Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
the first try. As she masters the new challenge, the push of frustration lessens. Repeating the
same action again and again drifts toward boredom, creating a zigzag. Of course, not all players
are the same: some might master a verb or combination of verbs quickly, especially if they have
experience from other games, while others may spend longer being frustrated. The purple
line
in Figure
shows the traditional idea of ideal flow, with a frustrated player following the red
line and a player who masters challenges easily following the blue line.
6.5
Gives up
FRUSTRATION
FRUSTATED
PLAYER
Difficult
Sections
Relaxed
Sections
Loses Interest
BOREDOM
HIGH-PERFORMANCE
PLAYER
Mastery of Skills and Understanding
Figure 6.5
Same flow diagram but with zigzag lines for different players.
In shaping the conversation of their game, game designers have figured out how to make this
zigzag pattern part of a story that's told through play. A moment of intense challenge that
requires the player to use the verbs they've been practicing in previous sections might involve
fighting a boss, for example. The visual and audio cues that accompany this moment might
include a larger graphic to represent this dangerous obstacle, with music or sound effects that
convey an ominous or climactic feel. Before and after this moment, the context isn't as intense,
and neither is the challenge: the player
can relax and prepare for the next big moment, follow-
ing an arc that builds up to the next conflict (see Figure
6.6
). We discuss more ways to create
these kinds of pauses and
plateaus
(where the line of flow becomes more horizontal) through-
out this chapter.
