How important is immersion to you?

[Itisnotlogical]

I just got curious because I've got into a thing recently where I can only play in the middle of the night, when the rest of the household is asleep. I find it hard to enjoy the game any other way, especially if it's a well-written, plot-heavy game like a virtual novel. Even the slightest thing can ruin the mood for me for quite a while, like a TV with the volume turned down, behind closed doors, with my headphones on. Am I just a snob or is this a common thing?

 

[Kelthaz]

I find immersion pointless. I don't play games to get lost in some fantasy world. I play games to shoot stuff or jump over stuff. Sometimes I'll push some blocks together.

 

[JarodRussell]

The strange thing is that immersion is much stronger with old games like Super Mario World than with today's ultra realistic high end graphics games.

 

[23skidoo]

I find it hard to get "immersed" in the "view from behind" games that seem to be the norm. First-person perspective is the only way, I find. I also find I can't get immersed in TV-console games the way I can on games on my Mac. Not that I don't enjoy them, but I don't lose myself in the world the same way. The only exception I've found thus far is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, moreso than the others (including the more graphically advanced GTA IV and the related L.A. Noire). Mind you that may have to do with the fact San Andreas is a better "sandbox" experience (GTA IV after a point early in the game keeps tying you down by requiring you to spend time with in-game friends or risk losing access to certain abilities, and L.A. Noire isn't really a sandbox game at all).

Alex

 

[captcalhoun]

my mum has noticed in the past that i've flinched or recoiled from the action on the screen when playing games - mostly when playing the Serious Sams oddly enough. guess that says a lot.

 

[FPAlpha]

About the only game that really pulled me in was Aliens vs Predators 2 when you play the Marine campaign and enter a building in search of something.

Everything is there.. the motion tracker with its characteristic movie sound, the atmosphere, the scripted events that let you freak out (and even occasionally let a burst rip from your auto rifle).. you make it through to the inner areas and then hell breaks loose..

One of the best gaming experiences i ever had but other than that i realize i'm playing a game and that's it. If i'm lucky it's got a well written story or well done action but that's it.

 

[RoJoHen]

I find immersion pointless. I don't play games to get lost in some fantasy world. I play games to shoot stuff or jump over stuff. Sometimes I'll push some blocks together.

Yeah, this is pretty much me. If a game has a great story or great characters, that's wonderful, but it's not why I play.

 

[Reverend]

It entierly depends on the game. Is Bejeweled or Plants Vs Zombies immersive? No, but then they're not supposed to be, nor do they need to be. Is Half-Life 2, Portal of Mass Effect immersive? Absolutely and it's a *vital* component of those particular titles. Just think what they'd be like without all the little touches that sucks you into those worlds and those characters. I mean a Portal without GlaDoS, Ratman or Cave Johnson? It wouldn't even be remotely the same gaming experiance. Little more than a tech demo in the guise of a pretty stale physics puzzle game really.

I think what it really comes down to is a simple question: does the game require the player to become emotionally invested in the outcome of these virtual characters? If the answer is yes then immersion is important. If no, then it's not.

 

[Kelthaz]

I never thought that Half-Life 2 or Portal were immersive. Those games had great stories, but I never felt like I was sucked into those worlds. I don't even know what getting sucked into a fictional world feels like.

 

[Canadave]

Definitely important for me. I play games more for the experience than anything else, so the more I feel like I'm taking control of a character's life or an unfamiliar situation, the better.

 

[Mr Light]

I usually play a TV show on the computer while I play a game, so I guess immersion isn't important at all to me.

 

[Winterwind]

If it's a combat game, like Black Ops, there is no immersion. It's simply a hand/eye contest with a bit of "bragging rights" if I'm playing with/against friends.

If it's an rpg, I want a decent story and some degree of immersion. But never so much that I imagine detailed backgrounds for my character, etc.

 

[Aldo]

The strange thing is that immersion is much stronger with old games like Super Mario World than with today's ultra realistic high end graphics games.

I remember when I first got Super Nintendo. We had a nice big screen tv with a stereo set up. Playing in those underground levels where the sound echoed was awesome. You're right, it really was immersive in a way.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

If it's an rpg, I want a decent story and some degree of immersion. But never so much that I imagine detailed backgrounds for my character, etc.

One of the things I like about modern games is that you tend to have at least a bit of back-story for your character. Like in Deus Ex: Human Revolution (although it is more of a shooter than an RPG), when you go into Adam's apartment and you find all sorts of get-well cards for him, and you see diagrams and pieces on his desk and realize he likes to make clocks, or later in the game when you talk to another character about a controversial police shootout Adam took part in.

Granted, it's rare that a game goes above and beyond like that, but when it does it's just one of those things that you can't help but look at and go "Holy crap, they thought of that".

 

[The Lensman]

I never thought that Half-Life 2 or Portal were immersive. Those games had great stories, but I never felt like I was sucked into those worlds. I don't even know what getting sucked into a fictional world feels like.

Anyone who's been captivated for any length of time by a t.v. show or read a book knows what it's like to be sucked into a fictional world.


As for me, depending on the game.....
When I'm flying in Rise Of Flight, not so much. My main focus is completing the mish.

However when I play L4D2 or Oblivion, then it's very important.

 

[AlphaMan]

That's a tricky question. I find that there are two types of gamers and two types of games. Some people, no matter how much dramatic detail is put into a game, no matter how much a cutscene is meant to move you, there are some gamers who make a concious effort to immerse themselves into te story and there are others that wonder what would happen if you stuck a grenade in the NPC's mouth.

As for me, count me in with the Uncharted, Mass Effects and Skyrims of the gaming universe. Most if te time I love a run and gun shooter, but I find the interactive nature of games is a powerful way to tell a story.

 

[Winterwind]

The best games for immersion for me were Planescape: Torment and the first Fallout. Nothing since has drawn me in the way those did. And Planescape definitely edges out Fallout.

 

[archeryguy1701]

Immersion only really matter to me for RPG's like Fallout or Elder Scrolls. If the game doesn't suck me in, odds are pretty good that I won't make it through. I loved Fallout 3 because of the atmosphere and the way the game worked. On the other hand, I just couldn't get into Fallout:New Vegas or Elder Scrolls IV. The lacked atmosphere and were just boring for me. I could never really get into them. For other games like RTS or FPS, I don't really need immersion. Shooters go by so quickly I don't really need to stay interested very long, though the story is the only reason I finished Bioshock because the rest of the game got boring. Same with some RTS games... If a game drags on long enough, I need the story to be good. If it's a long game, I either need to want to see the ending or be having a lot of fun, otherwise I'll run out of steam.

 

[Kelthaz]

Well, that'd explain why I found Oblivion and Fallout 3 about as enjoyable as watching paint dry. When you lack the immersion genes those games really don't have a lot of appeal. I'm really more of a Baldur's Gate fan which focuses a bit more on the gameplay and story rather than immersion.