What would you consider immersive in games?

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swamplord666

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#1  Edited By swamplord666
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swamplord666

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#2  Edited By swamplord666

I'm doing a paper on immersion in games and I'd like to hear your opinions on immersion in games :)

- How would you define immersion?

- What is it that immerses you in a game?

Between these criteria, which one is more likely to immerse you into the game:

- Gameplay

- Graphics

- Story

- Cinematic sequences

- Something else maybe

- What games were you the most immersed in and why?

Thanks for the answers in advance guys :)

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TheSeductiveMoose

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#3  Edited By TheSeductiveMoose

Atmosphere/Writing/Story

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swamplord666

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#4  Edited By swamplord666

Thanks for the input :)  
Come on everyone! It would really help if you could give me a quick answer to the questions :)

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oatz

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#5  Edited By oatz

I've never, ever felt "immersed" in a video game. That's not what I play them for, either way.

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xMP44x

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#6  Edited By xMP44x

Story, most probably. However, I would also say 'Sound'. It's an aspect many people might not consider for their gaming, but if it has good sound you will be more drawn into the game. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a good example of this. The quality of the sound in the game, particularly on the 'War Tapes' mode is superb, and this tends to draw you more into it. When playing the game I tend to act differently to how I would in other shooters. I'm more tactical and decisive during Bad Company 2 than other games. Like friends I'm constantly trying to provide information to my friends. If I tag a chopper I'll let them know so they can get their launchers readied. If I'm attacking Bravo I'll be requesting covering fire or suggesting they plant at Alpha to draw some heat off me. When playing solo, story absolutely. Grand Theft Auto IV's story had me hooked, and I didn't want to stop playing the game at all.

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swamplord666

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#7  Edited By swamplord666
@oatz: That's totally understandable. people play games for different reasons. Just to probe a bit, Why don't you feel immersed in some games? what do you play games for? Also what type of games do you prefer?  
@xMP44x: That is a good point! Never really thought of sound immersing until i played BFBC2. Thanks for the input :) 
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Rattle618

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#8  Edited By Rattle618

I would say a game is immersive when it sucks you into the world it creates, much like reading a book or pen and paper rpg´s.
I think its a mix of everything, but mostly gameplay and story. I remember when I played Morrowind... it was the first time I experienced a first person rpg and oh boy did it blow my mind into a million pieces, just reading the fucking signs on the roads to find my way...

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Seppli

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#9  Edited By Seppli

When a world is realized in a way, that I can interact with it naturally. The more realistically interactive it is, the more immersive the experience can become.
 
Try playing GTA IV and roleplay a 'real' person. Like driving in a restrained and disciplined manner. Respect traffic lights and such. Don't speed. Walk, don't run. Don't act drastic or violent, unless the situation calls for it.
 
In a sense, if I, the player, can act as I would in real life and the game allows for such behavior, then that's immersion.

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valrog

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#10  Edited By valrog

Atmosphere probably. Sound as well. Storytelling too.

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swamplord666

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#11  Edited By swamplord666
@Rattle618: Although I haven't played morrowind, minecraft gave me the same impression weirdly enough. Starting with nothing and slowly crafting materials, tools then creating a house before the sun sets and getting home as soon as possible before the mob comes out and waiting for daybreak to be able to go outside my house. That first minecraft game i played really put immersion into a whole new perspective and completely made moot the fact that I thought a game's graphics had to be at a certain level before I could get truly immersed. 
@Seppli: Ok cool! thanks :)
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Kjellm87

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#12  Edited By Kjellm87

Gameplay

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KillyDarko

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#13  Edited By KillyDarko

The game's writing, storytelling and atmosphere, definitely.

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Jimbo

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#14  Edited By Jimbo

You might be better off thinking about what breaks immersion, rather than what creates it.  There are things you can do to help a player feel immersed in the first place (Half-Life's ride to work intro for example), but really, immersion is just an absence of things breaking your suspension of disbelief.
 
With regards graphics, you could make a case for better graphics = better immersion (everything else being equal), but I think that consistency is far more important.  The brain will adapt to a low standard of graphics, accepting them as 'real' within your suspended disbelief, just as readily as it will accept the written word when reading a book.  What the brain will struggle to accept (without breaking suspension of disbelief) is visual inconsistency.  Something being of a noticeably lower visual standard than everything else around it can pull you right out of a game in an instant, because your brain rejects it as fitting into the world it's temporarily constructed for itself (It's kinda like that moment when you're dreaming and your brain eventually says "Ok fuck this, I can't convince myself this is real anymore" and wakes you up).  As far as immersion is concerned, I think a universally low standard is preferable to an inconsistent standard.

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FancySoapsMan

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#15  Edited By FancySoapsMan

Difficulty. Having to repeat sections too many times can make a game go from immersive to frustrating.

