Reality vs. Gamer reality

Is it perhaps easier to become immersed in a game that is less like real life? Video games in many senses provide us with an alternate reality. For example, COD players are able to position themselves in a combat situation, feeling as though they are part of the warfare though in reality they are not. The question I pose is, wouldn’t it be a far more difficult process for a soldier to become immersed in such a game, than say, the typical gamer? Being aware of the realities that should exist in the world of the game must pose obstacles, and certainly some structural incoherence. Perhaps in such a case, players would only be able to immerse themselves diegetically, but would not reach the level of ‘intra-diegetic’/’situated immersion’ as that added element of ‘feeling within the game’ may be missing.

Laurie discusses the fact that, in order for players to become immersed in the world of the game, they must overcome the ‘cognitive engagement’ of the gaming interface. Players must in the same way overcome the inaccuracies of reality in the gaming world. I would say that soldiers who are clued up about what actually goes on in warfare would be less willing to accept the environment of a shooter game at face value, regardless of technical attributes and consistencies.

It is also said in Laurie’s thesis that player identification is central to a player’s immersion in a game. I put forward the notion that perhaps player identification is harder to achieve where players are familiar with the real context in which games are placed. Such players are probably more likely to question the actions and motives of their characters.

Maybe video games are more able to immerse players where they function as ‘another world’ that players are able to place themselves in.

What do you think?

- As an extra point of interest, I stumbled across an article that noted that a 2009 study by the Mental Health Advisory Team of the US Army that found that the activity that most helped soldiers cope was video gaming. So, perhaps even soldiers can find an outlet in the 'other world' that games provide.