In this week’s Massively Overthinking, I want to talk about flow in MMOs – the psychology concept, not zone or progression design flow. Here’s Wikipedia’s definition:
“Flow in positive psychology, also known colloquially as being in the zone or locked in, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time. Flow is the melting together of action and consciousness; the state of finding a balance between a skill and how challenging that task is. It requires a high level of concentration. Flow is used as a coping skill for stress and anxiety when productively pursuing a form of leisure that matches one’s skill set.”
For our roundtable this time, I’m asking our writers and readers what type of MMO content gets you into a flow state? Do you enjoy it? Which MMOs or types of MMOs tap into flow-esque content the best?
Ben Griggs (@braxwolf): I’m not completely sure that I understand the difference between “flow” and “immersion”, given the definition above. At any rate, it seems to be a very personal thing, finding this flow. Players note that their immersion breaks if they can’t play a character of their choice, one that better represents themselves in some way or another. That’s never been an issue for me. I tend to bend my head-stories around the characters on the screen, regardless of whether they look and act anything like I would.
More important to me is the actual flow of the story. Being asked to go pick ten flowers prior to an NPC being willing to help thwart a world-changing event is a common MMO trope that causes me to roll my eyes and pulls me out of immersion. Constant tutorial popups do the same. The proverbial “dwarf jumping up and down in my peripheral vision” doesn’t bother me, as it’s a reminder that other people are sharing the world and that we all have our own idea of fun.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna.bsky.social, blog): I am forever seeking flow in MMOs. I am always wanting to get into that state where I am concentrating – immersed, even – but at that slightly buzzy chill level, the kind that makes you lose track of time and feel cozy. It’s not so easy that I’m bored, but not so tedious that I am irritated, and it’s nothing to do with realism or anything like that.
I totally understand that other people play for other reasons – social elements, achievement, competition, aggression, curiosity – and I do love all of those things too. But my chief reason for playing now is flow, and those things don’t usually create flow for me. So the MMOs I gravitate to tend to provide the things I personally need to get into flow. That is often economic-flavored – crafting, merchanting, auctioning, vendoring, shopping, gathering – but I can also get into flow while decorating (Star Wars Galaxies), mapping (Guild Wars 2), or grinding (every MMO ever). Group dungeons can sometimes get me in flow if it’s with close friends and dungeons we know well, but not otherwise. And yes, building spreadsheets for my game! Probably my favorite type is quest hubbing, which is one of the reasons I keep wandering back to Lord of the Rings Online: It’s the coziest WoW-esque themepark out there.
Reading and writing also put me in flow, so it’s no wonder I wound up here in this job.
Carlo Lacsina (@UltraMudkipEX, YouTube, Twitch): I have a more difficult time finding that flow in MMOs to be honest; it’s because I need to have all the outside factors in my life to be in total and complete order before I can even get into that state in MMOs.
I struggle because I feel like just when things are about to click for me, there are distractions and other things that slip me out of it. I think its what I miss most from my younger years of gaming. I just have to think so much more about other stuff, and it’s kind of annoying how fragile it is for me.
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes.bsky.social, blog):Â Some of my best times in MMOs and multiplayer games come when I hit a flow state. Space truckin’ in Elite: Dangerous. Clearing a particularly tough raid for the first time in Final Fantasy XIV. Cutting down a monster with an excellently crafted weapon set and fully “downloaded” knowledge of the encounter in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Really I don’t know that type of game matters more than a combination of a few things. Strong class identity and mastery of its mechanics, familiarity with a game world, and a reasonable level of comfort with general gameplay mechanics enough to feel confident to face a new challenge all kind of combine to make entering flow that much easier.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): For my MMO sessions, I’ve mentally divided activities into active and laid-back gaming. “Active” is where I’m tackling content that needs my undivided attention, usually with problem solving of some sort of nature. It’s going through a questline for the first time, or jumping into a raid, or figuring out how to achieve a goal. That requires energy and attention, so it’s not a flow state for me.
However, “laid-back” gaming — not quite passive, but close — is where I lean back and engage in comfortable, familiar activities that don’t require a lot of brain power. It’s the gaming equivalent of cruising down a highway you’ve traveled many times before or mowing the lawn. I shut off my brain, turn on some music, and farm mobs or go on a crafting gathering route. This is relaxing because very little is being demanded of me, and yet I’m making progress in some way, shape, or form. That would be my flow state.
Sam Kash (@samkash@mastodon.social): Tyler put a good one out there. For me, I hit the flow state with two types. The main one for me, no surprise, is some really tight PvP. It really is. If I can get into a game where I can go fight after fight, match after match, and suddenly two hours has passed me by, then that’s perfect. I can let go of all the crap of the day and just let it roll off me. It’s fun, it’s tense, and I’ll get lost in it.
The other is good co-op play. It’s pretty generic, but really it doesn’t matter what the game’s content I’m playing is as much as the fact that I’ve got my friend, or friends, gaming with me. We can chat and talk about random stuff together or we can be focused in on a task.
Tyler Edwards (blog): I think for me it comes down to two things: difficulty and novelty. To really lose yourself in the moment, I think the game needs to be at just the right level of difficulty where it demands your full attention, but isn’t pushing you to the point of frustration.
Of course this will be subjective per person, but when I talk about most MMOs being too easy, this is what I mean. I don’t want them to be brutal, stressful experiences; I just want them to require my full attention so I can get into that flow state.
Some degree of novelty is also required. If you’re doing content you’ve already run a thousand times before, your mind is going to wander a bit, no matter how engrossing it might otherwise be.
To be honest, much as this may be a controversial take in these parts, I don’t think MMOs are great for achieving flow state. It can happen, but they’re not the ideal genre for it. There’s too little challenge and too much repetition.
For me personally, real time strategy is the best genre for flow. Between scouting, microing your army, and managing your economy, there’s always something to do, so they’re always holding my full attention, and there’s so many variables that even running scripted campaign missions rarely feels like exactly the same experience twice. RTS has that perfect mix of balanced challenge and continual novelty to get me in the zone.
Every week, join the Massively OP staff for Massively Overthinking column, a multi-writer roundtable in which we discuss the MMO industry topics du jour – and then invite you to join the fray in the comments. Overthinking it is literally the whole point. Your turn!
