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"It's akin to a key that unlocks that special door to the game world, making it all the more easier to step through into a game designer's vision."
You put this perfectly. This is exactly what immersion is all about. Great post.
You put this perfectly. This is exactly what immersion is all about. Great post.
deus ex! !
i been getting into that lately. i have indeed missed how great a game it is. all fps need to emulate that formula of choice and consequence.
i been getting into that lately. i have indeed missed how great a game it is. all fps need to emulate that formula of choice and consequence.
that was a great article. With my job and newfound lack of playing time I tend to get carried away and play games compulsively, aiming for completion rather than just enjoyment. Sometimes the greatest feeling is just realizing that you don't need trophies, achievements or battle points, but just kick back, pop in a REALLY good game and savour the flavour.
I don't think you need to apologise to megaStryke. I think that y0jimbo and megaStryke are in full agreement, and the quote y0jimbo refers to in megaStryke's article is taken a little out of context.
megaStryke was referring to the misappropriation of the word "immersion" as fanboy ballache when games such as "A Boy and His Blob", "Okamiden" and "Epic Mickey" are announced on lower-spec hardware, rather than believing that games cannot immerse, which he puts down to greater concerns than graphical prowess, which y0jimbo does too!
megaStryke was referring to the misappropriation of the word "immersion" as fanboy ballache when games such as "A Boy and His Blob", "Okamiden" and "Epic Mickey" are announced on lower-spec hardware, rather than believing that games cannot immerse, which he puts down to greater concerns than graphical prowess, which y0jimbo does too!
"Immersion", like "fun", is one of those words that is going to be defined slightly differently by every gamer. I personally fall on the side of finding more immersion in single-player experiences as well, as the comments of other gamers in chat usually adds a nagging anachronistic feeling to my game experience.
I think that all the well-voiced blogs on this topic are showing that there are a multitude of variables involved in the ever-elusive quest for immersion. What makes a game immersive is more often indicative of the gamer themselves rather than the game.
Excellent write-up!
I think that all the well-voiced blogs on this topic are showing that there are a multitude of variables involved in the ever-elusive quest for immersion. What makes a game immersive is more often indicative of the gamer themselves rather than the game.
Excellent write-up!
I saw more people being immersed into Tetris than into any other game and that is also the reason Lumines is such a fantastic game.
Ico or Shadow of the Colossus aren't very immersive games actually. The world of those games are beautiful and of course you will identify with the main charachters over the course of the game, but there aren't really any moments you will forget you hold a joypad in your hands.
Immersion isn't something, that is created by stimulating your imagination like the Halflife 2 or Dead Rising title screens. Although those help to set the mood, I doubt they will ever make you forget your surroundings.
Ico or Shadow of the Colossus aren't very immersive games actually. The world of those games are beautiful and of course you will identify with the main charachters over the course of the game, but there aren't really any moments you will forget you hold a joypad in your hands.
Immersion isn't something, that is created by stimulating your imagination like the Halflife 2 or Dead Rising title screens. Although those help to set the mood, I doubt they will ever make you forget your surroundings.
I don't disagree. This was the thrust of my article, that video games are a culmination of separate but linked elements that envelop your senses and lead you on a journey for hours on end or just until the bus reaches your stop.
I still stand by what I say, that the concept of "immersion" has been warped into another bullet point on the back of the box, something that can be easily quantified, something that can be measured in absolute terms and compared directly between games. I know I'm not trying to see an issue where one doesn't exist because I've read a few articles on this very issue.
If you haven't actually seen that debate, good for you. We could use more clear-minded people just like you.
I still stand by what I say, that the concept of "immersion" has been warped into another bullet point on the back of the box, something that can be easily quantified, something that can be measured in absolute terms and compared directly between games. I know I'm not trying to see an issue where one doesn't exist because I've read a few articles on this very issue.
If you haven't actually seen that debate, good for you. We could use more clear-minded people just like you.
I have to take megaStryke's side (although both are kind of the same). Immersion definitely exists, but people these days use it all wrong. It's really not a concept you can grasp...you don't turn on Metroid Prime and go "Oh, this game has great immersion" or "This game has terrible immersion."
You might not realize how good the "immersion" is (if immersion is even qualitative) until weeks or months after you stop playing the game.
You might not realize how good the "immersion" is (if immersion is even qualitative) until weeks or months after you stop playing the game.
Your words should be the common sense of the average gamer, not a way of thinking of a small group of gamers.
