What immerses you into a game?

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JayBlue
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What immerses you into a game?

#1 Post by JayBlue »

What immerses you into a game?

Is it the art? The music? The story? The characters?
What are other people's thoughts on this?
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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#2 Post by Mammon »

I can like a game with great art and mediocre writing more than I should, but usually the writing and the characters are the most important part of a story and whether I like it. But in order for good to become great, the art and music need to elevate the scene to greater heights than words alone can do. There are a few games where the music overdid itself and ended up overshadowing the writing (which is actually a good thing?). Coding is usually something that needs to work for me and not much more. I have seen a few games that surprise me with their coding thought, and made me like it for that. But that does require the coding to be an actual part of the story rather than just the tools to deliver it with.
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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#3 Post by gekiganwing »

I tend to *notice* video games and other media due to their art and/or their premise. In other words, I'll get interested in a comic because I like its drawings, or I'll become intrigued about a movie because of its plot summary.
JayBlue wrote:What immerses you into a game?
I ask myself questions such as...

* "Do I care about the characters and their world?" I try to wait at least 30 minutes before I think about this. If I don't become interested in the characters' plight after 45-60 minutes, then I will probably stop playing.

* "Is it too easy or difficult?" I'll be more inclined to forgive a video game which is not too challenging, unless I'm bored. If the difficulty level is frustrating, I will lose interest quickly.

* "Do I like the controls and interface?" I consider whether interaction is intuitive and enjoyable.

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#4 Post by Sonomi »

Characters are most important to me (the writing). I have trouble immersing myself in a game when I cannot connect with [m]any of the characters--even if the premise is rightfully compelling, the art/music is amazing, and the gameplay is innovative. By connecting, I really just mean caring about them in some way.

Following that line of thought, I want to briefly elaborate on what makes me care about a character, and by association the game as a whole: the things he/she does, logical reasonings behind those actions, and a backstory that shows why this person has such reasoning.
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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#5 Post by Zelan »

Sonomi wrote:Characters are most important to me (the writing). I have trouble immersing myself in a game when I cannot connect with [m]any of the characters--even if the premise is rightfully compelling, the art/music is amazing, and the gameplay is innovative. By connecting, I really just mean caring about them in some way.
I'm very much in agreement with this. I once read a book called The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I was able to step back from my personal feelings about the book and appreciate the quality of McCarthy's writing, but at the end of it all, I simply did not care a lick about either of the two characters. I was very glad to finally be able to put that book down.

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#6 Post by Amberbaum »

I'll say it's the right mix between world building and the characterization for me. The first example I can think of that had a really interesting premise + awesome world building + interesting characters + really good pace was "From Far Away" by Kyoko Hikawa. I want to understand the character's motivation - I don't like it if they are just there, like an empty vehicle which only purpose it is to forward the plot or give the MC some motivational speech ( best friend/siblings are often affected by this and thus rendering them as an annoying appendix that should never have been included into the story. I loathe the girly girl best friend in Otome games. The only time I found myself liking a sibling story was in Queen at arms. Nick was never an annoyance and felt like a real person with his own thoughts, wants and needs. It made me happy playing his route and it was satisfying to see their interactions (Marcus/Nick) as a little sister of an older brother.)

That being said. Little things can also play a big part in pulling me into a VN. This may sound strange, but I immediately notice the sound effects that are used. Original sound effects pull me in, especially those who create a proper sound scenery for the matching backdrop. (Ex Astris, Queen at arms, Sword Daughter, Freak-Quency and Beauty and the War did a good job at that.) The sound effects can be minimalistic, as long as it's not something I have heard in every other VN, like this one comedic punching sound http://soundbible.com/177-Boxing-Punches.html .

Then there a little visual things that are nice to look at and enhance the scenery, if rightfully used. (Swaying grass, eyelid movement, little light effects, weather effects, etc.)

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#7 Post by nekobara »

Characters that are more than just paint on cardboard. I don't want paper bags with names and faces on them that a kid in kindergarten sticks on their hands and waves around for a puppet show. No, wait. I take that back. Maybe I do want that. If that kid has enough imagination, then I'd choose that over a character made by a published author who had no opinion of his or her own, no motivation, and no personality whatsoever. If Princess or Prince What's-Their-Name made by Mary Sue or Little Billie has enough character to keep me entertained for at least five minutes longer than Mr. No-Name-Stranger-Main-Character created by a lazy bestselling author who gave up-because that was the duration of the puppet show, five minutes-then that kid needs an award and that author needs a knock on the head.

Now, as for the art, I'm attracted to pretty things. That's right: I am a cliche, shallow nitwit whose eyes get sparkly when she sees something beautiful or worthy of being admired. My definition of what is lovely and what is not may be different than some people's, but I think that for most, it's the same. Well, maybe. I'm no expert on people. But I'm much more likely to download the game in the first place if it has art that attracts me. It pains me to say it, but because of my judgmental ways, I have sometimes looked over what were probably great games because of the art quality.

