¶ What is Game Flow?
Game flow refers to the progression and rhythm of the player’s experience throughout a game. How they move from one phase or event to the next.
This is not to be confused with Flow theory, or Flow state, which focuses more on how players become deeply engaged and immersed in playing to the point where they completely zone in and lose track of time.
Game flow is all about how smoothly and logically a player moves from one action, challenge, or event to the next, ensuring a balanced and enjoyable gameplay experience.
It's crucial in keeping players engaged and offering them just the right amount of challenge and downtime whilst guiding them through the game without confusion or frustration.
Think of this as how you stitch the game together in a way that the player seamlessly flows through your game.
¶ Key Elements of Game Flow
¶ Game Pacing
This is the speed at which the game progresses and unfolds. Proper pacing alternates between moments of action, challenge, or excitement and calmer, more relaxed periods where players can regroup or explore. Have a breather!
For example, in an action game, you might have a fast-paced combat sequence followed by a slower section where the player can explore, find resources, or listen to story dialogue.
- Get this wrong and your game can appear boring and grindy.
- Get this right and it will feel that everything is happening just at the perfect moment when perhaps things are just becoming stale.
It’s a difficult one to master and thoroughly depends on the individual game.
¶ Player Progression
Most, if not all, successful games have a sense of growth and advancement for the player as they move through the game.
This could be in terms of gaining new skills, upgrading abilities, unlocking new levels, or simply mastering the game’s mechanics.
This can also be as simple as earning enough in-game currency so they are able to unlock new skins.
In a role-playing game, players may gradually unlock new weapons, spells or abilities. Typically this is balanced affording them the tools to tackle more defeat bigger baddies or challenges as they progress.
¶ Balancing the Challenge
Ensuring that the difficulty of the game increases at a steady rate that matches the player’s growing skill and familiarity with the mechanics.
For example, your early levels should introduce the player to the basic controls and mechanics of your game. Players should be matched against basic low level enemies that are aligned to your player's early skill level.
For a puzzle game, this would mean a simple challenge where the solutions are easy to solve and allows you to gradually present more complex puzzles as they progress.
¶ Guidance and Feedback
This is how the game teaches and directs the player without overwhelming or confusing them. This includes visual, audio, and contextual cues that guide players to their objectives and provide feedback on their actions.
This is also known as Game Onboarding twinned with the First Time User Experience (FTUE).
A great example here is in platformers where the level design can use visual elements like lighting, paths, or landmarks to show players where to go next.
The indie hit sensation Celeste is a masterclass in this for the perfect onboarding for a platformer.
¶ Engagement and Immersion
This is the degree to which players remain engrossed in the game world.
Good game flow will minimize any frustration and confusion, especially early on and allows players to stay focused and immersed in the experience.
Grow a Monster is a great example of this.
At the very beginning of the game, there are just 4 mice to consume and it’s very clear on how the mechanics work and eases the player into the game perfectly.
By giving the player generous space to move around and get familiar with the controls, each mouse moves very slowly and it’s quite hard not to consume them, a perfect way to start a game.
The player has the agency to move freely and complete the first section after only 2 of the mice, thus teaching the controls, game mechanics , core loop and game flow all within the first few seconds of starting the game.
¶ Clear Objectives and Milestones
Your players should always have a clear sense of what to do next, whether through main objectives or smaller tasks.
These are the milestones that we covered in the Game Rules, Objectives and Goals section, especially regarding your Short, Mid and Long term goals.
¶ Tips for Maintaining Good Game Flow
A gradual introduction of the game mechanics & difficulty arc.
The key is always to start simple, introducing basic mechanics, and gradually add more complexity as the player becomes familiar with the game.
If your game allows, try to adjust the challenge dynamically based on player performance. One way of doing this can be by offering optional difficulty modes or dynamically scaling challenges to the player’s skill level.
Avoid repetition where possible to ensure that the gameplay remains varied. Forcing players to repeat actions or challenges too often without some kind of variation can result in frustration and ultimately they may just move onto something else.
A fantastic way for level based games is to introduce bonus levels or boss type levels every 5 rounds or so, or sooner if your sessions are over 45 seconds.
Balancing Tension and Release
If your game has some kind of intense challenges, use these to build tension quickly followed by moments of relief (such as safe zones or exploration) as this can also avoid overwhelming the player.
¶ In Summary
Good game flow keeps your players engaged by taking them on a smooth journey throughout your game.
It delivers a logical sense of progression and ensures a balanced, enjoyable experience from start to game end, if, of course your game has one!
¶ Related Topics
Game Design Foundation How to Get Game Ideas Dopamine In Games Game Scope & Feature Creep