© Andrzej Marczewski 2012

Flow, Player Journey and Employee Satisfaction

Andrzej Marczewski

marczewski.me.uk

@daverage

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012

What is Flow and what is the Player Journey?

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012

Csíkszentmihályi’s Flow

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Boredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow Simplified

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Boredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow SimplifiedGetting Frustrated

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Boredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow SimplifiedGetting Bored

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012

Amy Jo Kim’s Player Journey

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012

Putting them together and thinking about Video Games

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-BoardingBoredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

“Ideal”

Player Journey

Flow and the Player’s JourneyThe Ideal Journey

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-BoardingBoredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

“Ideal”

Player Journey

Flow and the Player’s Journey

Boss Battle

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel “Ideal”

Hig

h

On-Boarding

Player Journey

Flow and the Player’s Journey

Boredom

Frustration(Anxiety) Tetris

Habit-B

uilding

Mastery

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-BoardingBoredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

“Ideal”

Player Journey

WoW

Flow and the Player’s Journey

Tetris

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-BoardingBoredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow and the Player’s Journey

Hexagon

“Ideal”

Player Journey

WoW

Tetris

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012

How could this possibly apply to work and employee

satisfaction?

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-Boarding

Employee Journey

Boredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

“Ideal”

Flow and the Employee’s JourneyIdeal Employee Journey

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-Boarding

Employee Journey

Boredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow and the Employee’s JourneyInduction Process

CompanyInduction

Learn Something New

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-BoardingBoredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow and the Employee’s JourneyFirst Day Onwards

Day on & Beyond

First Day

Employee Journey

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012

Low

Time

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Boredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow and the Employee’s Journey Over Time

Standard

Employee Journey

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-BoardingBoredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow and the Employee’s JourneyGetting it Wrong

Employee Journey

Looking for aNew Job

Left the company

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012

Can we learn anything from this?

The key is to make sure the skill and challenge levels are heading in the right direction.

•Boring games or processes will not keep you engaged (duh!)•Frustrating work processes will not keep you engaged•However, Frustrating games that are well made, can keep you coming back for more•The journey can dip in and out of frustration and boredom

© Andrzej Marczewski 2012HighLow Skill Level

Chal

leng

e Le

vel

Flow Channel

Hig

h

Mastery

Habit-B

uilding

On-BoardingBoredom

Frustration(Anxiety)

Flow and the JourneyWhat does your journey look like?

Journey