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Pickingwings

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#16  Edited By Pickingwings

A story when it manages to create a world where I care about everything in it that makes me feel like part of the world and what I do matters. Things like character interactions that makes me think these people could almost be real people.  Stories that are so gripping that it kind of makes me wish that this happened in real life.  That's how I define a game that immerses me.

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swamplord666

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#17  Edited By swamplord666
@Jimbo: That's a really good point... I never thought to look at it that way! I was going to put something along those lines in the paper (like things that are too "game-y" taking you out of the immersion like button mashing) but i didn't think to have a section on breaking immersion. Thanks for that :) 
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velucyraptor

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#18  Edited By velucyraptor
@Rattle618 said:
" ... I remember when I played Morrowind... it was the first time I experienced a first person rpg and oh boy did it blow my mind into a million pieces, just reading the fucking signs on the roads to find my way... "
This. I remember being in Seyda Neen, looking around at all the people, looking out at the road leading out of town, looking at the map, then looking back at the people like... wait, so I can-  are you-  is-  I can go ANYWHERE?
 For the poll I chose D; I know there's something else I can't quite put my finger on, but story certainly seemed the most fitting of the options provided. I'm rather concerningly adept at immersing myself in books so it's easy to assume what potential I would see in a story made interactive/given its own sound &vision
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#19  Edited By MikkaQ

A combination of graphics and gameplay. Story supports immersion to be sure, but if a game is too much story, not enough game, then I get the opposite effect. 

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#20  Edited By Praab_NZ

A game is immersive when it doesn't constantly remind you that you are playing a game: by giving you an inexplicable hud, forcing you to make active decisions, and AI being obviously stupid. Also the better an environment and story reacts to a player the more immersive it will feel too.

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#21  Edited By blueduck

I find a game to be the most immersive when it asks me to waggle around a controller! Maybe even dance in front of the screen? Pulls me in every time.

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#22  Edited By Arbie

Although I find I am usually drawn to the story of a game rather than it's gameplay or graphics it is often events during gameplay that drag me in and keep hold of me. When I make active decisions that can alter the games progress or make changes to the world I'm playing in.

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#23  Edited By Bloodgraiv3

I would consider it the story with the look of the game, like with heavy rain, it was the way the story was presented and the look of the game that made me immersed in it, or with amnesia with just its atmosphere hooked me right in also. 
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#24  Edited By zepp

I'm going to have to go ahead and say story, though, if I could have picked a second, it would have been game play. If there is a story that really draws me into the universe, I'm usually more inclined to "lose" myself in that world. Game play is important though,because like some users have already stated, if something is so difficult and annoying in a game, it's like BINGO! this is a game, and all that immersion stuff goes out the window.

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#25  Edited By Dragon_Fire

-Environment 
 -Atmosphere
-Story
-Graphics (Goes with Environment)
-Game Play

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#26  Edited By HitmanAgent47

Photorealistic graphics, although that's very rare these days.  
 
Great gameplay like mass effect 2 for example is also very immersive.  
 
just cause 2 and obvlivion has very big levels, so that's also immersive.

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#27  Edited By afrocod

I just bought some surround sound headphones and I'm completely blown away by the quality of the audio design on most games.. It's really sucked me right into the world, more than anything else I can remember... Story is the most important thing to me in a game but for it's immersive qualities, I would definitely pick sound design... I think it's highly under-rated...

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#28  Edited By danimal_furry

Story and game play are very close, but I am voting for story being slightly more important. Game play can be draggy and janky, but if the story is excellent people will enjoy the game more. Meanwhile, if there is great game play, people may enjoy playing the game but will not have much attachment to the game beyond completing what ever tasks or skills are involved. But it is fairly obvious that a completely immersive game should have decent quality story and game play. The best recent examples I can think of to support my opinion are Mass Effect 2, Uncharted 2, and Red Dead Redemption. There were some glaring flaws in game play for each of those games, but no one would deny that they are completely amazing. I have gotten lost for hours with those games. The Persona games work the same way, where the actual game play is a bit repetitive, but the story completely draws in the player.

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BBQBram

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#29  Edited By BBQBram

The interweaving of all said elements, but with a focus on immersion instead of mechanical abstractions. There will always be abstractions due to the nature of the medium, but a lot of games have strived to suspend your disbelief and put the sense of location first in game design. These happen to be my favourite games.

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#30  Edited By ThrustMuscle

The answer is all of the above. 

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#31  Edited By Innovacious

Gameplay, Story, Environment. Graphics can help but ive been immersed in 2D games and older 3D games so its not always important. 
 
I cant see how games like heavy rain and god of war are immersive for alot of people, when all of a sudden the game goes HIT THIS BUTTON NOW! im pulled right out of it.

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#32  Edited By Claude

I would have to choose gameplay as well. Recently I bought an Indie game on Xbox Live called Miner Dig Deep, found out about it through StarFoxA's blog and what an interesting game it turned out to be. It's very simple and pleasant to the eye, but the act of digging deeper and upgrading your equipment by gathering resources to help you dig even deeper never gets old. Probably why Minecraft is so popular as you create your own story and graphics are there only to serve the game and the play there of.

