaskathandanddoingwhatIcantocompleteit.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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…
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Ryan:Decidedtoquit?B:Yeah,andthenmyfriendtoldmethat,“yeahI’mgettingyouakeyfortheAlpha.”So,I’mlike,ok,mightaswellstartplayingagain.Ryan:Motivation.B:Yeah,Imightaswellgetbackintoitsoyoucanatleasthavesomethingtofallbackon.
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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
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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
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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.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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