The Immersion Compromise

When you read a fantastic book you usually aren’t constantly being reminded you are looking at fancy splotches on some ground up tree matter. When watching a fantastic movie you usually aren’t thinking about how comfortable your couch is. When playing an immersive game, you shouldn’t have to be reminded of the fact you are not actually in the game. While immersion is both more possible with video games than any other artistic medium, it is often either: overlooked, compromised, used incorrectly or used in a way that ends up having the opposite effect. In this article, I talk about immersion vs. quality of life as well as player discovery and game transparency. Where are the lines? What does it mean for my game? Why is it important to me as a player? Let’s jump in!