File

Virtual Worlds in Video Games and the Concept of Immersion
Richard Williams
OCVC Banbury
Chapter 1 - Introduction
During the past forty years video games have become a $93 billion dollar industry1. One concept in
which they are said to have an advantage over traditional media is that of ‘immersion’. The word is
used often; a game is said to be ‘immersive’, or players describe feeling ‘immersed’ in the game
world, and reviews of games have always suggested it a goal of developers irrespective of the
technological capabilities at the time. A brief analysis of contemporary games reviews shows this;
phrases such as ‘immersive’, and ‘realism’ are used, and the sense of ‘being there’ in a ‘real city’ or
place are common themes:
For example Edge magazine said of Grand Theft Auto V in 2013:
“[It] captures the sense of a place and animates it into somewhere that almost feels alive.
[…] It’s a living, breathing city.”2
Similarly, an online review of Grand Theft Auto IV from 2008 said:
“It’s hard to not think that this is a real breathing city.”3
This pattern can be seen repeating. Of Grand Theft Auto III from 2001 a player’s online Amazon
review said:
“GTA III has a living, breathing city.”4
And of the original Grand Theft Auto game from 1997, the magazine “PC & Tech Authority” said the
player had:
“a living, breathing contemporary city as your playground […] like you were driving around
a real metropolis”5
These games were therefore having a similar effect on players regardless of the level of sophistication
of the images and sounds. Figures 1 to 4 show how the graphics in the Grand Theft Auto series of
games has progressed towards a relatively more ‘realistic’ style; despite this, players reported feeling
‘immersed’ even in the earliest game:
1
Figure 1 - Grand Theft Auto (1997)
Figure 2 - Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
2
Figure 3 - Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
Figure 4 - Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
This can also be seen with even older games; however crude the graphics may seem to today’s
players, many were hailed as offering a sense of ‘realism’ and ‘immersion’. Of the 1988 ZX
Spectrum game Driller ACE magazine said:
3
“Hard to believe you're only looking at a CPC display, what with the realism this one wrings
out of it.” 6
Figure 5 - Driller (1988)
And of Turbo Esprit in 1986, Crash magazine said it had:
“smooth and realistic three-dimensional effects. Turbo Esprit gives you a good feel of what
it’s like to manoeuvre a sports car around the streets of cities.” 7
Such a statement may seem strange when the graphics and gameplay are viewed from today’s
perspective, but clearly at the time this was the effect felt by many players.
4
Figure 6 - Turbo Esprit (1986)
Earlier still, Ant Attack from 1983 was one of the first games to attempt to create a three dimensional
world for the player to inhabit.
Figure 7 - Ant Attack
5
The game was described as “horrifyingly lifelike” 8, and the ants were said to move in “a most
realistic manner”9 Crash magazine’s review said “You can walk or run round the massive city” 10 and
another review highlighted the sense of presence saying “The first wander around the baron streets of
the city is awe-inspiring”11. Yet viewing the images today it is difficult to imagine how they could
have been so described.
The evidence suggests therefore games that appear crude to us today were able to illicit a sense of
‘place’, or ‘immersion’.
This paper attempts to understand what immersion is, how it can be achieved, and how this may have
changed with the development of technology.
It begins with a brief summary of the history of video games, to examine some of the technological
developments and provide a base understanding for the remainder of the paper.
It then attempts to understand techniques for creating immersion, with reference to example primary
texts characteristic of the different generations of video games.
It should be noted that there are many different types and forms of video games, which can make
comparisons and analysis difficult. To aid the discussion and comparisons, the primary texts chosen
are all attempts to recreate a three dimensional ‘world’ for the player to play in; usually, but not
always, a city.
It should also be noted that the terms ‘two dimensions’ and ‘three dimensions’ are used throughout.
In this instance ‘three dimensions’ does not mean the use of stereoscopic glasses or similar
technologies, but the creation of a three dimensional representation of a game world on a two
dimensional display.
Finally, for simplicity, the term ‘machines’ is used to describe the various devices on which games are
played.
6
Chapter 2 - A Brief History of Video Games and the Development of the Technology
Before investigating the concept of immersion it is instructive to review the history of video games, in
particular focussing on the technological development. Perhaps more than any other medium the
level of technology available for video games has a significant influence on the finished product.
As a relatively new area of study there are variations in the definitions of the main eras of video
games. A literature review does suggest some consensus however. This tends towards using the
introduction of home consoles as the basis for the definitions, as these generally share similar
technologies when released at similar times by competing manufacturers.
First Generation (Circa 1971 to 1977) and Second Generation (Circa 1977 to 1984)
It is generally accepted that the first definable ‘era’ of video games, with machines that could be
plugged in to a television, started in the early 1970s. The First Generation machines had games that
were built-in; there was often no way to load a different game. The Second Generation of machines
had the ability to buy game cartridges that could be plugged into the console, and also introduced
limited colour. The games themselves were relatively simple by today’s standards, often being
variations on Atari’s ‘bat and ball’ game Pong 12. Examples of First Generation machines are the
Magnavox Odyssey from 1972, early Atari consoles, and the Telstar series of consoles from Coleco13.
