This thread ruined my immersion in the forums 
Immersion Immersion Immersion...
- Thread starter jabokai
- Start date
Immersion is something that can be used to enhance your experience of the game, it is not the game itself. If it decreases the experience of the game by for example overriding sound design decisions or otherwise, then it has failed in its purpose.
First, a song to keep the nerves in check. I don't like Christmas either, except getting for family together and Christmas Puddings (though I eat those all through winter anyway). Whenever I hear the phrase 'immersion', the image I get in my head is of someone drowning kittens in a sack. It's not a word I enjoy.
For me personally, it's not so much one view over another. I found Dark Souls (3rd person) much more immersive than a lot of crappy FPS games, though tend to prefer FPS in general. What really does kill my immersion (in action games) is view-switching. Going from FPS to god-view, or even from FPS into a menu-screen is a really jarring sensation. When playing games, I tend to avoid inventory screens as much as possible for that reason. Sometimes I'll stop playing a game altogether when I find the UI is breaking up the gameplay too often.
That's why I've been asking for fully diegetic gameplay pretty much since the Kickstarter began, and am so glad that Frontier seemed to be already of the same mindset. No loading screens, all UI in-cockpit or emanating from tech attached to the player. Perfect (subjectively speaking).
I guess the real question for me is to what extent it's important for Frontier to present their game with a clear and focused aesthetic. It reminds me of auteur theory from cinema, which suggests that there should be one person whose vision is presented (the producer in old Hollywood, and later on the director) despite movies being team-productions. In a roundabout way, this theory could be used to examine the anxiety some people have over the 'my little pony decal' and 'rainbow-lasers' vanity items. The line that always comes up is that Frontier won't sell anything that doesn't fit into their vision of the game, with the implication being that they retain authorial control.
I think that Frontier (and more specifically David Braben) also need to retain authorial control when it comes to immersion. Devs and players both should be able to petition the lord with prayer, but I'm not a big fan of fractured vision. Frontier should present the game as their vision, and it's up to players to decide whether they share enough of that vision that they want to play. There shouldn't be a Freelancer mode for people who loved that game.
Beyond that, modding support would be awesome, to allow people to create alternate visions and run them on private servers.
For me personally, it's not so much one view over another. I found Dark Souls (3rd person) much more immersive than a lot of crappy FPS games, though tend to prefer FPS in general. What really does kill my immersion (in action games) is view-switching. Going from FPS to god-view, or even from FPS into a menu-screen is a really jarring sensation. When playing games, I tend to avoid inventory screens as much as possible for that reason. Sometimes I'll stop playing a game altogether when I find the UI is breaking up the gameplay too often.
That's why I've been asking for fully diegetic gameplay pretty much since the Kickstarter began, and am so glad that Frontier seemed to be already of the same mindset. No loading screens, all UI in-cockpit or emanating from tech attached to the player. Perfect (subjectively speaking).
I guess the real question for me is to what extent it's important for Frontier to present their game with a clear and focused aesthetic. It reminds me of auteur theory from cinema, which suggests that there should be one person whose vision is presented (the producer in old Hollywood, and later on the director) despite movies being team-productions. In a roundabout way, this theory could be used to examine the anxiety some people have over the 'my little pony decal' and 'rainbow-lasers' vanity items. The line that always comes up is that Frontier won't sell anything that doesn't fit into their vision of the game, with the implication being that they retain authorial control.
I think that Frontier (and more specifically David Braben) also need to retain authorial control when it comes to immersion. Devs and players both should be able to petition the lord with prayer, but I'm not a big fan of fractured vision. Frontier should present the game as their vision, and it's up to players to decide whether they share enough of that vision that they want to play. There shouldn't be a Freelancer mode for people who loved that game.
Beyond that, modding support would be awesome, to allow people to create alternate visions and run them on private servers.
Wot you like being outside in the cold then
Must be my viking blood i prefer -30 celsius over +30 celsius.
Yes, I can see how that would be the case... it could often boil down to very small degrees of difference rather than black/white scenarios.
Yes, agreed. And that ties in with my point - don't answer the question "why do you like feature X" with "because it's immersive" and likewise, don't answer "why don't you like feature X" with "because it breaks immersion"... it doesn't give any real information.
I'll go with Stiff Little Finger's White Christmas!
Mighty encouraging that people are already feeling the power of visuals, sound and handling of the game.
The ultimate compliment for Elite Dangerous will be for gamers to feel that vibe that the original game gave them.
Don't know about anyone else but I have that Elite feeling going on around me
The ultimate compliment for Elite Dangerous will be for gamers to feel that vibe that the original game gave them.
Don't know about anyone else but I have that Elite feeling going on around me
To me, immersion is something that happens during a game when I am totally focused on what is going on. Like approaching a space station in the original Elite and praying they don't launch an Anaconda down my throat just seconds before docking. It doesn't have anything to do with the graphics or how realistic the imagery is. It is the brief moments that, later, when I think back on them, seem as real as any true life memory I have; as if I had really been there.
A good example would be a game for the Amiga called Infestations by Psygnosis. You have to master the use of a special high-tech enviro suit while exploring a dead colony base and destroying alien eggs before they hatch. Only a few of the rooms have breathable air. When I think back on that game, I remember running down the hallways, desperately searching for a room with air as my suit's O2 levels where running out. Finding a chamber and scanning the atmosphere, I sealed the entrance, flipped open my helmet and cut the power to my suit to conserve the batteries. I remember this moment as if I actually lived it. The relief of not suffocating to death, which was quickly replaced by a feeling of doom as I realized I was trapped in there with no way to refill my air tanks.
So I believe immersion is based on our individual feelings we have while playing, and not on any technical details of the game code itself. It's the memories I walk away with that makes me feel like I just had an immersive experience.
A good example would be a game for the Amiga called Infestations by Psygnosis. You have to master the use of a special high-tech enviro suit while exploring a dead colony base and destroying alien eggs before they hatch. Only a few of the rooms have breathable air. When I think back on that game, I remember running down the hallways, desperately searching for a room with air as my suit's O2 levels where running out. Finding a chamber and scanning the atmosphere, I sealed the entrance, flipped open my helmet and cut the power to my suit to conserve the batteries. I remember this moment as if I actually lived it. The relief of not suffocating to death, which was quickly replaced by a feeling of doom as I realized I was trapped in there with no way to refill my air tanks.
So I believe immersion is based on our individual feelings we have while playing, and not on any technical details of the game code itself. It's the memories I walk away with that makes me feel like I just had an immersive experience.
Yaffle
Volunteer Moderator
^^^This. Oh, and "peril".
For me I would say the game is "immersive" if, for however brief amount of time, I forget that I am playing a game and feel like I am in that cockpit flying that space ship, or driving that car etc.
Just having a christmas rant.
I go out too much, my hangover tells me this is so.
Sorry to go OT but this right here is why this community is great. People can actually take a swipe and have it handed back to them and it's all "Good day to you sir
" rather than being the beginnings of a vitriol explosion.It's like fencing vs cage fighting.
The essential thing is not to be overwhelmed by the immersion