Moloch: creating games with alternative mental state goals to move beyond flow

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MOLOCH
Creating Games with Alternative Mental State Goals to Move Beyond Flow
By
James Earl Cox III
Master of Fine Arts
Interactive Media & Games Division
School of Cinematic Arts
University of Southern California
August 2017

MOLOCH Cox 1

Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………......2
Csikszentmihalyi's Flow Model……………………………….3
Introduction……………………………………………………4
The Theoretical Side: Exploring Alternatives to Flow………10
The Practical Side: Making MOLOCH (zero).........................16
Results of Thesis Efforts……………………………………..21
Reflection and the Future…………………………………….31
Works Cited…………………………………………………..33

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Abstract
The purpose of this thesis research project was twofold. The first was to explore
alternatives and expansions to the accepted flow model for player retention and engagement. The
second purpose was to create MOLOCH (zero), a game that exemplifies this exploration and
serves as a commercial pitch-ready demo; ideally, the first commercial project through
Seemingly Pointless.
Over the course of this research effort, several games were developed and released to
embody different areas of Csikszentmihalyi's flow model; these also supplement a self-set five-
year challenge to make and release 100 games. Cumulatively, they function as a basis of
interactivity showcasing various aspects of the flow model. MOLOCH (zero) culminates this
exploration and, rather than directly weave through various flow states, allows for a much wider
range of player states to exist during play.
In addition, my company Seemingly Pointless was founded in California and legal
aspects were completed. With time constraints, MOLOCH (zero) did not reach a few of the
intended final polish aspects, however its current version was selected for Out of Index, an
experimental games festival in South Korea, and Nonplussed Fest, a festival to showcase
emerging artists.

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Csikszentmihalyi's Flow Model

[Excerpted from Csikszentmihalyi, 1997]

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Introduction
This thesis project evolved through the course of a self-set challenge to make 100 games
in five years. While not completely conjoined, the challenge and thesis overlapped in many
instances, most notably through the creation and development of the games You Must be 18 or
Older to Enter, War on X-Mass, Hi Polite Drifter, Innovative Food Company, Bundle Kitt, and
MOLOCH (zero). The goal and contribution of these games is discussed later in the manuscript.

Goals
The initial goals for this thesis project were as follows:
1. Explore alternatives to flow by creating a game, MOLOCH (zero).
2. Create this game using Unity, a 3D engine, with a team, and with the purpose of reaching
a demo ready version by the end of the academic year.
3. Test to learn if an experimental game, such as MOLOCH (zero), is desirable by
submitting to conferences and pitching to publishers.
4. Use this endeavor as a jumping off point for a newly conceived media studio.

Theoretical and Practical Goals
The theoretical and practical goals of this thesis seemed interlockably feasible. While
exploring flow and crafting possible alternative engaging experiences, I would be able to add
games to my works, building toward the 100 game count. MOLOCH (zero) would be the
culmination of my thesis exploration and represent a flagship game to launch the studio.

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What is flow?
While there are
many definitions of flow,
the most common word
pair amongst them is
“energized focus.” Flow is
often equated to “the
zone,” fun, and addiction.
It has also been a staple of
game design philosophy
since at least 2006, when Jenova Chen released flOw (Chaplin, 2009) and discussed the concept
relating to games in his master’s thesis. The belief is that if a game can create flow for a player,
then the game will be fun, and the player will continue interaction with the game for longer
periods.

Why Expand from Flow?
The idea that games must have this attention keeping quality is a well understood one:
why make media that does not retain an audience? However, the concept of flow in games is
loaded in several ways that restrains the potential of interactivity. An overarching issue is how
flow limits mental capacity. Flow state is so engaging that “the player loses track of time and
forgets all external pressures” (Holt, 2000). If a game causes flow, the player will be fully
absorbed in the experience. This all-consuming engagement eliminates deeper thought; it makes
it hard to process much below a surface level understanding, shutting players off from the world.

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But without external pressures and the capacity to process emotional nuance, where do our moral
compasses fit? What happens with critical games that encourage us to more deeply analyze
reality?
In his work, Chen mentions that “fun can be defined as Flow” and recounts how players
equate flow with addiction. This situation reduces the possible experiences for players to a
narrow funnel: games are better with flow, and games with flow are fun and addictive. Besides,
flow, what does fun mean then?

