Group Flow: When Gamers Feel "In The Zone"

We have all heard the term 'flow' or being in a 'flow state' before. But did you know that a 'group flow' exist and that it varies, depending on the game mode? In this episode, we'll learn which factors drive group flow and how it changes.

🌊 Go with the (Group) Flow

Typically flow—the experience of feeling "in the zone"—is an individual experience. However, shared experiences (e.g., raiding or getting stumped in League with your friends), feeling a sense of belonging, and companionship are features of group flow. Since all these experiences are enjoyable, do they hold in video games? Is the level of flow different when playing solo vs. cooperative?

The researchers had 76 players fill out their questionnaire, rated their flow experience after playing cooperative and solo. They could also describe their feelings and experiences in more detail.

🌳 Flow and the Gaming Environment

Specifically for flow, solo experiences appeared to foster flow to a significantly greater extent than cooperative-based ones..." [1]

This means that people playing games in solo mode or single-player games feel more "in the zone" than those who play cooperative games or game modes. However, this does not mean that the players playing with others didn't experience an increase in flow—namely group flow.

👥 Drivers of Group Flow and Players' Mood

"The findings revealed a number of factors which appear to determine the extent to which flow may be experienced. These include; effective group communication, knowledge of others' skills and effective team-working." [1]

So players experience a higher level of group flow when the team's communication is smooth, and work well together (good coordination, cooperation, and knowing what your team mates can and can't do). Interestingly, some players noted that communication was needed to play well. This leads me to the assumption that good communication increases group flow because it helps the group to achieve their goals (winning or killing a raid boss).

"There's the joy of co-operation to achieve a goal, the excitement of the action elements and the satisfaction of solving the puzzles together (we have to communicate more in this sense and try to explain what we're thinking we should do next). [1]"

Achieving goals together is fun, and fun makes time fly, right? Another player said: "If you get a bad group the experience is pretty miserable and you're almost guaranteed to fail. If you get a good group then you're almost guaranteed a win as good teamwork is pretty much all that's required at non-professional levels of play ..." [1] This shows that getting put in a better starting position (having a good team), makes playing more pleasant and rewarding (winning). If things go well (being up 5:0 in League in the early game), this may reflect good teamwork, driving group flow.

Lastly, the researchers showed that players were in a better mood when they had a better gaming experience (they and their team mates know what to do, and the communication and general team work was smooth). I guess that's not too surprising, having a good game and winning probably leaves you in a positive mood.

Hope you enjoyed this episode. Have a great week. Best,

Christian 🙂

References

[1] Kaye, 2016