DiGRA 2026 · Oral
Proceedings ↗ · arXiv ↗ · Talk slides ↗
Why do players persist through severe but learnable difficulty? The Ordeal Pleasure Framework connects fair adversity and growing mastery (Ludic Cultivation), the value of future competence (Aspirational Deferment), and shared stories and cultural memory (Communal Mythopoesis). The comparison below shows how Souls-like play can depart from the flow channel before returning through growing skill; it is a conceptual account, not an empirical player trajectory.