Fun is Dead
Fun is a terrible word. Merriam-Webster defines fun as “what provides amusement or
enjoyment.” It’s a nice concise definition, yet fun is a very loose word. It’s easy to name
activities with which we find fun. Taking a survey of acquaintances and friends, where are a few
activities I’ve been told are fun:
● Coding
● Playing
● Jogging
● Eating
● Watching TV
● Working out
● Sleeping
● Reading
I might agree with each to varying degrees, but these activities have little in common
with each other. The largest common theme is that many wouldn’t be considered work (in the

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occupation sense of the word), and even then, “coding” is more often work than not. Due to this
expanse issue, it is safe to say fun is unruly: it encompasses too much with too little in common
between all activities, listed and fathomable. It is too subjective: one person’s fun is not
another’s. It’s too obscure: how can sleeping be fun when one is not awake to experience fun?
How can working-out be fun when it is so different from sleep? Fun is a poor quality word to
describe a game experience.

Engaging and Compelling
Instead of focusing on “fun,” the core desire of what fun represents in game context are
“engaging” and “compelling.” Games do not need to be fun to retain audiences. They simply
need to be engaging or compelling (and even this depends on the desired outcome of the play
experience).
The difference between using engaging or compelling in lieu of fun as a measure is the
way in which these words eliminate the need for enjoyment but retain an audience’s attention.
Measuring a player’s engagement with a game will be much more useful than trying to gauge
their fun. These two words also validate play experiences distanced from fun. For example, sad
games can be engaging, anxious experiences can be compelling. Flow and fun are indeed two
ways to engage audiences, but perhaps they don’t represent the only potential for games.

What are the Alternatives?
Within Csikszentmihalyi's flow model, there are seven sections beyond flow: apathy,
boredom, relaxation, worry, control, anxiety, and arousal. Within Chen’s research, he notes how
the most common alternatives to flow are relaxation and anxiety. Relaxation (high skill, low

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challenge) is often used in peaceful meditative games. Anxiety (low skill, high challenge) can be
used in horror games.
Ultimately, the flow
model is a tepid framework. One
that is more akin to an adage than
a recipe. Even so, adhering to a
maxim will rule out alternatives,
and there is a lot to be discovered
and used beyond flow.

Practical Goals
As a final year graduate student transitioning into a full time independent artist, it was
imperative that I apply lessons of my final year of graduate school to support my future
endeavors. And with the conclusion of my 100 games challenge rapidly approaching, it was the
opportune time to begin work on my first commercial project. In addition to creating and using
MOLOCH (zero) as a launch title, my experiments with expanding and reshaping the way we
interpret flow were not wholly academic oriented either.
If I could create a game under the guidance of alternative flow principles, it would stand
as a unique experience. Following this train of thought, the resulting game might be
commercially viable. Simultaneously, any attention and feedback the game received would
contribute to validating or negating my theory about flow.

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Isolating the practical goals from the theoretical, the goals of the thesis project were to
create a publisher pitch ready experience, one that would be complete enough to submit to
conferences and conventions, one that could supplement my portfolio with a larger scale game
than I had traditionally released during my 100 games challenge, and create a game that would
bridge from student to studio life.

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The Theoretical Side: Exploring Alternatives to Flow
One of the first steps in exploring alternatives to flow was to define what I mean by
“alternatives.” In this case, experiences that don’t rely on flow, experiences that do not cast flow
as the sole purpose of play, and experiences that critically engage with flow. Alternative, in this
context, means games that have been designed in such a way that flow may be a component, but
more notably, the game weaves in and out of various states, or forgoes flow entirely. The next
step was experimenting with design concepts to develop examples that incorporated game
alternatives.

A Step Up the Ladder
I long believed videogame cutscenes existed as a means to convey information that
games couldn’t afford the player to interact with. Sometimes this was due to a technological
limitation: showing rendered footage that the game couldn’t run. Other times it might be actions
that might come across as clumsy or awkward if the player was to perform them: a character
lighting and smoking a cigar while delivering a monologue. Lastly, I thought cutscenes were a
subpar way to address the design challenges of integrating story and play.
While I still hold some of these beliefs, several friends have noted that they like
cutscenes, as cutscenes provide relief from game action. It struck me bluntly. These cutscenes
provided momentary pause to flow. While the battle of a Japanese Role-Playing Game, JRPG,
can be all-consuming, a subsequent romantic or tragic cutscene would allow the player metal
capacity to engage meaningfully with the content.