The music, though, it can complete the transition from the world of reality into the world of whatever game I'm playing if the pieces are chosen wisely. If the background music just fits perfectly into a scene, don't you feel the magic there? You'd be thinking to yourself how crazy it is that it could all flow together so perfectly, or you know, maybe you wouldn't because you'd be too immersed. The music will have sucked you in, my friend, and that's what needs to happen.

And the story-the story is always so important. So, so important. I would have to say that the story is the most important part. I'm not going to rant because then I might get teary-eyed. But yes, the story! The story! The story must be brilliant! But if the other elements are all on the same level as the magnificence that is the beautiful, wonderful story itself, well...then you have magic! Real, true magic. You have a masterpiece worthy of a museum. You will go down in history as the greatest game creator that ever lived, and- That's enough? Yeah. Okay. You're right. I shall stop here before I get too carried away. I sure hope that somewhere in there I answered your question. :)
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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#8 Post by SundownKid »

All of the above?

There's no one thing that will immerse me into the game. It has to be a combination of all of those. They all have to be at least some modicum of good or at least decent.

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#9 Post by 磯七ラスミ »

The complexity in convenient doses. I like when the game start with a simple approach, for example a pair of twins get a present, let's say a pair of special shoes, but they can't use the shoes at same time, so they undertake a quest to get another pair from where their unique pair came. While the adventure, they can swap shoes with their sibling, giving a special power to the wielder (may have each a different one). That's enough to keep me interested. A reasonable learning curve, evolving game mechanics and different ambiences helps a lot, but I'm more a puzzle and crafting fan rather than a collect/farm progression fan.

I want to connect with the characters in story-driven games, but for that, the MC or other important character has to care about their environment and its modification, trying to understand it. Or the plot has to guide the story to points where having a good eye and logic serve the enjoyment.

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#10 Post by indoneko »

The first for me, would be the visual/graphic :
Imagine you're reading a heart breaking tragic story, accompanied by tear inducing mellow music... only to be disrupted by silly graphic that made you laughing instead of crying in catharsis.

The second, would be relatability and believability :
If the character failed to get my sympathy within the first half hour, I'd usually ditch it. If the setting, plot or theme felt like BS, I would also ditch it (unless it's a comedy, where sometimes it becomes a guilty pleasure)

The third, would be balance :
Imagine an RPG; If you make it too easy then it will be boring, and set it too hard will make people lost the will to finish it.
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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#11 Post by Amberbaum »

Oh, before I forgot: I hate it when characters are getting dumbed down ( meaning they are very submissive, don't use their brain and have suddenly lost all common sense. Instincts? "What is that?") so that you can have a plot.

->"What???? Timmy was a prince? I didn't knooow."
*MC gets dragged around by random stranger and doesn't struggle or use any other means that any normal human being would do in this situation*

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#12 Post by SundownKid »

Amberbaum wrote:Oh, before I forgot: I hate it when characters are getting dumbed down ( meaning they are very submissive, don't use their brain and have suddenly lost all common sense. Instincts? "What is that?") so that you can have a plot.
There's a trope name for that, it's called the Idiot Ball. (As in, "that character was holding the Idiot Ball"). When it's for ALL the characters and not just one, it's called an Idiot Plot. It does break immersion, for sure. It usually provokes the reaction "why did they let X happen? They're smarter than that!"

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#13 Post by Amberbaum »

SundownKid wrote:
Amberbaum wrote:Oh, before I forgot: I hate it when characters are getting dumbed down ( meaning they are very submissive, don't use their brain and have suddenly lost all common sense. Instincts? "What is that?") so that you can have a plot.
There's a trope name for that, it's called the Idiot Ball. (As in, "that character was holding the Idiot Ball"). When it's for ALL the characters and not just one, it's called an Idiot Plot. It does break immersion, for sure. It usually provokes the reaction "why did they let X happen? They're smarter than that!"
Well, duh. It became a trope. Figures. I read way to many stories that made heavily use of that.

In the end, I call it lazy writing 101. "Damn, we need to late the demon escape so that we can have a continuation of the plot....hm....Why not let little Timmy do some dumb shit. That's what kids are for in stories after all."

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#14 Post by kenibatz »

Story, primarily. A text-based adventure could easily enchant me just as a 3D open-world game would. :D

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Re: What immerses you into a game?

#15 Post by fmjaye »

Relationships!

Seeing characters who are invested in and like, inextricably a part of their world is what immerses me in a game the most.
On their own, characters aren't really that interesting. How they relate to the people and the world around them is what gets me invested in their stories.
(& I don't mean just romantic relationships. I mean like, friendship, brotherhood, enemy-hood...)
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