This weekend I had a conversation about having indirect experiences through different media forms: films, books and games. But there’s something about the latter form that makes the whole process much more immersive compared to the others.
Games are such a powerful tool for simulations, and that really engages and bind us to the experience of playing. I think this is the case due to a mix of different factors, among them, I believe that the power of actively engaging with it and the sense of agency that comes with playing it are key aspects that differentiates this form of media and, to me personally, is definitely what makes it special.
There are a couple specific examples in my mind which I want to share here, you can take them as game recommendations and feel free to check them out if you haven’t already!
4D Golf
This game is not a simple golf game. It simulates what four-dimension, a notion that is so hard to grasp and imagine, is like, which is what makes it so special and unique. Aside from that, you not only visualize what playing golf in 4D looks like, but you can experience, interact and almost feel what it’s like to be in a 4D space.
The player can take their own time to experiment with it and get used to this different dynamic, and slowly get the hang of how 4D works.
In my opinion, having this particular experience is only possible because it’s in a game format, crucially because it allows for this sense of agency and interaction with the media, that couldn’t possibly be the case if it were a movie, for example. If it were a book, one could argue that yes, the reader could take their own time to assimilate and imagine what this all look like, but would it really be the same experience? I certainly don’t think I could ever imagine what the world would look like in 4D not even in my wildest dreams.
Hyperbolica
From the same creator of 4D Golf, Hyperbolica is also a physical simulation, except it simulates what the world would look like if it had non-Euclidian geometry.
This game contains a lot of puzzles, the dynamic environment in itself being probably the main one of them, it’s definitely a mind-bending experience.
Similarly to 4D, it gives the player the opportunity to experience and visualize an alternative reality where the geometry is bizarrely unique, and does not exist anywhere else.
Outer Wilds
This one is not so cursed as the ones above, and is probably my all-time favorite game. In this game, you are an alien who explores the solar system. It simulates how it’s like to be in space: the player gets to experiment around with gravity and speed, which can be pretty confusing and difficult to navigate at first.
The game also features beautiful animation and visuals, and I’d say it’s ideal for players who like to explore around.
References
A playlist explaining non-euclidean geometry and the making of the game ‘Hyperbolica’
I agree that it’s super interesting how games let you explore realities that could never exist in the real world (or wouldn’t be very likely). 4D golf looks super cool, I’ll have to check that out. In my experience, I tend to get completely lost in games and they start to invade my thoughts and dreams as well, like when I played Red Dead Redemption 2 for two weeks instead of going to class, and every time I went to sleep I would dream about being a cowboy. Even now, years after having finished it, I still find myself placing real-life historical events in the Red Dead timeline. Have you ever played a game that completely took over your life like that and the two realities kind of started to merge? I’d think Outer Wilds would also be good at doing that.
Yes! Have you ever played Life is Strange? In case you never heard of it, you play as a character who has this rewind time superpower, and is supposed to either save the world or her best friend. I remember the time I was playing it and sometimes when things happened to me in real life I’d wish I could rewind time to do something different. Although I played the game over 5 years ago, whenever I hear any song from the soundtrack it still makes me feel so touched and emotional. To me, this is one of the main things that make games so special!
I agree that experiences in video games can indeed induce immersion, but it can also be separated in two common types of immersion: 1) ‘immersion of transportation’: based on the created world in the video game with its “structure of rules and narrative structure”, and 2) ‘immersion of absorption’: based on the engaging activity of the player and how to play it (Calleja, 2011; Ferreira & Falcao, 2016). It is through these types of immersions that players are able to “interactively explore, experience, and co-create narratives” as though the fictitious world of a video game “has become real” (Freyermuth, 2016). The fun thing is that video games are thus also allowed to take some liberties regarding realism. If it makes sense in the context (/structure)of the world, then it will not ruin the immersion of players, which is why your examples can maintain immersion in players.
Another video game that uses game mechanics, audio and visuals to induce immersion in a beautiful way (in my opinion) is ‘GRIS’ by Nómada Studio.
I’m sorry if this sounds/reads really pretentious. I wrote an essay about immersion in video games a while back, otherwise I wouldn’t have known any of this haha.
(Here are the references, if you’re interested in them.)
– Calleja, Gordon. (2011). In-game : from immersion to incorporation. MIT Press.
– Ferreira, E., & Falcao, T. (2016). Crossing the borders of the magic circle: immersion, attention, and videogames/Atravessando as bordas do circulo magico: imersao, atencao e videogames. Comunicação, Mídia e Consumo, 13(36), 70-. https://doi.org/10.18568/1983-7070.133673-93.
– Freyermuth, Gundolf S. “From Analog to Digital Image Space: Toward a Historical Theory of Immersion.” In Immersion in the Visual Arts and Media, 9:164–203. United States: BRILL, 2016.