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To visualize the use of cutscenes, imagine the challenge level dropping to zero. The
challenge is gone, giving the players a pause. They can once again think critically and deeply
about the narrative of the game.
This was great,
flow-oriented games that
relaxed players with
designed moments of non-
challenge. However, these
experiences also existed as
proof of my belief that
flow is bad for emotional
engagement. Games
needed to back out of flow
to communicate with the players. For the sake of developing my own alternative, I needed game
examples that critically worked within the flow framework to create experiences that subverted
flow; games that used different states to serve artistic purposes, rather than just practical ones.
The two commercial examples include pOnd and Hotline Miami.

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pOnd
pOnd is a short flash game made by a trio of former USC students. The name’s proximity
to flOw, Chen’s working example of flow in games, is a good indication that the game’s embrace
of non-flow is intentional. The game only has one input: the spacebar. It is a relaxation game.
You press space to breathe in, and release to breathe out. Use of only the spacebar is very
intentional. It aids in lowering the game’s challenge to almost zero, allowing the player to be
skilled from the start.
However, there is a
twist. After a number of
scenes, your character arrives
at a pond and is soon
attacked by a kraken. This
tonal shift can be seen in the
above images (pOnd, 2017).
At this point, the play
changes from calmly holding
space to mashing the key. pOnd jumps from relaxation, boredom, or even apathy, to anxiety. The

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whole experience takes place elsewhere on Csikszentmihalyi's flow model. pOnd allows the
player to reflect and then forces them into an anxiety state.

Hotline Miami
On the other hand, Hotline
Miami’s use of flow is one that
bewilders. Each level is a heart-
pounding difficult battle. The player
enters rooms of baddies and kills them
all in brutal ways, while moving up
flights of stories in various buildings. There’s no time to think, as even a slight slip up will result
in player death. You are just as easy to kill as the hordes of enemies in each room.
Once you’ve reached the top floor of a building and killed the final enemy of the level,
the game’s music stops, the game’s
juiciness stops, and an ambience sets
in. It then forces the player to retrace
their way to the ground level front door
of the building. Only once you’ve
exited the premises and entered your
car, does the level end.
This game engages the concept
of flow on a storytelling level. It
doesn’t simply use flow because it’s what we thought good games did. Hotline Miami

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encourages players to mindlessly commit brutal acts of violence, only to back off, and finally
walk them through the gore they caused. Hotline Miami purposefully causes a dissonance. You
weren’t thinking when you were killing, so now you can think about the aftermath.

Definition of a Game
With living examples of games that use alternative states to flow, and with some that
critically use flow, I was ready to create alternative model games. A final element that became
critical in shaping my experiments around flow is my definition of game.
Players must believe a game to have: voluntary participation, rules, a feedback system,
and an end state.
The most critical component of this definition is the inclusion of “believe.” A game does
not require any component; it only needs the player to believe it has all of them. In this way, it’s
easy to manipulate elements of play to push players into different sections of the flow chart. A
game could manipulate a feedback system to convince the player into believing they’re doing
well (or poorly). It could remove or add rules to increase or decrease the challenge. Opening up
the floodgates to alter aspects of a game experience means all of the flow chart is achievable
territory. What it does not mean is that the game’s story will match the state.
As discussed above, flow is fun and it occupies too much mental capacity to allow for
players to concentrate on nuanced conversations or deep emotional elements. Flow would not be
appropriate for a sad game, whereas worry or relaxation might fit well. In addition, a game about
boredom could suffer if the only state in the game is boredom. Weaving in and out of different
states to emphasize story beats is key, but developers struggle even today with achieving flow,
often ending up in with anxiety games by accident.

