What Makes a Great Game: Immersion

In this series I hope to share with you the aspects that make a great game. Each article will be about a trait that I find highly important in game design and game playing.

Immersion

Like many other forms of entertainment, games can be considered an art form (this is debatable but we will work with that assumption for now). They can tell a story. Unlike most other forms of entertainment, the story can largely be dependent on the player/viewer. While movies and TV shows  will occasionally leave events open to interpretation,  games are actually made and thrive on the interaction with the player. The point of view is not from the character in the show, and not from the director or writer; but instead the point of view is from the player herself. Chances are if you played a game, and it felt like you were just going through the motions of what the game creator made... it wasn't a good game. What makes a game art is immersion; how easy is it to forget that you are playing a game and instead are acting the role in the game itself?

To my fellow book readers out there, it should come as no surprise that immersion is a trait that I value so highly. One does not read through A Song of Ice and Fire  series without enjoying the feeling of being part of a rich and complex world. You slowly forget that you are laying in bed and reading a book series. Instead you are living vicariously through your favorite characters: celebrating their triumphs, feeling the pain of their defeat, and hoping that they make it until the end. 

Even happy endings feel a little
depressing, because it is over.

No other words in the English language have metaphorically ripped the heart out from a reader. When we read those words, the illusion is over. The immersion is gone and we are back in our own little lives. It is a "dropping" feeling. Time catches up to you and you realize what you thought was maybe an hour was really six. Immersion always seems strongest while reading. Maybe it is how much time we invest in them, or how personal of an experience it is; but immersion always seems strongest while reading.

Immersion, however, is not unique to reading; which brings us back to why immersion is great for games. If we can get to the point that we partially forget that we are playing a game, and instead feel like we are a pirate sailing the 7 seas for treasure, building a rail-road, or even running an electric company ; the game has succeeded on a very fundamental level.

Losing yourself in the game is the bread and butter of roleplaying games, which the players take the role of a particular hero (often a term used very loosely) in a different world. Just like reading, the player can really connect to the world and feel invested in it. 

Immersion has to come naturally out of a game: it isn't something you can really force. There are several things that can take a player "out" of feeling immersed. Most of these are things good games try to do anyways.

1. Don't have overly complicated rules: Nothing takes people out of a game more than having to stop and double check the rule book again, or worse: online for an FAQ. Having robust rules that allow for different strategies is good, but remember there is such thing as "too much game."
2. Have a clear role for the players: The game should be clear on what role it has the players in and keep with it. If the game has them being a hero going against the forces of darkness, it is a little disjointed having them do things as the forces of darkness. 
3. Make the role for the players entertaining: Alright so very few of us have probably thought that we wanted to be the president of an electrical company when we grow up, but if that is going to be the focus of your game, make sure that the game is also fun. If you make a game that makes people really feel like they are on a crowed train, waiting for the ride to be over, then I suppose you technically succeed in making it immersive... just not sure if you succeeded in making a game.

Artwork, theme, mechanics all have to come together for a game to be truly immersive. It can not be forced. If it is done correctly, the players probably won't even be able to say why they like the game, they will just say that they do. It is one of the most subtle and overlooked attributes on what makes a great game.

Inside the Mind of a DM: Redux

My friends after a long sabbatical it is time I start putting pen to paper again and share with you all what goes on in my mind while I'm DMing. I can of course only speak from my own experience but I hope that my self-discoveries and observations will give you an idea of how to run your game, or why DMs do what they do. While this does focus on gaming obviously I hope there will be tidbits in here that my non-gamer friends (I have a few...) can pick up and enjoy.

1: Never Over-Plan.

I've learned this one the hardway, and this is the rule that allows me to keep being a DM when my life is being pulled in several different directions. Plan as a DM will work great, up until the point you sit down at the table to play. Forcing the players into a direction will come off as forced. They will frequently go in directions that you don't expect. Of course you should have an idea of what your players will probably do (we'll cover this later,) but don't depend on being right.

Last time we played my players discovered an NPC they had met was actually an old enemy in disguise. Not knowing who the real enemy is that attacked them, they started getting ready to go off and fight him. Cut to last night where they remembered there was strong evidance to support a different foe. had I spent all my time preparing for that fight I would have wasted a LOT of time. I simply got some generalizations down was ready to make up the rest on the spot. Since it didn't happen I didn't lose much time and was able to "role" with the punches that much easier.

2: Know your Players.

In an about face to my previous observation, you have to know about what motivates your players. Why do they game? Most of mine are really into exploring the world I set before them as a whole, some of them are really looking to advance their own characters identities, some are trying to beat the challenges I put out. Knowing what they are after will give you a better idea how they will react and what twists they might throw at you... and what twists you should throw right back. If your player is suspicious in nature (and most of them are) give them some things to be suspicious about. 

3:The DM is not the only one creating a story.

If they start investigating areas that you didn't think of, don't just tell them "no, nothing is to be found there" see if you can work it in. See what is important to them and reward them for thinking of it. It won't always work out and you should maintain some level of order and reason ("No you can not use mildly reflective rocks as an impromptu mirror maze... at least not effectively")

Our dear valet Mr. Barker, a PC who was the highest non-noble in the Beryl household, discovered some information that there were traitors in his employment  I was expecting him to interrogate them and find out where their alleys were meeting . I did NOT expect him to start looking for a common reference on how they got the jobs. I thought it made sense so BOOM, new NPC created. he went even further and started looking into any more people that NPC referenced. While I could have created a whole preexisting web of traitors and red herrings before hand,  that would have taken much more time and effort than just seeing what he used to search for them, decide how effective it would be, and reward the player for doing that.

4: The Players are not the only ones with characters.

Just as you know your players, you should know your NPCs. Do not think of them as tools to create the plot you want, and instead think of them as characters with their own goals and motives. If they are smart don't make them stupid just so players can solve their problems. If they are calm don't make them angry just to make them fight your players. Treat each one with the effort you treat your own PC. Make sure they are not influenced by things they wouldn't realistically know (don't metagame them... DMs need to avoid that too) This is really meant for important and major NPCs, but if you are able to whip out tidbits of personalty and depth in all of your NPCs, it might surprise you which ones the players bond with.