Figure 8 - Magnavox Odyssey (1972)
7
Figure 9 - Atari/Sears Pong (1976)
Figure 10 - Coleco Telstar (1976)
8
Figure 11 - 'Pong' game on Coleco Telstar
Second Generation machines included the Atari 2600 of 1977, and the Intellivision, released by
Mattel in 1979:
Figure 12 - Atari 2600 (1977)
9
Figure 13 - Mattel Intellivision (1979)
It is important to note that games during the First and Second Generations era displayed extremely
abstract representations of real-life objects. The earliest machines were not capable of displaying
anything more sophisticated than a small square for a ball for example, or a line to represent a bat.
The games were generally two dimensional, or extremely crude representations of a three dimensional
playing area.
Figure 14 - Pitfall (Activision 1982) for the Atari 2600
10
Figure 15 - Mattel NFL Football (1979)
Figure 16 - Mattel NBA Basketball (1979)
11
These limitations were highlighted in an article in Wired magazine in 2009:
“[…] the VCS could only display five interactive objects at any one time: two "player"
sprites, two "missile" sprites, and one ball." This was more than enough for replicating Pong
and Tank, the popular arcade games of 1977. It was useless for anything even slightly more
complicated, such as Space Invaders.” 14
Third Generation (Circa 1982 to 1994)
The Third Generation is characterised by the release of ‘8-bit’ consoles such as the Nintendo
Entertainment System (1983) and the Sega Master System (1985). The term ‘8-bit’ was derived from
the size of the memory registers available in the machine; at a basic level this is an indication of their
increased power. These machines continued the development from the Second Generation. With
similar overall capabilities, the majority of games continued to be in two dimensions.
Figure 17 - Nintendo Entertainment System (1983)
Home computers also became a viable alternative to consoles for playing games during this time. In
Europe in particular, and the UK especially15, machines such as the Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1982) and
the Commodore 64 (1982) became popular.
The Appendix contains some details on technical
developments.
12
Figure 18 - ZX Spectrum (1982)
These allowed larger playing spaces to be created, which could move in different directions as the
game was played. In addition, slightly more ‘realistic’ representations of real-life objects could be
produced, although they were still extremely abstract. Figure 19 demonstrates this; the 1986 ZX
Spectrum game The Great Escape is set in a World War II prison camp, and the graphics are typical
of the era:
13
Figure 19 - The Great Escape (1986)
The majority of games remained in a two dimensional plane, but importantly the Third Generation
contained the first real attempts to represent a game world in three dimensions.
Fourth Generation (Circa 1988 to 1999)
During this generation the technology moved on to what are described as ’16-bit’ machines. Typical
machines from this era were the Sega Mega Drive (1988) and the Super Nintendo Entertainment
System (1990).
14
Figure 20 - Sega Mega Drive (1988)
Although the increased hardware did allow performance improvements, games were still generally
presented in two dimensions. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) is typical of this16:
Figure 21 - Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Fifth Generation (Circa 1994 to 2003)
During the fifth generation machines categorised as ’32-bit’ and ’64-bit’ were released. These
included the Sony PlayStation (1994), Nintendo 64 (1996), and Sega Saturn (1994).
15
Figure 22 - Sony PlayStation (1994)
Importantly the increased processing power of these consoles meant three dimensional representations
of game worlds could be attempted more successfully, and it is during this time that three dimensional
games became the dominant form.17 This can be seen by games such as Mario 64; players were now
able to move their character in three dimensions within the game world:
Figure 23 - Mario 64 (1996)
The significance of this is highlighted in an article in The New Yorker:
16
“One of the singular moments in video games came in late 1996 or so, when players first
rested their thumbs on the small, flat-topped joystick of the Nintendo 64 to play Super Mario
64. When the joystick was gently nudged forward, Mario, an affectionately disproportional
clump of polygons, slowly took a step into a blocky, brightly colored, three-dimensional world
for the first time. He walked. When the stick was pushed down, hard, he ran. This kind of
control, within a massive, three-dimensional world, felt genuinely liberating compared to the
confined, largely two-dimensional play of the previous generation of video games. It felt
new.”18
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth Generations (late 1990s to current)
These generations are considered together in this paper as they can be seen as an evolution of the Fifth
Generation but with more computational power. Three dimensions have remained the dominant game
form, with the greater power allowing more complex world simulations and increased graphical
fidelity. Sound design has also become more complex thanks to increased memory and processing
power.
Sixth Generation machines included the Sega Dreamcast (1998) and Sony PlayStation 2 (2000) and
Microsoft XBOX (2001), whilst the Seventh Generation included the Microsoft XBOX 360 (2005)
and Sony PlayStation 3 (2006).
