Assignment 3: The Flow in Day of Defeat (Variant of Half Life mod)
Day of Defeat is a FPS game that has its background set in World War II. Like all other half life mods, DoD is also a game where you move around and gun down your opponent. You play a soldier on either axis or allies in different battlefields (maps). The background settings of the game attract world war fan players like me, with the addition of its team based and realistic combat system, leads me to my flow experience in DoD.
The Flow chart from the reading “The Conditions of Flow” demonstrates that the flow experience requires a balanced amount of player skills and challenge throughout the game play. Day of Defeat, in my opinion, extended the experience of realism compare to the most played FPS, Counter Strike. The breathing, jumping and realistic movements give me a more engaging experience as I am able to relate myself to the character. Because of those realistic, moreover, restricted conditions, it requires more caution and teamwork. This is where the individual ability meets the challenge. The two opposite sides often change their strategies throughout the course of a battle, and those team wide strategic changes bring out the dynamic game play experience (flow).
DoD requires more team cooperation to complete the winning conditions. That, allows me to engage and position myself as the actual character in game. And through realistic character movements and damage calculations, my flow experience with DoD can last for hours during each session.