Flow, Boredom, Idleness: The Relation Between the Subjective Passage of Time and the Experience of Video Games

This presentation examines how the subjective passage of time relates to the experience of video games, with particular attention to slow play. Drawing on the attentional-gate model, it reviews prior research showing that play typically accelerates perceived time and that this acceleration tends to accompany flow, a state marked by deep concentration, a sense of control, and loss of self-awareness. The author situates this within broader claims by designers and scholars that games are effective at inducing flow, then turns to the less-studied opposite effect: the deceleration of perceived time.

The core empirical contribution comes from a series of studies conducted for the VIRTUALTIMES project. The first two studies, using the game Thumper, found a positive correlation between accelerated time perception and higher flow states. A third study examined boredom in a virtual reality waiting room, finding that boredom produced a deceleration of subjective time, with an effect that was stronger than in an equivalent real-world waiting room. Together these findings support a common view that accelerated time is linked to positive valence such as enjoyment, while slowed time is linked to negative valence such as boredom or impatience.

The presentation then challenges that equation through the lens of "slow games," including titles like Proteus, Euro Truck Simulator 2, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The author argues that the defining experience of slow play is neither boredom nor flow but a third state, idleness, described in prior grounded-theory work as a deceleration of perceived time accompanied by enjoyment rather than impatience. The argument is framed as a contribution to the emerging discourse on slow play, positing idleness as a significant mental state within that mode of play.