The most recent generation, the Eighth, includes the Sony
PlayStation 4 (2013) and Microsoft XBOX One (2013).
Summary
Early generations of video game machines were unable to display more than crude representations of
real-world objects; it is difficult to find references to immersive experiences from this time. Although
three dimensional games with advanced sound capabilities only really became the dominant form
from the Fifth Generation onwards, attempts were made to develop three dimensional games during
the Third Generation. The games machines’ relative lack of power at this time made them somewhat
limited, but they did pioneer some of the techniques used to create immersion. The remainder of this
paper will therefore concentrate on games from the Third Generation onwards and the techniques
used to aid immersion.
Chapter 3 - What is Immersion? How is it Achieved?
What is Immersion?
The concept of immersion is acknowledged as a difficult one to define. Madigan (2010) says:
17
“one of the words gamers like to toss around when describing their favourite titles is
‘immersive’. But what exactly does that mean? Ask five people and you’ll probably get 10
opinions.”19
Similarly, Cheng and Cairns (2005) say:
“Immersion is recognised as an important element of good games. However, it is not always
clear what is meant by immersion.”20
Finally, Jennett et al (2008) say;
“Despite the word’s common usage by gamers and reviewers alike, it is still not clear what
immersion means.”21
A literature review does however begin to highlight some common themes. On a broad level, Balkin
and Novek (2006) say of it:
“[…] the sensation of immersion felt by the player, which should impel him to use his
controller for many long hours.”22
Research suggests there are two dominant types of immersive experience with video games. The first
is where players simply feel distracted by a game, to the point where they lose much awareness of the
real-world surroundings; this is a common phenomenon when playing puzzle games such as Tetris.
They do not however feel they inhabit the game world in any sense. Dr Paul Cairns, a senior lecturer
in Human Computer Interaction at York University, highlighted the essential difference between the
two types:
“We have to be very careful with terms, because a game that’s very immersive is Tetris, but
there’s no sense that you’re IN the experience.”23
Of the second type, when a player does experience a sense of existing in a game’s location, Madigan
(2010) says:
“Psychologists have been studying immersion in various kinds of media for decades […]
except they don’t call it immersion. Instead, they call it ‘presence’. Researchers have
identified several kinds of presence in regards to how we perceive media but it’s spatial
presence that I think comes closest to what gamers think of as immersion.”19
Wissmath et al (2009), define this ‘spatial presence’ as existing when:
“media contents are perceived as ‘real’ in the sense that media users experience a sensation
of being spatially located in the mediated environment.”24
18
Woyach (2014) suggests it occurs when the players forget about the real-world items they are
touching or interacting with when reading a book, watching a film, or playing a game:
“the process by which a media element entices a person to suspend their disbelief and accept
that what they are viewing on a screen is actual reality.[…] Immersion is a technique of
lowering a person’s need to suspend their disbelief by removing the text, the seat, or the
keyboard, placing a person into the scene itself. Immersion is the removal of the barriers
between people and their entertainment, until it is as real to us as everyday life.”25
This removal of the awareness of real-life objects is highlighted by Brown et al (2002), who also
believe the sense of immersion is being attained when players forget they are using a controller
device.26
This paper concentrates on the second type of immersion, that which might be termed ‘spatial
presence’.
How is immersion achieved?
As has been seen by the primary texts in the Introduction, the requirement for ‘realistic’ graphics or
sound design is perhaps not as vital as might at first be thought, as some games have achieved a sense
of presence or immersion as far back as the Third Generation. Even today, many games produce a
sense of immersion while having stylised or non-‘realistic’ graphics. There must therefore be other
factors contributing to the creation of spatial presence.
A review of work on the topic as well as published interviews with game developers leads to some
patterns emerging in the techniques used. The author has categorised them as follows:

Technical;

Game Design (structure, narrative);

Design (Audio and Visual); and

Game World Systems.
Each of these can contribute to the immersive effect, and examples show that they have been used in
the some of the primary texts outlined in the Introduction.
Technical
At a fundamental level the technical capabilities of games machines clearly have an impact upon
levels of immersion; early games were unable to create effective immersion due to their lack of
processing and graphical power. A certain sophistication beyond the early ‘bat and ball’ graphics
would therefore appear to be required.
19
Video game machines have developed in line with ‘Moore’s Law’ which states that the overall
processing power for computers will double every two years 27.
An analysis by Arstechnica
demonstrates how video game machines have matched this exponential growth in power28. Figures
24 and 25 are taken from this study:
Figure 24 - Total colours displayed by video game consoles
Figure 25 - Total RAM of video game consoles
More processing power allows developers to create larger and more sophisticated game worlds, which
can enhance immersion. More importantly however, it can also be seen to support some of the other
immersive techniques used. The following sections assess these.
Game Design
20
Game Design in this context is taken to mean elements such as the structure of the game, the use of
narrative, and also some technical details that can enhance or impact the immersion experienced.
