- Brittania Whittick
- Oct 16, 2021
- 4 min read
What is Flow?
Flow is when you get into your zone when playing a game. It's when you don’t get up for hours and get completely wrapped into your game. It's so important to me that I can find a game that will get me in my zone because that's where the real gameplay begins. I find Epic MiniGames fun because it has a nice balance where it can be relaxing and also challenging. It isn't a frustrating game, and I always discover new minigames each time I play. The game allows me to come across new challenges each time keeping me interested in what else could be in store for me. For this game I believe there are a few minigames where I can get into a state of flow, but the rest can be pretty underwhelming. The minigames where I am constantly on my feet and completing the game objective are the ones that I can really focus on. I believe that the players interaction with the game can lead to a state of flow through the game's pacing and how quickly they pump out new challenges. If the player can adapt to the new challenges too easily, flow is not there. The game must adapt to the player if that makes sense.
Minigames
Uncertain ground - Now this isn’t the first minigame players get, it's random for everyone and each minigame could be in any order. Uncertain ground reminded me that you can’t lose focus, its one of the minigames that have you on your feet the whole time. Your job is to survive any attacks that are thrown at you from the platform you stand on. Things like lava appearing under your feet, bombs, spikes, portions of the platform disappearing, and a few others. While this minigame is very fast paced it still leaves me feeling bored. I don’t feel a sense of excitement when I play. I can see why it would create flow for other players, because you need to watch your surroundings for every second you play, but it feels repetitive to me.
Slippery Sledding - where you’re racing other players to the end of the icy raceway. It can be pretty engaging because you need to make sure you don't go too fast to the point where you're sliding off the edge and lose the match, but fast enough where you can stay ahead.
Crag Climber - Your job is to get to the top of the cliff before the rest of the characters. You get up to the top by pressing a variety of keys in the correct order(w,a,s,d..) This game is engaging because you have to coordinate your fingers in the correct combos and it keeps you super focused to win.
Bloc City Brawl - You need to be one of the last players standing in an all-out battle against everyone else. This game can create an engaging experience because players will fight their hardest to the top. It is one of the most boring minigames in the game because you fight other players on the same boring map every time, there's no thrill.
Tile Takeover - This minigame consists of a Red and Blue team where each team is trying to claim more tiles than the other team. Simply walking on a tile claims one for the team, but this game can be pretty frustrating because players of the other team will just follow behind you on the platform and take the tiles you claimed. This can be engaging because it allows players to compete for the highest points.
King of the hill - In the center of the game map there is a small arena that you need to fight for. Each player is given a huge hammer and they need to make sure to hit other players out and stay within the arena as long as they can. This can be engaging because players have this weapon that they can use to push their way to the top, while watching out for other players.
Line Draw - Each player is given a pencil and a line to replicate. Each player goes at the same slow speed in order to draw the most accurate line. At the end, the player with the highest accuracy wins. This can be engaging because players want to stay on track and have the most accurate line they can make.
High Rolling - Each player is balanced on the top of their own big ball, and they need to be the first to get to the middle of the space. If you roll too fast you’ll roll off the path and fall, too slow then you will lose. This can be engaging because the environment forces players to slow down and focus on reaching the end.
Shock Absorbers - You need to quickly puch the right buttons before getting zapped and dying. The correct buttons get faster and faster and you need to stay focused. This can be engaging because players need to make sure they stay alive and watch for the correct instructions.
Castle Climb - This game has a similar objective to Crag Clamber, but for this game you get to the top by jumping off of moving blocks. This keeps players focused on staying in the lead and not falling to the bottom of the castle.
Summary
Roblox: Epic Minigames
Epic Minigmes Flow Graphic
Go with the Flow
