Immersion in Video Games

BreakABone · 08-23-2009, 05:16 PM

I'm not quite sure how to word this thread, I guess.

I really don't want it to become a Wii vs HD console thread, but sure it will lead towards it.

I'm just curious what creates better immersion in a game.

Is it mood setting music?
Beautiful graphics?
Well constructed gameplay?
The interface?

I'm curious on thoughts because I mean I guess it has always been the gameplay for me, I loathe games that break up the action with long-drawn out cutscenes, but I know some people enjoy it because it brings them more into the world. Music is another thing that could help immerse you, but I guess I should expand that to sound overall.

So what best creates immersion for you.

gekko · 08-23-2009, 05:30 PM

I agree with you on the cut scenes. I played the campaign of COD4 last night (again), and I really think they did a good job with interactive cut scenes. It wasn't gimmicky, like paused and asked you to press a button. I really like when the helicopter crashed and you needed to crawl out to your death, and when Price slides you the pistol and you need to shoot the dudes. Very well done.

BreakABone · 08-23-2009, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gekko

I agree with you on the cut scenes. I played the campaign of COD4 last night (again), and I really think they did a good job with interactive cut scenes. It wasn't gimmicky, like paused and asked you to press a button. I really like when the helicopter crashed and you needed to crawl out to your death, and when Price slides you the pistol and you need to shoot the dudes. Very well done.

Okay that's a good example of how a cutscene can actually work in favor of a game, but many games don't do it like CoD.

If they do, it relies on QTE which just isn't as cool.

Vampyr · 08-23-2009, 05:57 PM

All of them. The interface should be intuitive and easy to learn to the point where you don't really have to think about how you're going to manage or manipulate something in the game.

The visuals and graphics don't need to be realistic, but they need to be pretty and artistic. The music doesn't need to be groundbreaking, but it should set the mood.

And of course the gameplay has to be good, otherwise it doesn't even matter how immersive the rest of the game is, if the gameplay is bad no one will play it.

BreakABone · 08-23-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vampyr

All of them. The interface should be intuitive and easy to learn to the point where you don't really have to think about how you're going to manage or manipulate something in the game.

The visuals and graphics don't need to be realistic, but they need to be pretty and artistic. The music doesn't need to be groundbreaking, but it should set the mood.

And of course the gameplay has to be good, otherwise it doesn't even matter how immersive the rest of the game is, if the gameplay is bad no one will play it.

I might which would you weigh more, I mean sure ideally an awesome game is when the complete package came together, but which is most important to the whole experience.

DeathsHand · 08-23-2009, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vampyr

And of course the gameplay has to be good, otherwise it doesn't even matter how immersive the rest of the game is, if the gameplay is bad no one will play it.

Try to find a Silent Hill fan who ever thought the series had good gameplay...
Hells, I thought SH4 was a step above SH3 despite the fact that it's gameplay took about two big steps back.

I would say the most important thing for me would be a well constructed WORLD...
And I don't necessarily mean it has to have a gigantic area that you can explore willy-nilly, I just mean a world that feels like it's been lived in, has a story behind it, is well designed (artistically and functionally), etc...

I don't mind cutscenes, but finding a way to incorporate them into a gameplay experience (HL2 would be the only example I can think of off the top of my head) certainly doesn't hurt...
And as a side note, I curse whoever came up with QTEs...

Typhoid · 08-23-2009, 06:55 PM

I think it's a combination of storyline and graphics.

I mean, this isn't 92 anymore. You can't really get by on just a good storyline alone anymore.

If a game now has a great storyline, and sub-par graphics - it won't feel amazing, it'll just feel nostalgic.

For some reason (maybe because I'm re-playing it) Final Fantasy 12 really gets me. The game feels massive, the world big - and the story - while not amazing isn't bad. The cutscenes are pretty beautifully well done aswell.

Also the fact that the "main" character isn't really the leader of the group you're in makes it feel a little better to me.

I will say though, CoD4 is by far the best shooter single player campaign I've ever played.

TheGame · 08-24-2009, 03:49 AM

To me the best and most timeless games to me are the ones that try for their own art style opposed to trying to look realistic. It kinda gives more life to the game when it doesn't try to mimic reality. Wind waker for example can be played side by side with any game now, and even seem more polished because it tried for its own art style instead of trying to push too much towards looking realistic.

But.. for me personally.. I'm a sucker for a good storyline. (I know that wasn't one of your options) It doesn't matter how good or bad a game is, if it has a good story line, then I'm very likely to force my way through it regardless of how the gameplay works. I've never been into those shoot em up games where you don't really have any purpose behind your actions other then getting random orders.