Other design elements are considered later on.
Gameplay freedom
The type of game structure most often described as ‘immersive’ is the ‘open-world’ game. Early
games presented the player with a pre-defined, linear path of progression, but as technology
developed it became possible for games to offer more freedom. John Harris in Gamasutra defines an
open-world game as:
“…those games where generally the player is left to his own devices to explore a large world.
What all of these games share is the seeking of new, interesting regions at whatever time the
player deems fit. No force forces the player's motion into new areas.”29
This freedom can immediately aid immersion. Woyach says:
“The player can choose from an infinite number of strategies, because their imagination is
the only limit to how they can proceed. As in life, we are given a set of abilities, skills, and
procedures, and we are free to use them as we will. Thus, a giant leap is made towards
immersion.”30
In order to create an effective open-world game developers attempt to make the experience
‘seamless’. Their goal is to avoid reminding the player that they are playing a game, for example by
displaying ‘game’ elements. Madigan describes this as like watching a film and “seeing a boom mic
appear in an otherwise believable scene”:
“It’s anything that reminds you that “Yo, this is a VIDEO GAME.” Examples might include
heads-up displays, tutorial messages, damage numbers appearing over enemies’ heads. […]
An unbroken presentation of the game world means that the spatial clues about the imaginary
world your game has created should not just up and vanish. Which is exactly what happens
every time you get a loading screen, a tutorial, or a game menu. When that happens the game
world literally disappears for a few minutes, and we can’t feel immersed in something that
isn’t there.”19
In the Guardian, Keith Stuart describes the effect this can have:
“[With other types of games] we’re constantly getting told how long we have on a map, and
how long we have between each stage. But when I play something like Grand Theft Auto,
which is more seamless, I can lose hours to it.”23
21
While Grand Theft Auto is often cited as an early truly popular open world game, and Grand Theft
Auto III one of the earliest in three dimensions31, it could be argued that earlier games also displayed
some characteristics of the open-world. In Turbo Esprit, the player was able for the first time to drive
around a re-creation of a city. Previously driving games had forced the player down pre-determined
roads or tracks, but now the player was able to access a map and decide where to drive to next. This
was an early example of open-world gameplay enhancing the sense of immersion, as shown by
reviews at the time.
Figure 26 - Turbo Esprit map screen
Similarly, Driller also placed players in a game world in which they had freedom to move wherever
they wanted. Although slow compared to today’s games, the sense of freedom allowed players to
experience spatial awareness. An article in Crash magazine highlighted how this helped create a
sense of presence in the game world:
“It simulates movement in the real 3-D world better than any game yet. You can go over and
below objects, crawl round the back of them, see things from any angle, and look over your
shoulder at the futurescape through which you’ve passed. The walk-through filled threedimensional graphics display every detail (of admittedly undetailed screens) in real
perspective. It’s just like being there.”32
22
Figure 27 - Driller
Narrative
One aspect in which the Grand Theft Auto games in particular were able to advance video games was
in the use of narrative to enhance the sense of immersion, and successive versions of the game have
utilised it further to draw the player into the world. This is not new of course; books have only ever
had story as a method of creating immersion.
That story is used is highlighted by psychologist Ian Maher when discussing its application to puzzle
games, which he says “often lack any substrate for immersion.”33 He points out the recent trend for
puzzle games to have stories and characters attached to them:
“[stories and characters] that are completely extraneous to the puzzle mechanics, and which
only serve to foster immersion and an emotional connection to whatever story element is
ostensibly tied to the puzzle mechanics. The moral is that more (or better) story means
greater immersion.”
It should be noted that despite narrative being able to aid immersion, there is also a potential conflict
between player freedom and story if much of the story is given by non-playable sections in a game.
Lee (2004) highlights how cut scenes used to progress narrative can impact upon immersion in a
similar way to the overtly ‘game’ elements previously highlighted:
23
“There are several problems inherent in stopping gameplay dead in its tracks to run a passive
cut scene. [It] serves to accentuate the difference between gameplay and storytelling,
harming immersion in the entire experience.”34
If this is handled carefully when developing a game, then narrative, as in any other media, can
enhance the immersion felt by players.
Design (Visual and Audio)
The visual and audio elements in a game can impact upon immersion. Importantly, the visual and
audio clues, props, and locations in the game must all fit the gamer’s preconceptions and expectations
for that location. Developers refer to these expectations as the player’s ‘schemata’.
Developer Toby Gard says:
“Immersion is only possible for the player if we can convince the players that the space is
authentic (whether stylised or not.) If the critical features on screen don’t match up with the
critical features of the players schemata, then he or she will not be fooled by it.”35
An example can be found in the 2002 game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City which is set in a fictional
1980s Miami-style city.
Most players know how this is supposed to look and sound, so the
developers can conform to these expectations (however unrealistic they might actually be) and
reinforce the spatial immersion. The visual style and music in the game are all carefully designed to
match the player’s expectations.