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As an example, Tumbleseed, a recently released arcade action game, was too hard for
players as revealed in a developer Gamasutra post, so the developers’ fix for the problem was to
make it easier (Wohlwend, 2017). This aligns with Chen’s work, as he signals that players will
accept a bit of difficulty wiggle room but not much. Tumbleseed is meant to be fun, and therefore
it can only be in flow. Adjust the game to fit flow. This led to the quandary of figuring out how
to design games that engage players without losing their attention, even if the game isn’t in flow.

Metafiction
Based on the success of past works, MOLOCH (zero) is a metafictional videogame.
MOLOCH (zero) masquerades as interview software. As you sit in front of your screen and play
the game, you are the interviewee, and you are interviewing over your computer. The game
incorporates you as a character within its world. MOLOCH (zero) doesn’t impose any strict
narrative, your story is your story. It only provides a narrative world for you to inhabit. No
character cutscenes.
The game fits the
player’s mental state.
Leaning on my
definition of games,
this also allows the
game to occasionally
shuffle the feedback
and controls.

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The Practical Side: Making MOLOCH (zero)
MOLOCH (zero) is the result of my dive into flow. It satisfies my requirements for an
alternative-to-flow experience. One where the player has options to exist in different states of the
flowchart without damaging the game’s play or story, and one where the game doesn’t tell the
player what to feel nor what state they should be in.

Setbacks in Production
The creation process had several delays, scope-downs, and adjustments, most of which is
detailed further in the pages below. Ultimately, MOLOCH (zero) is a game I am proud of and am
looking forward to continuing with.

Big Gil and the Wild Man
Originally, the thesis game was Big Gil and the Wild Man, an Appalachian epic in the
vein of Gilgamesh. It encompassed my goals for flow, as the game’s chapters weaved in and out
of flow states, each state picked and crafted into the chapter to enhance the story. However, as I
researched flow in other games, I grew concerned that this was still too strict. The game did
embrace multiple states but it didn’t critically incorporate the model into play as much as I
wanted. The most ominous concern about Big Gil and the Wild Man is that I hadn’t yet
uncovered what the core mechanic would be, nor how it would work.
Taking the basis for Big Gil and the Wild Man as a game that explored alternatives to
flow, contained metafictional elements, and embraced classic works as grounding, my thesis
game was designed and titled MOLOCH (zero).

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Taking Hints from Past Work
Even with no production work yet done, MOLOCH (zero) was more developed than Big
Gil and the Wild Man thanks to past work. A widely successful foray into metafictional games,
You Must be 18 or Older to Enter laid significant groundwork needed for the creation of
MOLOCH (zero).
A horror game about being a kid in the 1990s and looking at porn for the first time, You
Must be 18 or Older to Enter undermines horror genre expectations to create an anxious
experience. Although there is no real “skill” required to play You Must be 18 or Older to Enter,
the game always has a large “Look behind you” button prominently displayed at the bottom of
the screen. The long the player sits still, the larger the button grows. Without any feedback to if
the parents are coming home or not, it’s almost impossible for players to assess how well they
are doing or not: the player lacks a gauge on how well they are doing. This allows You Must be
18 or Older to Enter to be a widely accessible game with the perception of high challenge and
unknown skill.

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Further, the game is metafictional. It moans and beeps and brings up awkward childhood
memories. It thrives with performance pressure, both when played alone and when in public
spaces. These are all game qualities desired in MOLOCH (zero).

Founding Seemingly Pointless
One of the largest setbacks for development was founding Seemingly Pointless, LLC in
California. To pitch MOLOCH (zero) to publishers meant I needed to make the game. To make
the game in Unity to the standards I would be satisfied with, I needed a team. To avoid any legal
issues with contract work later, I needed my team to sign independent contractor agreements
before they touched the game. Before I could have them sign, I needed to found the company
they would sign be working with. Founding the company took months to complete.

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Unity to GameMaker
After the decision to switch from Big Gil and the Wild Man to MOLOCH (zero) was
finalized, the intent was to make MOLOCH (zero) in Unity as a three-dimensional game. This
plan was out of scope in both time and resources. As a developer familiar with GameMaker,
Twine, and, to a lesser degree, Construct 2. I would have to learn Unity over the course of the
year, while also solidifying the framework for the game, completing my 100 games in five years
challenge, and getting the company Seemingly Pointless off the ground.
Knowing that I would not be able to give up the 100 games goal, nor wanting to, and
understanding that the framework was integral for the game just as the company was integral for
post-graduation life, learning Unity stalled at several points.