This is why I love MGS so much, its a perfect example of good story telling in a video game. Its a great story presented in a manner in which you really can connect with the main characters. It just happens to have awesome graphics and solid gameplay. I'm so sold on the story line alone that the only way the gameplay or interface would have stopped me from beating it is if it was extremely hard and riddled with near impossible parts.

So yeah, to sum it up.. what works best for me is games that are story driven.

magus113 · 08-24-2009, 11:02 AM

The immersion is a big deal that can take a lot into account. Half-Life 2 is a perfect example of what a good achievement in gaming is. The interactive cut scenes that keep the pace constantly changing, the simple yet fun gameplay of an FPS with intuitive puzzles and a simple to use interface and great story molded it all together in to what could be one of the more finer achievements in gaming.

OoT has a very deep plot that is only deepened by all the other games in the franchise, easy to use menu and controls, and simple gameplay that keeps the action coming because while you're not really slashing the sword, you feel aggressive with the button presses because you get into it. And while the cutscenes weren't interactive and there were some pretty big walls of text, it adds to the immersion.

manasecret · 08-24-2009, 12:02 PM

Hmmm... tough question. I think you could write a long essay on such a topic and still not cover everything.

My first stab at it... I think all the different things you can think of that make a game (graphics, sound, story, gameplay, art direction, controls, etc.) can -- if they're good enough -- each individually pull you into a game. Some games do it one way, others do it another way, and yet others do it another way. I think if you can accomplish one aspect extraordinarily well, it will always pull in some class of gamers.

Examples:
Graphics: See FFVII and beyond. I imagine Uncharted fits this mold as well. (Yes, these games do other things well, but remember right at the beginning how much just the graphics alone immediately immerse you into the game.)
Art direction: World of Goo. Again, other things keep you immersed, but the art direction alone immediately immerses you.
Controls: Wii Sports

Other examples?

Maybe these aren't the best examples (except Wii Sports) where a game does just one aspect extraordinarily well that keeps you immersed, since each one has a combination of extraordinary aspects that keep you immersed.

Angrist · 08-25-2009, 10:32 AM

The most important thing for me is gameplay. When I think of the games that immersed me, I realize they all had awesome gameplay.
After that, it would have to be story. Then graphics I guess. And sound plays a role.

Games that immersed me:
Most Zeldas.
Warcraft 2 & 3
Starcraft
World of Warcraft
The Metroid Primes
Golden Eye & Perfect Dark (not so much though)
Aliens vs Predator
Morrowind (I guess)
Myth I & II

Hm, looking at that list, maybe an even bigger factor is atmosphere. A game needs the right mood. Dark and scary like in AvP, or green and mythic as in the Warcrafts. It needs the right lighting, the right dialogue, the right tension.

BreakABone · 09-03-2009, 05:59 PM

I didn't feel like starting a new thread, but found this article, which talks about the myth of a game being in first person making it more immersive.

http://gamasutra.com/news?story=24513

Thespis721 · 09-04-2009, 09:37 AM

Immersion is how well they integrate the gameplay with the visual. Since that is our connection to the game, what our motor skills do and what we see. Running and hitting an invisible wall takes you out of the game, listening to boring dialogue and extended cut scenes takes you out of the game.

Good examples of immersion: Gears of War, CoD4, Zelda games, Mario Galaxy, Grand Theft Auto, Shadow Complex. Games that really use unique ways to keep you IN the game.

Bad examples of immersion: Metal Gear Solid, most Spider-Man games, Tactics games (I love 'em but they stink at it), Assassin's Creed

Angrist · 09-04-2009, 11:12 AM

BaB, I think that guy/gal confuses immersion with identifying with the hero. Identifying might be part of it, but it's not the same as immersion.

But it's a good point. The only Half-Life that immersed me was Episode 2, which had a lot of Alex. So she was the one I started to care for, more than Freeman, who is just a mute nerd in his forties.

Then again, Aliens vs Predator was a very immersing game for me and that didn't have any characters to identify with...

TheGame · 09-04-2009, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thespis721

Good examples of immersion: ...Grand Theft Auto...

Bad examples of immersion: Metal Gear Solid...

I disagree. Cutscenes can work to your advantage in immersion if you're actually into the story that's being told. I'll agree that 'long boring' cutscenes would suck for immersion, but you're already lost if you think the story is boring to begin with.

Games that created the most full believeable worlds to me are RPGs and games like MGS. A good complex, but beliveable story line that drives you to play is a big part of immersion to me.

That's one issue I've had with the GTA series as a whole. While I like the gameplay for the most part, it feels empty in the long run because the story never motivated me enough to stay locked on it, or care that the main character is completing these missions.

You can make a game with below par graphics real in your mind by connecting to the characters, understanding the world, and being motivated enough to see your character through to the end. And you can make a realistic game with very little limitations feel unrealistic because you have no emotional connection to the game or the person you're controlling whatsoever.

That's just my opinion on the subject.