Multiplayer game immersion

When you experience something in a group, the members of the group are bound to each other by the experience. What does the former sentence bring to mind? Nothing too felonious I hope. I can’t help thinking of a week two summers ago at a friends summerhouse. After that week, in addition to the new absurd nicknames, everybody knew that the ham in hamburgers must be marinated with whiskey, that the reed is the best place for an ambush when trying to command a rowboat and that golf should not be played with empty soda cans. When we meet the merriment of this notorious voyage is still lively examined.

So, why am I blabbering about senseless holiday merrymaking when I should be talking about multiplayer games? Well, truth to be told, it’s the same group experience. Maybe a notch nerdier, but nonetheless.

When emerging into the imaginary realm of computer games one can rise above ones mundane existence and transform into something extraordinary. This “extraordinary” is magnified if one can bring ones friends, real people, into the same imaginary realm. I have been a dedicated Quaker (no, not the religious kind), played both Counter- and Terrorist, done reconnaissance as a Ghost, met Diablo and had fire-showers in the World of Warcraft. You often indulge into adrenalin filled conversations after a tight game: “I was just about to discharge the bomb when you got me from inside the air vent!” or “You just townported and left me there with a hundred gargoyles!!”. These multiplayer experiences sometimes form into legends and years later you may find yourself still discussing a particular outcome of a game and the “ifs” that lead to victory (or often in my case, to loss).

It is very easy to be submerged into these virtual wolds and the experience can be exhilarating to the utmost. However, the virtual game world is still a separate place, a place with limitations. It lacks realism and familiarity. You can not “Feel your surroundings!” (as a certain Obi-Wan used to say). The immersion is not complete. Well, you might ask me, how would you make the immersion complete Mr? I answer that it will not be complete until your hooked up to the Matrix. But int the meanwhile we can make it more complete. Instead of looking at the virtual world from the real world, bring the the virtual world to the real world. I am not suggesting you should begin LARP:ing, rather you should try Location Based MMOs. The game discussion might start like this:

“When I took the tram to work today, minding my busyness trying to catch some decent gremlin spirits on the way, I got attacked by Shadow Mages! Do you hear me, ATTACKED BY SHADOW MAGES! In a neighborhood controlled be the Architects! I have never seen aggressive Shadow Mages this deep before, it means the barrier to the north has weakened. Anyway, I was lucky to be near your place. Had to suck all your Dominators dry (sorry about that) to get ahead and send them packing.”

When you experience the game in real places and your own familiar surroundings, you connect to the game in a much stronger fashion and it suddenly becomes very immersive. Trust me, I’ve tried it.