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Building Back Up
Ultimately, I scoped the design MOLOCH (zero) into a functional GameMakergame.
Adjusting the prototype game down to its bare bones, there was no potential to miss deadlines,
and any extra time could be dedicated to expanding the experience.

Creating MOLOCH (zero)
After the game was scoped down to a critical minimum, my brother and audio
collaborator began creating assets. I collected assets for a month. While the assets came in, I
planned what needed to be done, and tied up loose design ends to marry together the
metafictional components with the flow model framework.
Once enough assets had been collected, I coded the first version in a week, creating only
five levels: Desktop screen, Intuition, Problem Solving, Efficiency, and Obedience. Each of
these levels was designed to encourage one of the flow models zones, while accommodating for
the others. The exact purpose of each level and its effect is discussed under Results of Thesis
Efforts.
Not more than a week after the barebones version of MOLOCH (zero) was developed,
my brother Joe exhibited it at Ohio University Student Research and Creative Activity Expo
where it took home first place in the Media Arts and Studies category. Knowing that the game
and our efforts achieved notice, we continued development of the game. The game’s five levels
turned into fourteen, bugs in the early build were squashed in later versions, more dialogue was
recorded, and additional juiciness and features were added, including an idle luck game on the
desktop screen named Lucky Cup.

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Results of Thesis Efforts
Combining the theoretical and practical together for results, here I will outline and
discuss the games that emerged from exploring various states of flow.
While experimenting with alternative flow states, I created four games besides MOLOCH
(zero). They are Hi Polite Drifter, War on X-Mass, Innovative Food Company, and Bundle Kitt.
Two are attempts to replicate accepted flow theory, and the others are experiments in subverting
flow while creating interesting experiences.

Hi Polite Drifter
A nudge towards a similarly named game, Hi Polite Drifter is a challenge-free pet
simulator. When the game begins, a drifter teleports into the scene. The driver moves around on
their own accord, wandering and picking up trash that the player drops. In addition to creating

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trash, the player can say “Hi Polite Drifter” to which the drifter will respond. This game falls on
the lower half of Csikszentmihalyi's flow model, never providing enough challenge to get the
player to the areas of flow, worry, arousal, anxiety, or control.
A second purpose of Hi Polite Drifter was to practice designing and coding juiciness.
While a mostly passive experience, the whole scene is alive. Sunbeams fade in and out, birds
land and fall asleep, the birds take off if the drifter gets too close, butterflies float about the
scene, small dust crystals appear and dissipate into the sky, the HUD jitters and flickers, even the
trees shed purple leaves. All this work was in preparation for future commercial releases as well
as attempting to increase player retention within a game that does not contain flow.

War on X-Mass
War on X-Mass served several purposes as well. Overlapping with Hi Polite Drifter, the
game is juicy and dynamic. It was practice for designing and building larger scale games as it has
nine levels, taking a total of thirty minutes to play through. In terms of the flow states, War on X-

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Mass is mostly an attempt at relaxation, control, and flow, with two trick levels that push the
player towards anxiety. This game is the most traditional of the bunch, and exists as an exercise
in attempting to craft a traditional flow-centric experience. As stated in previous sections,
creating flow is not easy, nor is it easy to adjust a game’s coded dificulty if you missed the mark.
This game also implements cutscene breaks; short narrative injections between action
scenes. In testing the limits of players’ desirability to jump back into flow and appreciation for
narrative breaks of low pressure, the cutscene narrative is purposefully long, slow, and resembles
bad fanfic. The entirely of the game is an alternative explanation for holiday terms. X-Mass is a
planet located between IX-Mass and XI-Mass, the main character’s name is Rudolf, and so on.
Of the non-MOLOCH (zero) games, this one has the darkest tone, featuring a story about
a planet’s final defense against extraterrestrial bug invaders.

