…and is immersion something that designers should strive for?

Of course, your response will vary based upon which definition of ‘Immersion’ you like the best. I do think any definition of immersion should include not just audio-visual masterpieces, but also games like Heroes and Bejeweled that completely stole your attention for 8 hours straight.

Interestingly, when asking around the office, most people when asked to name an immersive game on the spot throw out one of the graphical beauties (Doom 3, WoW, Thief), but when asked what game they were the most thoroughly immersed in, they were often turn-based strategy games (Civilization, Heroes and X-Com). There’s that pesky graphics vs gameplay split again.

Personally, I think that any game needs to have some level of immersion to capture you. That immersion can come from a number of sources: graphics, gameplay, even social sources. Of course, I also think that games can be TOO immersive. Thoughts?

Original comment thread is here.