Flow experience in game based learning – a systematic literature review

TLDR

Serious games rely on entertaining elements to engage players and achieve learning outcomes, and optimizing subjective play experience—often measured via flow theory—is crucial because flow positively influences performance, learning, and engagement, a finding echoed by other studies. This review aims to clarify the meaning of flow in serious games, examine its relationship with learning, identify factors that trigger flow, and advocate for new measurement methods tailored to the enjoyment–learning blend of serious games. The review systematically examines flow’s definition, its link to learning, the factors that induce flow, and the operationalization of flow within serious games. The review found that most discussions of flow in serious games are conceptual, with little empirical evidence clarifying its meaning.

Abstract

The entertaining elements implemented in a serious game are key factors in determining whether a player will be engaged in a play-learn process and able to achieve the desired learning outcomes. Thus, optimization of subjective playing experience is a crucial part of a game design process. Flow theory can be adopted for measuring user experience and analyzing the quality of serious game designs. In addition, flow seems to have a positive influence on performance enhancement, learning and engagement. The focus of this review is especially on examining the meaning of flow in the context of serious games as well as exploring the relationship between flow and learning, factors that influence occurrence of flow and how flow is operationalized. The review revealed that there are mainly conceptual considerations about flow in serious games, but no robust empirical evidence about the meaning of flow. This is in line with other studies. We argue that research on flow should focus on the specific aspects related to the very nature of serious games that combine enjoyment and learning. Furthermore, new methods to measure flow and analyse the data need to be developed and studied.