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Innovative Food Company
Innovative Food Company is the longest of the non-MOLOCH (zero) games, consisting
of 60 puzzle levels spread across three different areas. This game was an experiment with flow
for ramping up challenge and testing players’ increasing skill against a linear difficulty curve. To
compensate for flow’s consumption of attention, the game was designed with minimal narrative.
What narrative it does have is given in small bite sized chunks between areas.
While the game could not be considered relaxing or calm, it is joyful and upbeat,
featuring a chickpea CEO navigating through food mazes. Related, when compared with War on
X-Mass, Innovative Food Company retains players for longer, and players remember its story
better.

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Bundle Kitt
The last of the non-MOLOCH (zero) games, Bundle Kitt is a game that bounces between
worry and relaxation with heavy roleplay components. The player controls Bundle Kitt, a small
cat that wears a blanket as he is cold all the time. They journey with Bundle Kitt through sixteen
different home adventures.
Disguising feedback and rules, this game hides each level's goal as they vary from scene
to scene. An innocent version of MOLOCH (zero)’s hidden goals and player manipulation.

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The Design of MOLOCH (zero)
The core game loop of MOLOCH (zero) is similar to a traffic light game. The player is
given three buttons: Stop, Slow, Go. The player must select groups of workers and then assign
them speeds. The faster workers go, the faster they get to their destination. Make workers move
too fast, and they crumple over, becoming casualties. Once the standing workers all reach their
goals, the interviewer assesses the player’s work and moves on to the next text.

Critically Using the Flow Model
MOLOCH (zero) only works when the player can reject flow. Although never stated in-
game, the systems at play within MOLOCH (zero) are designed to encourage bad behavior on the
player’s part: the interviewer tells you to be efficient and work faster, the interface has double-

MOLOCH Cox 27
time labeled green. Rather than saying name, the game refers to the workers by their “identifiers”
and rather than age, it displays their “years of debt.” It is akin to a digital Milgram experiment.
MOLOCH (zero) lets the player decide how they want to act, who they want to be. There
is no wrong answer. If the player becomes absorbed by the task at hand, sucked into flow, they
may not realize the harm they are doing to their workers. Rushing them across the screen to
maintain the fastest speed.
MOLOCH (zero) encourages fluctuating between flow states. It can make the player self-
conscious, questioning their own motives. It is a critique of addicting gamified systems, asking
us to reflect and consider if we really trust a piece of software just because it is not malware.

Levels of MOLOCH (zero):
Sticking with a metafiction experience that casts the player in the role of an interviewee,
the game leads the player through fourteen levels split into six sections, each generally
encouraging one of Csikszentmihalyi's states, but allowing the player to be themselves as the
protagonist. Each of the skills, except Obedience, has three levels. Obedience has six levels.
In MOLOCH (zero) the six distinct zones of play and their encouraged states:
● Desktop - Relaxation
● Skill One: Intuition - Worry, Control, Flow
● Skill Two: Problem Solving - Control, Flow, Arousal
● Bathroom Break - Boredom, Apathy, Relaxation
● Skill Three Efficiency - Worry, Control, Flow, Anxiety
● Skill Four: Obedience - Worry, Control, Anxiety, Boredom, Apathy

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Desktop: The first area the player interacts in game is with a desktop. This is where they learn
that the mouse will be their primary and only method of interaction. The player’s skill level
should ideally be high as they are simply navigating around the screen with a cursor, and there is
no requirement to remain on this screen. Whenever the player is ready, they may open the
interview software.

Intuition: As the first skill that the player is introduced to, it is the easiest, and also the most
confusing. Our interviewer leaves the player on their own, saying “I think you’ll find our system
to be… very intuitive.” By abandoning the player, the player can feel worried; the in-game timer
ticking. Once they figure out the system, and depending on if they begin questioning the game’s
systems, the player may either fall into control or flow.

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Problem Solving: Now into the meat of MOLOCH (zero)’s game, the player may be in any of the
three states around flow. If they don’t care for their workers’ lives, they could be in flow. If they
are struggling with how to treat their workers, they may be in arousal. If they have decided to
walk their workers rather than race them, they may be in control. This section features puzzles of
workers crossing paths. The player must figure out how to time the workers so they pass each
other. If the workers bump into one another, they become casualties. There are no restarts so
Problem Solving often injects a dose of worry or anxiety at the moment of realization.

