Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
is scaffolded; the tips on the screen fade away, but the AI player pres-
ent is a constant reminder of your cognitive apprenticeship. You are no
longer given tips, but you are still given a master to model. In the most
difficult parts of the game, Drake is forced to meet challenges alone,
and this profound separation of character and AI companion only
further drives home the game's theme of camaraderie and coopera-
tion, while simultaneously ratcheting up the difficulty at just the right
moment. If you needed any more reason why this game won dumpsters
full of awards, here it is.
We've talked a lot about the things that make people throw con-
trollers at the wall. Conversely, we've talked about a lot of the educa-
tional interventions that can keep people from doing things like that.
Dewey let us know that interest is a factor of skill, and that increasing
interest was a facet of receiving reinforcement in our performance,
while simultaneously being met with new challenges. One last thing
I would like to talk about in this chapter is one that comes up a lot in
discussions of media, motivation, and particularly game design: flow.
“Flow” and Other Reasons People Keep Playing
A concept piloted by Mihalyi Csikszentmihayli, low refers to the
moment in our psychology when we are “in the zone” (see Figure 4.3).
This occurs when our level of skill is perfectly met with an equal chal-
lenge. It is a psychological state characterized by uncharacteristic
Diculty
Figure 4.3
Flow channel diagram. (Figure courtesy of Peter Kalmar.)
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