BE THE LETTUCE! BE THE MAYONNAISE!

What happens when the level of challenge appropriate to the user’s skill? You get fed the "anxiety sandwich."

Picture this: You’re doing pretty well at a task but suddenly it gets very, very, very hard. You experience anxiety. If the task is trivial, deadening, you get bored out of your mind. If you get bored enough, efficacy dies – after all, what changes if you do this one more time? What difference does it make if you do it or not? – This may sound a bit strong, but in a small way not caring causes you to lose your sense of existence. Anxiety again. Matching the level of challenge to the user’s skill is probably the hardest element of all to maintain and stay in Flow.

In video games, a good player response is "I’ll get ‘em next time." A really well-tuned game will always give the player the sense that, "You know, if I had just zigged when I shoulda zagged, I would have won that round." That feeling makes players go back and want to play again because they have some confidence they can achieve their goals.

Marathon runners fascinate me. These are people who start jogging for their health, yet many end up running distances and in conditions that are harmful to their bodies. That is a prime example of continually raising the bar, raising the level of challenge to stay in Flow.

Video games at least have endings.