How “Pac-Man” and “Space Invaders” can help us find flow

When was a time, recent or past, that you were so engaged in something that you forget to eat or sleep? What made you feel that way? That feeling is called “flow.”

The concept of flow is the balancing point when a task you are performing is neither not too hard nor too easy. Flow represents the feeling of complete and energized focus in an activity, often with a high level of enjoyment and fulfillment. Flow might also be described as being in “the zone.” 

Emerging from the work of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the mid-1970s to explain happiness, the word “flow” was coined to define the experience of getting absorbed in a task to the extent that we lose track of time. He outlines specific elements of the process and how it relates to happiness in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. 

Flow has been described as “being carried along by a stream of water,” a mental state characterized by complete absorption and focus on an activity.  This balance is shown graphically below.

If the challenge is beyond an individual’s ability, the activity becomes overwhelming and creates anxiety. If an individual is too skilled and the challenge too easy, that person will quickly lose interest, become bored, and stop engaging.

While in flow state, our brain releases five addictive neurochemicals: 

• norepinephrine
• dopamine
• anandamide
• serotonin
• endorphins

These neurochemicals allow us us to perform at a state of heightened focus and improve our ability to learn, create, and succeed and why flow feels so good! 

To keep experiencing flow, it is recommend that we follow the “4% rule.” In other words, every day you should try to do something that is 4% more difficult that your current skill level. A 4% increase is just enough to trigger focus and maintain you in a longer flow state. Your skills improve because of the challenge, and you’ll become 4% better the next day. In this way, you will continuously improve without getting bored or anxious. 

A well-designed game transports players into flow, delivering genuine feelings of pleasure and happiness, a sense of control, and an altered sense of time. Games present players with a challenge where a player can achieve a flow state, and then the game increases dynamically so the player stays in that flow state.

Games need flow to be fun. It’s why games have levels that increase in difficulty. As players get better, the challenges and levels (and bosses) get harder. In line with the concept of “flow,” here are a few video game definitions:

• A level is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective.
• A boss is a computer-controlled opponent that tends to be stronger than other opponents the player has faced up to that point (i.e., a boss = a challenge).
• Leveling up occurs when a player experiences in-game progression such as unlocking new abilities, skills, or access to a new area of the game (i.e., levelling up = increasing in skill).

• Enhanced Engagement: Flow promotes a deep sense of engagement where players become fully immersed in the gaming experience. This heightened engagement contributes to a more fulfilling experience.
• Skill Balance: Flow occurs when the challenge level of an activity aligns with the player’s skill level. Games that provide an appropriate balance between challenge and skill facilitate the emergence of flow, creating an optimal and rewarding experience, where the game is not too hard or easy, leading to frustration or boredom respectively.
• Increased Motivation: Players in a state of flow often experience increased motivation, driven by the joy and satisfaction derived from the activity itself. This motivation can lead to sustained commitment to the game.
• Time Distortion: During flow, individuals may lose track of time. 
• Positive Emotional States: Flow is associated with positive emotional states such as joy and a sense of accomplishment. 
• Skill Development: Flow encourages skill development as players are more likely to be in a state of “optimal learning.” The challenges presented in the game are neither too easy nor too difficult, fostering a continuous cycle of improvement. Games that increase the challenges by increments of 4% keep players growing in their skills until mastery. 
• Stress Reduction: Flow experiences have been linked to reduced stress. In a state of flow, individuals may temporarily forget about external stressors.
• Sense of Control: Flow is characterized by a sense of control over one’s actions and a merging of awareness with the activity. 
• Increased Creativity: Some studies suggest that flow states are associated with increased creativity. In the context of games, this might manifest as players experimenting with different strategies or approaches.

I thought about where I experienced a state of flow, and many times it has been from very original (now vintage) video games. 

Two classics are Pac-Man and Space Invaders. 

Both were early stand-up arcade games that invoked a sense of flow for these reasons:

• Clear Goals and Rules: Pac-Man has a straightforward objective- eat all the dots while avoiding ghosts. In Space Invaders, you must shoot all the aliens before they reach your ship at the bottom of the screen. The simplicity of both games’ goals and rules makes it easy for players to understand very quickly and immerse themselves immediately. There are no instructions – just an opening screen, and BOOM, you’re playing (as is the design of many of the original video games).
• Immediate Feedback: The games provide immediate and clear feedback. In Pac-Man, when you eat dots or fruits, there’s a satisfying sound, and when a ghost catches Pac-Man, the consequences are immediate. In Space Invaders, if your bullet hits an alien, they disappear. If they reach you, you disappear. This quick feedback loop keeps players engaged.
• Balanced Challenges: Both games are designed with a balanced level of challenge. As you progress through levels, the speed and complexity increase, providing an escalating challenge that matches your improving skills, contributing to a state of flow.
• Continuous Action: Both games offer continuous gameplay without breaks, creating a seamless experience. The constant movement and decision-making keep players in a state of flow as they move from level to level. Even after losing a life, the games quickly restart, minimizing disruptions and allowing players to maintain their engagement.
• Limited Cognitive Load: I think this is a KEY element of these early video games. No narrative or long back-stories; all mechanics. Both Pac-Man’s and Space Invader’s simple graphics, straightforward gameplay, and clear sounds reduce making a player determine what is happening on screen. Players can focus on the core mechanics without being overwhelmed by complex visuals or intricate stories.
• Repetitive Patterns: Each game features repetitive patterns as you move from level to level. This predictability allows players to enter a flow state by relying on learned strategies and patterns.
• Highly Responsive Controls: Early video game controls (the joystick) was familiar and intuitive, contributing to a sense of agency. The player feels in control of the game movements, enhancing the overall flow experience.

Early video games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders seem to have timeless appeal, I think much due to the limited technology of the time that forced the creation of a more elegant game design. The clean visuals and rules make both games accessible to players of all ages and often bridge generational gaps. The games combine many key characteristics that create flow and make these games timeless ways to truly immerse.

The value of flow in a game lies in its ability to enhance engagement, motivation, skill development, and the positive emotional experiences for players. 

Game designers should strive to create environments that facilitate the emergence of flow with variable difficulty and increasing challenges to deliver a compelling and rewarding gaming experience. Games provide challenges for players of different skill levels, increase if difficulty as player get better, and provide relevant, timely feedback. Well designed games that balance increasing games challenges with increasing player skills maintain flow, and flow is fun! 

So whether it’s a sport, a class, or a game, think about the daily challenges in your life and work as flow-generators that will over time build your skills and knowledge while keeping you focused and happy. Even if you’re an expert with 10,000 hours of practice under your belt, you still need daily does of flow; you may just need a harder challenge so you can continue to level up!