Figure 28 - GTA Vice City use of ‘neon’
24
Figure 29 - GTA Vice City example buildings, car
Madigan says of this idea:
“The process starts with players forming a mental model of the game’s make-believe space by
looking at various cues […] as well as assumptions about the world that they may bring to the
table. Once that mental model of the game world is created, the player must decide, either
consciously or unconsciously, whether she feels like she’s in that imagined world or in the
real one.”19
Research is therefore an important part of game development. Gard says “Gathering and studying
reference is critical to creating immersion for the player.” 35 Keith Stuart in the Guardian cites “an
American road sign in a European city, or an eighties car model in a seventies-based game”23 as
examples where errors can harm a players’ belief in a location.
Consistency within a game’s design is highlighted by Aaron Garbut, the producer of Grand Theft
Auto V:
“We had to ensure that the world as a whole was coherent and of consistent quality.”36
More subtly, Gard argues that players will spot environmental elements that are included purely for
gameplay purposes:
“When a player enters a temple that has no space for worship, or a tomb with no burial
chamber nor rhyme nor reason behind its layout, he or she will not be convinced that they are
exploring a real place.”35
The immersive power in meeting the player’s expectations can also be seen in some Third Generation
games. The ants’ behaviour in Ant Attack in 1983 was sufficiently life-like for them to be described
as moving in “a most realistic manner”9, and an article in Edge magazine in 2009 describes the effect
this had:
25
“Standing stranded and defenceless on a hill as more and more rapacious insects swelled the
ranks of your attackers could be a truly disturbing experience.” 37
During Ant Attack’s development the ants had started out as undefined ‘blobs’, with programmer
Sandy White saying:
“What had become interesting to me were the flocking properties that grew out of simple
rules given to the blobs. They could be made to either seek or avoid a cube that you could
control with the keyboard […] Eventually in went a couple of human characters, and
because of a bug one of the blob sprites was drawn as a human and started to follow the other
human. Ant Attack was born. The blobs got legs and it became a kind of hide and seek while
avoiding the blobs-with-legs.”39
The realistic behaviour of the ants, matching the player’s expectations, would appear to be one of the
main reasons Ant Attack was able to provide a sense of immersion.
Similarly, in games set in cities players would expect to see pedestrians. Turbo Esprit included them,
albeit limited by the technical capabilities of the machines at the time:
Figure 30 - Turbo Esprit pedestrians example
Even such a small detail helped place players in that world. Similarly Grand Theft Auto 1 had
pedestrians, although not too many more than in Turbo Esprit:
26
Figure 31 - GTA pedestrians example
For Grand Theft Auto IV and V, the game machines could support many more pedestrians, carrying
out activities that would match the players’ expectations:
Figure 32 - GTA IV pedestrians example
27
Figure 33 - GTA V pedestrians example 1
Figure 34 - GTA V pedestrians example 2, pedestrian turning to acknowledge character
As the behaviour of these non-playable characters became more sophisticated, so too their match to
the players’ expectations, and therefore the feeling of immersion enhanced.
Sound and other forms of sensory information (for example haptic rumbling in a controller.) can also
contribute. Nesbitt and Hoskins (2008) tested the effect of providing varying degrees of information
to different senses by altering the cues to people playing Quake 3: Arena. They found that:
“Players reported improved ‘immersion’, ‘confidence’ and ‘satisfaction’ when additional
sensory cues were included; the multi-sensory game interface seemed to improve the player’s
experience.”38
28
Again, this can be shown with reference to the primary texts. The earlier games do not provide much
audio apart from basic ‘beeps and bongs’ sounds. The later Grand Theft Auto games have full
surround–sound, encompassing environmental audio in addition to direct gameplay related sounds.
These meet the subconscious expectations of the players, and therefore can add to the immersion
experienced.
Rather than having to be realistic, research therefore suggests that a game’s audio and visual design
must be consistent and in-line with the player’s expectations in order to successfully create a sense of
spatial presence.
Game World Systems
Elements such as the pedestrians in city-based games can help match the players expectations and
therefore reinforce immersion. These can be considered one of the game world ‘systems’. The use of
traffic and transport systems in Turbo Esprit and the Grand Theft Auto games is similar; players
expect it to behave realistically, and technological developments have allowed more vehicles to
populate the game cities and to behave in a more realistic fashion. The relatively basic traffic
behaviour in Turbo Esprit was enough to help players overlook the relative crudeness in graphics. In
a 2011 article on Eurogamer, Dan Whitehead said of it:
“Turbo Esprit still impresses in 2011. This is a 3D driving game set across four fully mapped
cities, each packed with naturalistic details such as pedestrian crossings, road works, oneway streets and persistent traffic that actually follows the Highway Code and doesn't simply
vanish once it's off screen.”39
29
Figure 35 - Turbo Esprit traffic behaviour
Figure 36 - GTA V traffic behaviour 1
The actions of traffic in the later Grand Theft Auto games can be considered examples of ‘emergent
behaviour’, where game systems interact to produce events that were not directly programmed by the
developers, but emerge from the rules and behaviours.
