up:: [[Games by their design facilitate entrance into the flow state]] Tags:: #🌱 # Games foster flow because they keep players in the Goldilocks Zone The third element of flow in ACTIONS is T for Tao; an activity must fall inside of our [[Goldilocks zone]], the zone in which the challenge of an activity and the relevant skills you bring to it are in balance. The activity must not be so difficult you give up, like writing an essay in Chinese, but not so easy it’s boring, like counting to 100. We want it to be just challenging enough to stay engaged but not so challenging we become frustrated. ![[Goldlilocks Zone Image.png]] This is why I use the word Tao to summarize the element in ACTIONS. The Tao is a Daoist concept that brings forth the idea all activities have a balance point for each individual person. Similarly, every activity has a corresponding Goldilocks zone where there is a balance between challenge and the players corresponding skills. Games facilitate entrance into the Goldilocks zone for two main reasons: 1. Most naturally start players in their goldilocks zone 2. They respond to players shifting Goldilocks Zone Let’s go over each. ### Most Games Naturally Start Players In Their Goldilocks Zone When starting a game, the player has no background knowledge in the games goals and rules. Thus they have a clear starting point for where to structure their attention. It’s easy to enter flow. Plus some games assess a players background in a game before starting to help them get into their Goldilocks Zone. Civilization 6, for instance, normally has an advisor guide players through the game if they are a beginner. However, those familiar with the game have the choice of turning the advisor off. Personally, I turned her off even when I was a beginner. She sounds like a evil mix between a lawn mower and a bluebird. ### Games Respond To Players Shifting Goldilocks Zone [[Your goldilocks zone will shift the more you do an activity, and you must respond to enter the flow state again|As you do an activity more and more and your skills for that activity increase]] and your [[Goldilocks zone]] will naturally shift. Therefore done in the same way, the activity won't be flow inducing. To keep entering flow inside the activity, you must shift the challenge in response to your changing. Most games do this in two ways: 1. Increasing difficulty 2. Increasing complexity ###### Increasing Difficulty The easiest and most classic way to increase challenge is through increasing difficulty. In this context, difficulty is making the game more difficult without adding complexity. This could be through raising the mode in The Witcher 3 all the way up to the hardest and aptly named “Blood and Bones.” Many games give this option allowing for players to shift difficulty to their needs. Except, Dark Souls; that game is hard enough as it is. ###### Increasing Complexity The second yet harder method for increasing challenge is by adding complexity to the game through emergence. [[Emergence 1]] occurs when the whole is different from the sum of its individual parts. Games do this by defining a set of rules that, while simple to understand and learn, come together to create incredible complexity and therefore challenge. Civilization 6, for example, on the outside is pretty simple. You play one civilization, on a randomly generated map with a defined number of other civilizations, either player or NPC controlled, and can win through five separate victory conditions. However, complexity is created from the emergence of the practically infinite combinations of maps, civilizations, and victory paths that can occur inside of it. So in effect, as players' relevant skill level increases, the complexity of the game increases through the players' greater understanding. This keeps players in their Goldilocks Zone. However, it doesn’t matter how well challenge and a players relevant skills are balanced if the player doesn’t have a way of measuring progress toward their goals. Related: