Krisssssssy, or, I gained 4 flow while also writing this entry.

So, I immediately went home to try out ourWorld after lecture. This is the worst/best idea ever. A game that rewards you for playing (not mastering, just playing) a variety of super-addictive minigames? Where you get cute clothing and cute dance moves?

So, while playing this, I was trying to track my thoughts and be aware of what I was doing. While playing Rings, one of the little puzzle games, I constantly felt like I could do better. I could get further, I could put more rings down, I could get bigger stacks. I just needed some practice. I can't speak about the specific neural pathways and transmitters and that sort of thing, but I definitely know I had a weird excited/relaxed state. I also think it had little spikes, with the tension rising as the 6 slots filled up, and easing a little every time I managed to sink a perfect stack.

It was similar for other minigames, and switching between them seemed to only make the effect worse, because I was already keyed into solving visual puzzles fast, but now I was switching between them. It was sort of like what one of my friends called muscle confusion - where you keep switching between exercises, like from biking to elliptical to backwards elliptical. I was doing effectively the same thing over and over, but by varying the details, it ended up more intense.

That's just normal minigame stuff, though. The flow system I find particularly insidious. It provided a concrete measurement of how much time I'd spent on there, and a little goal to set for myself each time I was on (10 flow). It also was positive rather than negative - if they'd done the same thing with just an outright clock, I would probably feel bad about spending x number of minutes on, but gaining 10 flow was seen as an accomplishment. (See? I don't even know how long it usually takes me to get 10 flow.) Even if it really is just a clock of how much time I spend playing games. It's also not just awarding coins. I might actually eventually realize that I really like the clothes I have now and don't really need to buy anything more. I have over 4,000 coins that I just can't really think of using. 4,000 is also such a high number I don't see the impact as much as I do with my 10 flow that I keep spending and regenerating.

I also saw the whole word-of-mouth thing meeting the whole addiction thing, as within two days my sister was stuck playing it, too.

So, I'm going to go now. I need to get two more flow while playing tonight, or I won't have an even 10 and won't be able to click the more efficient giant bubbles.