30
Figure 37 - GTA V traffic jam example 1
In Grand Theft Auto V, a player may cause an accident when driving a vehicle. The other vehicles are
programmed to behave in a realistic manner, and so in this instance a traffic jam may occur. The
developers did not plan for this to occur at this precise moment, but rather it is a function of the
behaviour of the traffic.
Figure 38 - GTA V traffic jam example 2
Other examples of realistic systems within the later Grand Theft Auto games are the television
channels, radio, and internet for the player to interact with. Their absence suggests this would not
have been possible in games before the Fifth Generation. They have developed in sophistication as
machine power has increased; the first Grand Theft Auto game had seven “radio stations” that could
31
be listened to while driving, and Grand Theft Auto IV introduced television channels, as well as
theatre shows and performances from comedians such as Ricky Gervais that could be watched in
comedy clubs.
Figure 39 – GTA IV Ricky Gervais
Grand Theft Auto V includes a fully working in-game Facebook equivalent, and a Twitter-type
service40. In addition, a stock market system can be accessed. While not directly related to the main
story, all of these can be interacted with and respond to your wider actions in the game, helping
immerse the player and place him in the world.
Figure 40 – GTA V television channel
32
Figure 41 – GTA V internet
Figure 42 - GTAV stock market
33
Conclusion
Video games have the ability to create a sense of immersion possibly greater than any other type of
media, in particular that immersion which may be described as ‘spatial presence.’
This was not possible with the earliest games due to the machines’ lack of power, but from the Third
Generation onwards developers have explored the creation of this sensation. While early attempts
were restricted in what they could achieve due to the relatively low processing power available, they
did explore some of the techniques shown subsequently to be successful. In particular, the first
attempts at open-world games can be seen during this time, as well as efforts to provide consistency in
game-world design, to ensure everything the player sees and hears matches their internal schematic.
From the Fifth Generation onwards the machines meant three dimensional games became dominant
for the first time, aiding the creation of spatial presence. In addition, the power increases meant other
factors could be enhanced. Graphical design, game system behaviours and sound design became
more refined and consistent with players’ expectations, and narrative was able to become more
sophisticated.
No doubt today’s machines will seem crude to future games players, and the effectiveness of all the
techniques discussed will be developed further.
As contemporary reviews and literature show
however, gamers have appeared willing to suspend their disbelief with even the most basic of games,
providing certain factors of consistency and careful design are met.
34
Appendices
Video game generations:
Wikipedia
SegaRetro41
GameCritique42
1st gen
1st gen 1972 to 1977
1st gen Cartridgeless
nd
nd
2 gen 1977 to 1983
2 gen 1976 to 1984
2nd gen Atari, Coleco, cartridge
3rd gen 1983 to 1995 (8 bit)
3rd gen 1983 to 1992 (8 bit)
3rd gen 8 bit (Nintendo, Sega Master, ZX
spectrums etc)
th
4 gen 1988 to 1999 (16 bit)
4 gen 1987 to 1996 (16 bit)
4th gen 16 bit (SNES, Megadrive)
5th gen 1993 to 2006 (32/64 bit)
5th gen 1993 to 2002 (32/64 bit)
5th gen PS1, N64, Sega Saturn
th
th
th
6 gen 1998 to 2013
6 gen 1998 to 2006
6th gen Dreamcast, PS2, xbox
7th gen 2004 to present
7th gen 2004 to present
7th gen PS3, 360, Wii
th
8th gen PS4, xbox one
8 gen 2012 to present
Technological developments in each decade:
Decade
Technological developments
Pre-1970s
Mainframes.
1970s
Early consoles
1980s
Hardware scrolling, enabling large multidirectionally scrolling tile-based game
playfields.
Detailed sprites, and a screen resolution of
up to 256 × 240.
Enhanced color graphics (generally between
eight-colour (3-bit) and thirty-two-color (5bit) ).
Up to five channel primarily square wave
mono audio.
(from Wikipedia)
More powerful microprocessor (typically
16-bit)
Multi-button controllers (up to 8 buttons)
Complex parallex and multi-layer scrolling
backgrounds
Large sprites, scalable on-the-fly
Elaborate color, typically 64 to 256 colors
on screen (from palettes of 512 (9-bit) color
to 32,768 (15-bit) color)
Stereo audio, with multiple channels and
digital audio playback
Advanced music synthesis (FM or
wavetable)
Hardware allows 3D to really develop.
Very similar to 1990s, but more powerful.
3D still dominates.
Surround sound.
1990s
2000s
Example texts
Ant Attack
Turbo Esprit
Driller
GTA
GTA 3, GTA 4, GTA 5
Bibliography
Books
Bartle, R (2003) Designing Virtual Worlds San Francisco: New Riders.
