A game like Skyrim is so large that it’s possible to be fulfilled as a player without even touching the linear main story (or, in fact, any of the linear sub-stories). After all, in a game like Skyrim or Assassin’s Creed 3, players are free to do their own thing between missions, and complete or ignore sub-quests as they see fit. That brings us to the idea of open world games. They have different endings, so there are essentially 4, 5, 10 different linear experiences within the one book, but the idea of interactivity and immersion breaks down as soon as the player loses the ability to carve his/ her own story within the game. That can be challenging and rewarding, but Choose-your-own-adventure game books are linear experiences. Once again, the game’s conclusion is pre-set, and the player just needs to hit the right triggers to make the right endings happen. On the surface this seems to be enabling interactivity, but is it really? The answer is no. Some games, especially JRPGs, offer multiple endings depending on how well players perform. Without being able to change the destiny of the game in a meaningful way, how can we say a game is “interactive?” Having a plot dictated to us is not interactivity, it’s a linear progression, little different to watching a film or reading a book. From the first moment of Mass Effect 3, the game knows exactly how it will end, even if the player doesn’t. Players might even hit enough right responses that the avatar gets to get hot and sweaty with a non-player character.īut is this really interactivity? To me, this is no more evolved than a simple Choose-your-own-adventure gamebook, and is a spectacular failure when you consider the power of modern game platforms. Inconsequential elements of the plot adjust based on whether you’re playing nice or naughty, honourable or sleazy. Break the game down, though, and it actually does not. This is a game that is nominally an RPG – a genre famed for being highly engaging and interactive – and Mass Effect 3 is often lauded in the press because it has a dynamic plot that adjusts based on the player’s actions. Let’s take a look at Mass Effect 3 as an example. So let’s start with the problems I have with the idea of ‘interactivity’ within games, because the reality is that in the mainstream games industry interactivity is at best an illusion. It would seem that there’s a mutual and unspoken agreement between developer and gamer: “we’ll build an illusion that our games are interactive an immersive, and you, the gamer, will play along.” That unspoken agreement is, to my way of thinking, holding the games industry back from breaking away from cinema and literature to become a distinctive and unique form of entertainment and art. Looking at the current state of the games industry, I would have to say that gamers are not that interested in immersive experiences at all, and the developers of popular games are even less interested in providing players with them. So, when players talk about wanting to be immersed within they game, what they’re talking about is a desire for a rich, interactive experience within a digital space that is interesting enough to engage their cognitive thinking. ![]() ![]() But the idea is that if a video game is a toy box, the toys inside should be many and varied and allow players to lose themselves within them. There’s a limit to how far a game’s developer can take immersion and interactivity, as it is not in a game’s interest to effect an Uncanny Valley response from the player ( the theory that when real-world replicas look too real they effect revulsion amongst human observers). The more interactive an environment is, the deeper the player’s engagement with that game will be. But it would seem on the surface that by giving a player direct control over an avatar in a game that games are the perfect fit for immersive experiences and that’s when the idea of interactivity kicks in. It’s a theory that extends well beyond games – when done well 3D is credited with improving immersion within a film, for instance. The idea of immersion is a relatively simple one it’s to have a deep mental engagement with an object. Immersion and interactivity are two different terms, but in the context of games they are very closely related. If you asked many gamers what attracts them to the hobby, you’ll often hear that it’s because games are ‘immersive’ or ‘interactive.’ And yet, if you look at the popular games in the industry, it is those traits – immersion and interactivity – that are deliberately suppressed by the major developers, and largely without complaint by the community.
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