Bathroom Break: Halfway through MOLOCH (zero) the game offers the player a three minute
bathroom break. This is skippable with the press of a key, but with absolutely all challenge
removed from the situation and with nothing engaging on the screen, this section of the game
could be apathy, boredom, or relaxation.

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Efficiency: This is where MOLOCH (zero) begins to get nasty. Much like Problem Solving,
Efficiency has overlapping paths of workers. Only here, the interviewer is encouraging
efficiency and the puzzles are more complex. Wonderfully, one of the puzzles is unsolvable:
there is no way to solve it without losing at least five workers. This is to both prime the player
for the final skill, as well as to nudge the player towards anxiety.

Obedience: The final skill, Obedience has six levels. Like the other levels, the player must
navigate their workers across the screen to a goal, only now, there is an unavoidable fire in the
way. There is no way to win Obedience without losing all of your workers. The first four levels
are exactly the same: nine workers in a square, walk them through the fire. The last two ramp up
the worker count, but remain the same in spirit. The purpose of making the player run this lap six
times is to break their resolve. Try to push the player towards apathy, it’s the system waring
down the interviewee.

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Reflection and the Future
MOLOCH (zero) is a thirty-minute critical two-dimensional game. Rather than adjust its
own difficulty for players, it uses metafiction to legitimize the player’s experience regardless of
their playstyle or outcome.
It was recently selected for Out of Index, an experimental game conference in South
Korea, alongside it’s spiritual parent game You Must be 18 or Older to Enter. It was also shown
at Nonplussed Fest.
Given limited time to actualize MOLOCH (zero) in the original intended three-
dimensional form, I am extremely happy with the outcome. Another positive is that Seemingly
Pointless is now established in California. The only practical thesis goal not fully accounted for
is publisher pitching. Several have been reached out to, and I am waiting to hear back.
For the theoretical outcomes, the switch from Big Gil and the Wild Man to MOLOCH
(zero) was key. As my understanding of subverting flow evolved, I needed a game that embraced
my current theories and research: how allowing players to still exist within a game, regardless of
which of the eight states they may be in, is more liberating than simply forcing a shift between
states. More so, MOLOCH (zero) is a game that uses flow as a state to be avoided, flipping the
belief that flow is good on its head.

What I Learned
Throughout this thesis, an old truth continued to resurface: don’t take on too much. The
most consistent problem I faced while working on the game aspect of thesis was to the challenge
of scaling back enough. It was fine once I finally stripped the game down to its core. Everything
worked out this time, but I want to be more careful as I move ahead into commercial spaces.

MOLOCH Cox 32
In addition, I learned more about running a studio than I had anticipated. Dealing with
myriad forms, documents, contracts to launch Seemingly Pointless set some expectations and
realities before I graduated, making this transition to commercial studio smoother.

What Comes Next
Including the games listed here, I have completed my goal to make 100 games in five
years. With the challenge over, I will have more time to learn Unity and practice creating in 3D,
eventually leading to the envisioned MOLOCH (zero) that was desired from the beginning. It
will take measured effort to learn Unity and develop new games along the way.
As I move into the commercial space, I will continue pushing the edges of play,
exploring and creating alternative engaging games. In time, and as I push farther into new
methods of engaging users without forcing flow, I will return to Big Gil and the Wild Man.
I am proud of how MOLOCH (zero) has turned out, and am happily surprised by the
early recognition that it is receiving. Through Seemingly Pointless, my brother and I will create
the full version of MOLOCH that the prototype promises.

MOLOCH Cox 33
Works Cited

"TumbleSeed Postmortem." Gamasutra: The Art & Business of Making Games. N.p., n.d. Web.
3 June 2017.
Chaplin, Heather. "Video Game Grad Programs Open Up The Industry." NPR. NPR, 23 Mar.
2009. Web. 30 June 2017.
Chen, Jenova. Flow in Games. Diss. U of Southern California, 2006. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Finding flow the psychology of engagement with everyday life. New
York, NY: Basic , 2008. Print.
"Fun." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 30 June 2017.
"Hotline Miami | Games." Devolver Digital. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2017.
PeanutDre. "POnd." Kongregate. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2017.
Smith, Barry Paul. Flow and the enjoyment of the video games. Diss. U of Alabama, 2006. N.p.:
n.p., n.d. Print.

Abstract (if available)

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