Assignment 3: Counterstrike and Flow
Of all the multiplayer games on the market, Counter-Strike has to be the game that is most likely to cause moments of Flow for me. The way the game is paced makes it inevitable. You spawn in your base with the rest of your team. You all move out as a group and tension builds as you approach the opposing team. You know that you can only take 2 or 3 bullets before dieing so you focus your hands and eyes for the coming battle. The first enemy comes into view. All hell breaks loose as you attempt to be the first one to pull the trigger while both allies and enemies try to do the same. During these moments, nothing else matters but the game. You try to aim for the head and hope that you do not run out of bullets. You glance at the radar to see how the rest of your team is doing while pushing forward or falling back accordingly. In an instant, it can be over and you could be dead wondering how your opponent managed to outshoot you. At this point, all tension washes out of your body as you watch the rest of the round unfold and soon you will find yourself starting the cycle again.
From my experience, Flow is caused in Counter-Strike by the brief and intense action as much as it is caused by the long periods out of combat. The periods of quiet help build up the tension for the players since they know that a single bullet can put them out of the action. It puts great emphasis on a players life in the game because of how much death takes away from the player. When you die, you may have to wait a long time before you can jump back into the action. The concept of "The quiet before the storm" can sometimes be more intense then the storm that ensues can be seen because of this emphasis on death.
In a normal First Person Shooter deathmatch, you do not experience Flow mainly because there is no emphasis on death. If you die, you immediately spawn again and you are thrown back into the action. There is no penalty in death other then losing your weapons and that is no big deal since they are scattered all over the place. There is a much lower feeling of accomplishment when you kill someone because they can kill you 5 seconds later. There is also no build up in tension because of how short the moments of quiet are in such scenarios.
Comments
Tomer, I like the way you describe in detail the phases of flow in the game. In a sense you are also outlining the narrative pacing of the game as well.
Tomorrow in class, let's talk about the way that social interaction supports flow
Posted by: Celia Pearce![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://interactive.usc.edu/members/tmorbarak/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 11, 2005 07:24 PM