Brookey, R A (2010). Hollywood gamers : Digital Convergence In The Film And Video Game
Industries. Indiana: Indiana University Press.
Garrelts, N (ed) (2006) The Meaning and Culture of "Grand Theft Auto": Critical Essays Jefferson:
McFarland & Co Inc.
Jenisch, J (2008) The Art Of The Video Game. Philadelphia: Quirk.
King, G. and Krzywinska, T. (2006) Tomb Raiders And Space Invaders : Videogame Forms And
Contexts. London; New York; New York: I. B. Tauris; Distributed in the U.S. by Palgrave Macmillan.
Kushner, D (2012) Jacked: The Unauthorized Behind-The-Scenes Story Of Grand Theft Auto New
York: Collins.
Poole, S (2000) Trigger Happy: Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution New York: Arcade
Publishing.
Rogers, S (2010). Level Up! : The Guide To Great Video Game Design. Chichester: Wiley.
eBooks
Natkin, S. (2006) Video Games And Interactive Media; A Glimpse At New Digital Entertainment [Ebook]. Available at http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ocvc/Doc?id=10158043 Wellesley, Mass.: A.K. Peters.
ebrary, Inc. (2004) Character Development And Storytelling For Games [E-book]. Available at
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ocvc/Doc?id=10063423 Boston, MA: Course Technology.
Papers/Journals
Brown, E. Cairns, P. (2004) A grounded investigation of game immersion, Extended Abstracts on
Human Factors in Computing Systems, NCM, New York pp. 1297-1300
Jennett, C. Cox, AL. Cairns, P. Dhoparee, S. Epps, A (2008) Measuring and defining the experience
of immersion in games. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 66 (9) pp. 641-661
Cheng, K; Cairns, P; (2005) Behaviour, Realism And Immersion In Games. In Proc. ACM Conf. on
Human Factors in Computing, CHI 2005. (pp. 1272 - 1275). ACM Press.
Taylor, L. 2002 Video Games: Perspective, Point-of-View, and Immersion MA thesis. University of
Florida
Nesbitt, K. and Hoskens, I. (2008). Multi-Sensory Game Interface Improves Player Satisfaction But
Not Performance. In Proc. Ninth Australasian User Interface Conference (AUIC 2008), Wollongong,
NSW, Australia. CRPIT, 76. Plimmer, B. and Weber, G., Eds. ACS. pp. 13-18
References
“Gartner Says Worldwide Video Game Market to Total $93 Billion in 2013” [online] Available at
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2614915 (Accessed 18/04/14)
1
“Finding beauty in GTAV’s ugly world through the art of the selfie” [online] Available at
http://www.edge-online.com/features/finding-beauty-in-gtavs-world-through-the-art-of-the-selfie/
(Accessed 18/04/14)
2
“Reviews & Ratings for Grand Theft Auto IV” [online] Available at
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0802999/reviews (Accessed 18/04/14)
3
“Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - Double Pack” [online] Available at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grand-Theft-Auto-III-Double/dp/B0000DG3R4 (Accessed 18/04/14)
4
“Gaming Greats – Grand Theft Auto (1997)” [online] Available at
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/296344,gaming-greats-8211-grand-theft-auto-1997.aspx
(Accessed 18/04/14)
5
“Space Station Oblivion” [online] Available at http://www.mobygames.com/game/space-stationoblivion/mobyrank (Accessed 18/04/14)
6
“TURBO ESPRIT” [online] Available at http://www.crashonline.org.uk/28/tesprit.htm (Accessed
18/04/14)
7
8
“Ant Attack” [online] Available at http://cpcrulez.fr/GamesTest/ant_attack.htm (Accessed 18/04/14)
“Soft Solid 3D Ant Attack” [online] Available at http://www.crashonline.org.uk/01/antattack.htm
(Accessed 18/04/14)
9
“Soft Solid 3D Ant Attack” [online] Available at http://www.crashonline.org.uk/01/antattack.htm
(Accessed 18/04/14)
10
“Ant Attack” [online] Available at http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ant-attack-review htm
(Accessed 18/04/14)
11
“As Arcade Heroes Turns Six, A Look Back At Pong Variations” [online] Available at
http://arcadeheroes.com/2012/12/03/as-arcade-heroes-turns-six-a-look-back-at-pong-variations/
(Accessed 18/04/14)
12
“History of video game consoles (first generation)” [online] Available at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_game_consoles_(first_generation) (Accessed
18/04/14)
13
“Racing the Beam: How Atari 2600′s Crazy Hardware Changed Game Design” [online] Available
at http://www.wired.com/2009/03/racing-the-beam/ (Accessed 18/04/14)
14
“ZX Spectrum: 30 years old, and still one of the cheapest computers ever made” [online] Available
at http://www.extremetech.com/computing/127109-zx-spectrum-30-years-old-and-still-one-of-thecheapest-computers-ever-made (Accessed 18/04/14)
15
“A look at Sonic the Hedgehog” [online] Available at
http://www.retrojunk.com/article/show/1272/a-look-at-sonic-the-hedgehog (Accessed 18/04/14)
16
17
Poole, S (2000) Trigger Happy: Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution New York: Arcade
Publishing. pp. 125-148
“THE XBOX ONE AND PLAYSTATION 4: WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT” [online]
Available at http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/11/the-xbox-one-andplaystation-4-waiting-for-the-right-moment.html (Accessed 18/04/14)
18
“The Psychology of Immersion in Video Games” [online] Available at
http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2010/07/the-psychology-of-immersion-in-video-games/
(Accessed 18/04/14)
19
Cheng, K; Cairns, P; (2005) “Behaviour, realism and immersion in games”. In Proc. ACM Conf. on
Human Factors in Computing, CHI 2005. (pp. 1272 - 1275). ACM Pres
20
Jennett, C. Cox, AL. Cairns, P. Dhoparee, S. Epps, A (2008) “Measuring and defining the
experience of immersion in games”. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 66 (9) pp.
