Flow Theory: World of Warcraft vs. Second Life

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced the theory of flow which is described as the optimal state in which someone is so focused and involved in what they are doing (an activity) that nothing else seems to matter. Time flies by without notice. Csikszentmihalyi also attributes flow with enjoyable experiences, and provides five design elements that enable flow to be achieved: challenge, goal, concentration, control and feedback. As I think about Flow Theory, and consider my interactions within World of Warcraft (WoW) and Second Life (SL) I find that flow comes naturally in one, and that I struggle toward achieving flow, without ever quite reaching it in the later…

Elements of Flow within WOW:

Challenge is in almost every aspect of the game, such as creatures attacking, the horde (or if you are a member of the horde, the alliance) attacking your territory, learning how to use each of your abilities, learning a profession, etc.;

Multiple goals – to make money, better arm and protect yourself, complete quests, improve/increase your professional/class skills (for instance, if you are an herbalist, you can run around collecting herbs), etc.;

Concentration it takes to defeat other characters (player vs. player) and beasts in battle, or to come up with strategies of how to remain alive when assailed by 4 attackers at one time;

Control you have over creating your character to determine it’s class and professions, the choice you have whether to explore and move through the world on your own, join a guild, or a temporary group, etc.;

Feedback provided throughout the game, is given upon certain things occurring in the game (uninitiated by the player) to let you know what you did or what could have been done, helping you to learn as you go.

Elements of Flow within SL:

Challenge – it’s a challenge just to figure out what to do to get started

Multiple goals – the resident must devise the goals on their own, while trying to figure out what the point of SL is

Concentration – required to figure out how to move around in the world at first, but then the level of concentration required becomes less

Control – residents control where their avatar goes, who it communicates with,

Feedback – only provided when the resident intentionally or accidentally locates an interactive item by moving their mouse over or clicking on everything in sight

I have found that I can sit and play WOW for hours without realizing how much time has gone by, and still feel like I want to continue because there is more to achieve with my character, more quests to accept and complete, more herbs to collect, etc.; however I find that I can only spend 30 minutes to an hour wandering around in SL because even with the goal of just exploring it, SL still comes across as cumbersome and with no point beyond spending time in a virtual world with no goals.