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#33  Edited By Hourai

Sound is on top for me, easily. Good sound and music with surround sound is amazing. Setting is another huge one for me. 

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#34  Edited By TheMasterDS

Atmosphere.

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ryanwho

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#35  Edited By ryanwho

Recruiting dudes. I like doing that. Skies of Arcadia, Suikoden, etc. Something very satisfying about personally amassing a giant army to populate your own town/castle/airship.

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#36  Edited By cnlmullen

As a fan of the Silent Hill series, its all about atmosphere for me. I guess that's a combination of graphics and story. I consider a game immersive when I feel like I'm exploring a new and interesting place. I consider Metroid Prime, Half-Life games and Silent Hill games to be great examples of this.

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#37  Edited By Noodlearms

Heavy Atmosphere. STALKER, BioShock, etc.

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deactivated-5f9398c1300c7

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The tone of the game (character design, world, gameplay symbolism, presentation(graphics and music), and story).
 
It's usually the presentation that does the atmosphere; but if a developer can nail down the gameplay to follow the theme of their game's universe, it's an instant win. Mirror's Edge, Braid, Assassin's Creed, and Limbo being great examples.

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the_OFFICIAL_jAPanese_teaBAG

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i would say both the story and gameplay.  because the force unleased had such a great story but the gameplay wasnt that great (not saying they were obsolutely trash) i wouldnt consider it a classic.  i mean the story is so damn epic

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#40  Edited By gabha

It's no one thing really, I've been immersed into games lacking in one or more of these category. 
 
I'll tell you when I'm not likely to be immersed though, it's when developers try to mechanically induce immersion, like with no HUDs for games that could actually use them for example.

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#41  Edited By russcat

 To me immersion is that moment when you almost forget that you're actually playing a game, and become completely lost in the game world you are participating in. The game needs to create an atmosphere which draws me in. It's about that 'willing suspension of disbelief'.
 
One type of game that is often able to invoke this feeling is space sims. Partly I think this is because I haven't ever piloted a space ship (duh), so it is harder for my mind to discard the experience as unrealistic. Elite 2 in particular, with its realistically modelled solar systems, flight physics and dynamic trade economy, was a favourite immersive game of mine in the 90s. In recent years Stalker games have done a great job of building the same kind of living world, and sometimes World of Warcraft has the same effect on me. To a lesser extent Daggerfall, Morrowind and Oblivion (TES series anotherwords) - those games can be a bit to quirky to fully pull you in.

It's hard to put my finger on exactly what evokes this experience. I think it is partly convincing environmental graphics. As others have mentioned, good ambient sound and subtle backing music can do a great job too. AI entities need to behave in a believable manner too, or at least not be so wonky that I immediately get pulled out of the experience (I'm looking at you, TES games). I don't think that being 1st or 3rd person is a big deal for me, I can be immersed in either game type. 

I hope these answers help, good luck with your paper.    

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#42  Edited By Jugglerman
@FancySoapsMan said:
" Difficulty. Having to repeat sections too many times can make a game go from immersive to frustrating. "
True that. When you start seeing the death screen over and over, it just becomes no longer fun at all, and you want to throw the game out of the window as opposed to appreciating an interesting plot development.
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#43  Edited By Trebz

Atmosphere and story. The Darkness and GTAIV are really good at drawing the player into their worlds with a combination of both.

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#44  Edited By captain_clayman

combination of things. 
 
graphics - i dont want shitty textures and fps lag and clipping pulling me out of the world 
gameplay - if i think about the controller/keyboard + mouse all the time while playing.  there comes a time in iimmersive games where the controller just becomes subconcious.
sound - especially voice acting.  dear lord man, it just pulls you way out of the game when you hear a weird accent (heavy rain) 
cinematic scenes - i hate it when there's unskippable scenes (as everyone does) but i also hate it when theres a big flashing icon to "skip cutscene" because it gives me the impression that you dont care if i see this. 
story - i hate shitty stories.  but i love super deep stories with a lot of background in it.  like the codex stuff in mass effect.  it's not in your face but if you really care about the universe you can read all this info and lore about stuff.

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#45  Edited By Vextroid

Atmosphere and Story. Gameplay needes to be nice but not completely broken. 
 
Even though most of the controls in Deadly Premonition sucked ass its still sucked me in with its story and atmoshpere.
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#46  Edited By wormz

The whole design. When everything just clicks together and it looks and sounds like it should. Stalker doesn't have the best graphics, but the color palette, sound design, everything just sucks you in. Then fiction improves that like the awesome little details and love put into races and tech in Mass Effect. Gameplay and a shitty story can break it of course, but those things are what I consider immersive. VVVVVV doesn't have much of a story or graphics, but it completely makes me forget I'm sitting in a chair playing a game, because everything just works perfectly together.

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#47  Edited By willin

For me it's less about the individual concepts and more of how all of those concepts blend and interact with each other.