Foo - Examples of good immersion

Immersion is the primary goal of any game. You play to get away of the real world for a little, catch a break. When in immersion is achieved in a virtual world, you feel like you are actually there. Some examples that amazed me:

Running in Battlefield 3. The character breathes like a real person while running, camera shakes in such a way that it looks just like if you were sprinting. The detail of the surfaces looks so real. Then you suddenly find a jeep and get on it thinking "man, good thing I found a jeep, I was getting tired of running". But you were not really running, you are sitting in a computer... that's immersion.

Raining in Minecraft. Specially using surround sound. You stand inside your house during a rain. Looking out the door, you year the rain. You turn around and now you hear the rain behind you. You turn around again, you hear the rain in front of you... you get out into the rain, it sounds louder now and suddenly you feel cold. You actually feel cold, because rain is falling on you... but you are not really in the rain, you are in front of a computer... that's immersion.

So they have surround sound with 4 bit graphics and call it immersion? I really don't get the attraction to minecraft. The videos of things people do in it are pretty cool, but thinking of the hundreds of hours of play time invested in a game like that...

I found any immersion I was getting by stalking and blowing people away in war games was quickly taking over by annoyance at the tk'r, the 12 year old who won't shut the hell up, or the guy on the other team with the 10:1 kd ratio. Sometimes I miss my PC days when I was actually able to pick my server and when I was good with the mouse/keyboard.

On the other end, I STILL have dreams of areas of World of Warcraft after the hundreds, probably thousands of hours invested in that game. That was immersion--50 hours a week for many many months.

Descent II. Graphics, not so fancy. But edging up to a corner in a mine tunnel, and actually attempting to peek around the side of my monitor for a possible ambush... yeah, that was good. Not to mention the which-way-is-up-here-oh-who-cares aspect of 6 degrees of freedom :D The Descent series was capable of inducing serious motion sickness in some people.

Also, I was seriously sad when I accidentally killed GuideBot the first time (sustained splash damage from lava using the Phoenix Cannon) :( RIP GuideBot :(

That also reminds me of a couple times I was driving my car and thought I heard the INBOUND MISSLE LOCK tones from Descent II. EVADE, EVADE!! :eek: ...oh wait, that's just my windshield wiper :o

Tangentially, GOG has Descent II converted to run on modern Windows, for those who want a cheap blast from the past.

There are other examples that immerse by flashbacks. Anybody who played a decent amount of hours in Halo will probably be ready to blow stuff up by the 45 second mark of the following:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylLAsTNDWU8&feature=related

...and the chants make a great ringtone.

PSS: You *can* mod a Toyota Tacoma into a Halo WartHog... just so you know.

Do you keep a bag of Doublestuff Oreo cookies on the table while you are gaming?

Can't do a steady diet of french fries if you're in training.

Mechwarrior 3, now that was a game to get immersed in! Devils forever!

I have Skyrim in my cart...

I have Skyrim in my cart...

Remember to sleep every few days.

Remember to sleep every few days.

That's another immersive virtual world. Great graphics, and you never know what will happen. :)

I am delaying my skyrim purchase until after finals. I am delaying my skyrim purchase until after finals. I am delaying my skyrim purchase until after finals....

You guys do know that the ultimate immersioln experience is just outside the front door, right?

You guys do know that the ultimate immersioln experience is just outside the front door, right?

My broken and fractured bones, scars, odd pains here and there out of the blue say it's over rated. :lol:

My broken and fractured bones, scars, odd pains here and there out of the blue say it's over rated. :lol:

But I hear the graphics and framerate are excellent. Surround sound too!

But I hear the graphics and framerate are excellent. Surround sound too!

But quality of content depends on the neighborhood IMHO. Like if you live in Detroit, there's no need for 1st person shooter games.

But quality of content depends on the neighborhood IMHO. Like if you live in Detroit, there's no need for 1st person shooter games.

The currency system is also a drag. You wouldn't believe what they make you do to get the Jeep, it can take years.

The currency system is also a drag. You wouldn't believe what they make you do to get the Jeep, it can take years.

And I hear the respawn rate is quite bad.

Outside is soooo old school. My grandpa has stories about playing Outside. I prefer something more modern.

You guys do know that the ultimate immersion experience is just outside the front door, right?


You mean the cars in the parking lot?

The "Outside" game has absolutely amazing female renderings indistinguishable from wetware. And the more time you spend "Outside" the interactive modules use fuzzy logic to make them more and more accessible. Keep at it and the refresh rate gets better too.

We may never see Ruben again:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8Bh5iI2WY

Rube,you're still of age to enlist in the ultimate mortal combat for real life immersion.
No silly cords or frozen screens to hold you back.

We may never see Ruben again:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8Bh5iI2WY

I want...

That would make me get back into gaming.

holy crap. The paintball guns are a nice touch.

I have an environment I love. It's in HD, surround sound, and you really feel part of it. It's called "outside". I rode my bicycle 100 miles in the rain yesterday. It was quite "immersive". It was so immersive that I had to dump the water out of my shoes.

I have an environment I love. It's in HD, surround sound, and you really feel part of it. It's called "outside". I rode my bicycle 100 miles in the rain yesterday. It was quite "immersive". It was so immersive that I had to dump the water out of my shoes.

Wake up Neo.

Wake up Neo.

He's too old to take the red pill now.

I have an environment I love. It's in HD, surround sound, and you really feel part of it. It's called "outside". I rode my bicycle 100 miles in the rain yesterday. It was quite "immersive". It was so immersive that I had to dump the water out of my shoes.

