On Immersion and Engagement in RPG Play
To help explore the topic of what can be meant in general, and what we specifically mean in a given example when we wax eloquent about immersion, I like to separate things into two defined experiences, that of immersion, and that of engagement. Immersion can suffice on its own, but as usual, the more things a word applies to the more ways it can subtly interfere with communication.
Expecting More: Age of Ultron
If you haven’t seen Age of Ultron yet, I am fairly sure that there will be mild spoilers used as examples in this post. If you are like me and prefer to avoid such things, consider yourself forewarned. The more Joss Whedon does, the more I find him to be a valuable rubric for self-evaluation … Continue reading
Choice of Voice~
As discussion cycles through toward gaming techniques again in the YouTube RPG Brigade, it has brought a latent point about the narrative voices in gaming to the fore. This post brings together some ideas from a variety of earlier posts and videos and then tries to take some solid technical steps forward toward a framework … Continue reading
Dice and the Gingerbread Person
Not long ago, an excellent new channel on YouTube called EmergentPlay began posting short, punchy clips pertaining to RPG theory and practice. If you have not taken a look at this channel yet, I cannot recommend it highly enough. The poster is very well-spoken, well-prepared, and game-literate; and the clips are 2-5 minutes of thought-provocation. Last … Continue reading
The Skill of Immersion
I did a lot of gaming this weekend, and combined with the increased traffic in my PBeM as a result of ‘mech combat ending allowing normal communications to resume, I found myself thinking about immersion in character in terms of things players do to prevent it even while being very actively and for the most … Continue reading
Casting Shadows 