Types of immersion
Classic
Virtual reality HMD
According to
Ernest W. Adams, author and consultant on
game design,
[1] immersion can be separated into three main categories:
Tactical immersion
Tactical immersion is experienced when performing tactile operations that involve skill. Players feel "in the zone" while perfecting actions that result in success.
Strategic immersion
Strategic immersion is more cerebral, and is associated with mental challenge. Chess players experience strategic immersion when choosing a correct solution among a broad array of possibilities.
Narrative immersion
Narrative immersion occurs when players become invested in a story, and is similar to what is experienced while reading a book or watching a movie.
Staffan Björk and Jussi Holopainen, in
Patterns In Game Design,
[2] divide immersion into similar categories, but call them
sensory-motoric immersion,
cognitive immersion and
emotional immersion, respectively. In addition to these, they add a new category:
Spatial immersion
Spatial immersion occurs when a player feels the simulated world is perceptually convincing. The player feels that he or she is really "there" and that a simulated world looks and feels "real".
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