Landing headshots is great, leading your team to a touchdown is amazing, doing a super combo finis it's sweet but... sometimes enjoy the different feel of a more "boring" game could improve the gamer way of interact with it's console..to see it more than a kill counter or a conecting machine with the next wave of targets
Not few times I heard of people that played Shadow of the Colossus for recomendation and find it boring, or people that don't see anything that could justify high grades for a Zelda, Mario or Metroid game, people that look at games like Portal and find themselves asking "where's the shotgun?there's anything to shoot other than walls? this isn't a Valve's game?"
Gamers that like to call themselves "gamers" should play games like Uncharted and Halo, but also at least try those "boring" ones...
Try The Neverhood, try Flower, try ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Bioshock...anything that make you feel like you're something else doing anything other than aiming for the head.
Landing headshots is great, leading your team to a touchdown is amazing, doing a super combo finis it's sweet but... sometimes enjoy the different feel of a more "boring" game could improve the gamer way of interact with it's console..to see it more than a kill counter or a conecting machine with the next wave of targets
Not few times I heard of people that played Shadow of the Colossus for recomendation and find it boring, or people that don't see anything that could justify high grades for a Zelda, Mario or Metroid game, people that look at games like Portal and find themselves asking "where's the shotgun?there's anything to shoot other than walls? this isn't a Valve's game?"
Gamers that like to call themselves "gamers" should play games like Uncharted and Halo, but also at least try those "boring" ones...
Try The Neverhood, try Flower, try ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Bioshock...anything that make you feel like you're something else doing anything other than aiming for the head.
PS: ok...in Resident Evil you do aim for the read...it was a horrible example...try to get the point please..
Immersion, to me, goes hand to hand with credability! It doesnt matter the genre of the game (although some genre's work better then others) or its theme... the developers just have to play their cards right! Let it be by graphics, gameplay, ambience, sound, color, etc.. all these 'immersion tools' just have to work togheter and make sense! Once this is done right, the other thing you need to have is credability. And what gives credability? Of course, detail! Thats just it: original stuff like revolutionary game engines, inovative gameplay, whaky dialogue, photographic scenery, well thought out roles for the characters... theyre only as good as the amount of detail put into each one! Take for example SOTC, the main character trips over turtles if you run over them, he gets dirtier and dirtier throw out the adventure and in ICO when you slam the wall with your stick it bounces back or even the leaning back and fourth when you almost fall to your death... only a few examples of detail that give credabilitity, and by doing so, help immersion!
Every world invented by developers can provide imersion.. you just got to make the player believe what theyre experiencing! And since the world that we are immersed on is the real on (sorry to break that up to you :P) and its the only one we know, games must have that 'human' feel to it to provide immersion! A masculin overpowered space marine is super fun, but an everyday whashed out human being can be soooooo delightfull!
thanks for 'earing' me out! cheers to the destructoid community ;)
PS: sorry for the spelling, i'm portuguese so...
Every world invented by developers can provide imersion.. you just got to make the player believe what theyre experiencing! And since the world that we are immersed on is the real on (sorry to break that up to you :P) and its the only one we know, games must have that 'human' feel to it to provide immersion! A masculin overpowered space marine is super fun, but an everyday whashed out human being can be soooooo delightfull!
thanks for 'earing' me out! cheers to the destructoid community ;)
PS: sorry for the spelling, i'm portuguese so...
Yeah, I always though "immersion" was the ability to place you in the game world, excluding the outside world (as the word wold imply). My first serious immersion would have been Street Fighter 2 with it's almost zen like gameplay. The only thing to tip the scales was the skill of your opponent. Super mario 3 almost did it with it's sublime gameplay.
Nice article!
HL2 is really one of the most immersive games I've ever played. Every aspect of the game is perfectly balanced. But as stated it doesn't have to be latest technology and realistic graphics etc.
One game that really did it for me recently was canabalt. One button gameplay, simple yet gorgeous graphics, nice soundtrack. One of the best games released this year.
HL2 is really one of the most immersive games I've ever played. Every aspect of the game is perfectly balanced. But as stated it doesn't have to be latest technology and realistic graphics etc.
One game that really did it for me recently was canabalt. One button gameplay, simple yet gorgeous graphics, nice soundtrack. One of the best games released this year.
I just love it when it feels like I've only been playing for half an hour but in reality hours have passed. That's immersion for me.
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