Immersion

I have always preferred and been intrigued in various games due to the ‘journey’ that one embarks on whilst playing different genres of video game. From Frontlines – Fuel of War to The Godfather II and Fight Night 4 to FIFA 2010, these are all types of games which allow the gamer to advance from one mission to another until the mission is complete; move from one level to the next, through to the very last adventure; fighting as an amateur boxer through to a professional championship title fight in ‘career mode’ until you are required to retire due to being ‘virtually’ too old to fight; or managing and playing as a Premier League Football team through a calendar season until one has exhausted the total number of playable seasons.
The immersion is the desire of the gamer to make the virtual space as much of a reality as possible, as if to lead an alternative life through the video game characters. So much so, that I take pride in my achievements of becoming the Heavy Weight Champ or being the top goal scorer in the league. I enjoy the nature of competition just like the next person but due to my lack of sporting ability, I can attempt at being a successful athlete through taking the form of an avatar or character. And just as in real life, I can still fail miserably to perform at the highest level or at any level for that matter, but at least I can wake up the next day without bruises or broken bones.
Furthermore on the topic of an avatar, a friend of mine noticed that my Xbox 360 profile avatar looked nothing like me and took it into his own hands to rectify my transgression. We obviously had varying thoughts regarding this. He is from the school of thought that a gamer’s avatar should be of similar likeness to him or herself in order to create total immersion but I believe irrespective of how one customizes their avatars, it is how one plays a game that determines immersion and that the two worlds are best left separate.