Awww aren't you special. Want a cookie? :lol:

I game occasionally, but by far the most immersion I have ever experienced was in Red Dead Redemption. There's a point where you just are just galloping along on the wide west and look up to the sunset over the mesa and realize that sometimes a video game can be more than just shooting people. It can be beautiful and recreate a setting that doesn't exist anymore.

and then you go hogtie a lady of ill repute and put her on the train tracks, snidley whiplash style. Then you go lasso and break a horse or two

A discussion about video games on a bicycle forum, ironic. I'll be experiencing immersion next Feb when I go mountain biking in Jamaica:
http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp5383%3A%3Enu%3D3275%3E4%3B3%3E733%3EWSNRCG%3D33%3C9%3B559%3C832%3Anu0mrj

http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp53836%3Enu%3D3275%3E4%3B3%3E733%3EWSNRCG%3D33%3C9%3B559%3C%3A32%3Anu0mrj

I have an environment I love. It's in HD, surround sound, and you really feel part of it. It's called "outside". I rode my bicycle 100 miles in the rain yesterday. It was quite "immersive". It was so immersive that I had to dump the water out of my shoes.
Wow, someone sure has you fooled. Outside is so lame and old school.

A discussion about video games on a bicycle forum, ironic. I'll be experiencing immersion next Feb when I go mountain biking in Jamaica:
Jamaica? Those are some amazing graphics! What system is that on?

Looks like he's running Big Marley 2.8.1. Though some people prefer a Graffix upgrade when using Jamaica.

Going to Jamaica just for the mountain biking huh... mhmmm sure, just the mountain biking that's all says Mr 'H' IGH :)

/

My latest immersion projects have been building in OpenSIM. I tried WOW and just simply could not get into it. I don't understand how people get all ate up in there. I also have COD installed but only played it a few times. It's cool and all but it requires dedication. But it's winter now, the nights are long and it's getting too cold to ride. Time to immerse....

Awww aren't you special. Want a cookie? :lol:

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do want a cookie. I also want a Rohloff, and a beer... Damn, I need to start a list.

A discussion about video games on a bicycle forum, ironic. I'll be experiencing immersion next Feb when I go mountain biking in Jamaica:


This is foo, are you lost?

This is foo, are you lost?

I get lost easy. So I put a GPS on my "list". I now have a GPS.

Jamaica? Those are some amazing graphics! What system is that on?

The Jamaican maps came on the Caribbean expansion pack but you need to fill out an age verification form to unlock it. A cannabieless version is on the works, that one would be available free for everyone but will run on different servers.

I get lost easy. So I put a GPS on my "list". I now have a GPS.

Well now you can take it on your 100 mile ride or whatever and feel superior because you think you accomplished something. :lol:

Well now you can take it on your 100 mile ride or whatever and feel superior because you think you accomplished something. :lol:

This place would be fun if it wasn't for all these stupid bike riders!

The appeal of minecraft is that you can do anything. Lets build a tower, oh, going to have to get some stone for that, go mining, oh, this is a nice area, I could turn this into a rollercoaster, oh, I need to find more wood, go chop down trees, hmm, I should replant these so I don't have to wander around so much next time, oh low on food, should go and make a farm, oh, need more torches, going to have to go mining again, oh I was going to build a tower, but now I have enough cobblestone to make a castle, but I prefer the look of stone so I need to cook it and turn the cobble but I need more coal, oh and the new stone slabs look much better...

Graphics? You can change the textures to 256 with bump mapping if your system can handle it... but you're still dealing with big cubes so it doesn't matter what they look like.

This place would be fun if it wasn't for all these stupid bike riders!

Yeah I know that is why I am mostly in FOO, and not in other sub forums.

Well now you can take it on your 100 mile ride or whatever and feel superior because you think you accomplished something. :lol:

I did accomplish something. I rode in a big circle.

I did accomplish something. I rode in a big circle.
Tch, that's why outside sounds so lame. You always have to end up where you started.

Tch, that's why outside sounds so lame. You always have to end up where you started.

Think of it as Capture The Flag :D

*returns from the Fred Meyer base with their FROZEN PIZZAS*

We may never see Ruben again:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8Bh5iI2WY

I'd rather play airsoft.

Viewmasters are still one of my favorite. The newer ones were wimpy cartoons. In the early '50s they were physical models shot with two cameras and gave an incredible amount of immersion.

The appeal of minecraft is that you can do anything. Lets build a tower, oh, going to have to get some stone for that, go mining, oh, this is a nice area, I could turn this into a rollercoaster, oh, I need to find more wood, go chop down trees, hmm, I should replant these so I don't have to wander around so much next time, oh low on food, should go and make a farm, oh, need more torches, going to have to go mining again, oh I was going to build a tower, but now I have enough cobblestone to make a castle, but I prefer the look of stone so I need to cook it and turn the cobble but I need more coal, oh and the new stone slabs look much better...

Graphics? You can change the textures to 256 with bump mapping if your system can handle it... but you're still dealing with big cubes so it doesn't matter what they look like.

Sounds too much like World of Warcraft, I'll need to stay away from it. A digital hamster wheel.

I did accomplish something. I rode in a big circle.

Circles are so last week for outside immersionists, now everyone is in to polygons. :lol:

Minecraft is a great game... it is one big virtual sandbox where you only have to fight things if you choose to.

Getting lost is half the fun and have a few games set up where I just wander around and don't set down any roots.