641-661
21
22
Balkin, J.M. and Noveck, B.S. (2006) The state of play; law, games, and virtual worlds [E-book].
Available at: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ocvc/Doc?id=10176208 New York: New York University
Press. p40
“What do we mean when we call a game ‘immersive’?” [online] Available at
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2010/aug/10/games-science-of-immersion
Accessed 12/02/14
23
“Wissmath, B, Weibel, D., & Groner, R. (2009). Dubbing or Subtitling? Effects on Spatial
Presence, Transportation, Flow, and Enjoyment. Journal of Media Psychology 21 (3), pp.114-125
24
“Immersion Through Video Games” [online] Available at https://illumin.usc.edu/107/immersionthrough-video-games/ (Accessed 15/02/2014)
25
26
Brown, E. Cairns, P. (2004) A grounded investigation of game immersion, Extended Abstracts on
Human Factors in Computing Systems, NCM, New York pp. 1297-1300
27
“Moore’s Law” [online] Available at http://www.mooreslaw.org/ (Accessed 18/04/2014)
“Does the power of today’s consoles keep up with historical trends?” [online] Available at
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/11/does-the-power-of-todays-consoles-keep-up-with-historicaltrends/
Accessed 12/12/2013 (Accessed 18/04/2014)
28
“Game Design Essentials: 20 Open World Games” [online] Available at
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130319/game_design_essentials_20_open_.php?print=1
(Accessed 18/04/14)
29
“Immersion Through Video Games” [online] Available at https://illumin.usc.edu/107/immersionthrough-video-games/ (Accessed 15/02/2014)
30
“‘Grand Theft Auto 5′ Review” [online] Available at http://gamerant.com/grand-theft-auto-5reviews/ (Accessed 12/02/14)
31
“INTO THE THIRD DIMENSION” [online] Available at http://www.crashonline.org.uk/46/3d.htm
(Accessed 12/02/14)
32
“The Two Ways You Become Immersed in Video Games” [online] Available at
http://kotaku.com/5949897/the-two-ways-you-become-immersed-in-video-games Accessed
12/12/2013
33
34
Lee, S (2004). Character development and storytelling for games [E-book]. Available at:
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ocvc/Doc?id=10063423 Boston, MA: Course Technology. Accessed
03/12/2013
35
“Action Adventure Level Design: Kung Fu Zombie Killer” [online] Available at
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4413/action_adventure_level_design_.php
“Rockstar North’s Aaron Garbut on the making of Grand Theft Auto V – our game of 2013”
[online] Available at http://www.edge-online.com/features/rockstar-norths-aaron-garbut-on-themaking-of-grand-theft-auto-v-our-game-of-2013/ (Accessed 12/02/14)
36
““The Making Of: Ant Attack” [online] Available at http://www.edge-online.com/features/makingant-attack/ (Accessed 12/12/2013)
37
38
Nesbitt, K. and Hoskens, I. (2008). Multi-sensory Game Interface Improves Player Satisfaction but
not Performance. In Proc. Ninth Australasian User Interface Conference (AUIC 2008), Wollongong,
NSW, Australia. CRPIT, 76. Plimmer, B. and Weber, G., Eds. ACS. 13-18
“Retrospective: Turbo Esprit” [online] Available at http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-04-17turbo-esprit-article (Accessed 18/04/2014)
39
“Review: Grand Theft Auto V achieves the extraordinary” [online] Available at
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/429399/reviews/review-grand-theft-auto-v-achieves-theextraordinary-review/ (Accessed 18/04/2014)
40
41
“Generations of video games” [online] Available at
http://segaretro.org/Generations_of_video_games (Accessed 18/04/2014)
42
“The Generations, Ages and Eras of Video Games” ” [online] Available at
http://www.thegamecritique.com/recent-posts/the-generations-ages-and-eras-of-video-games/160/
(Accessed 18/04/2014)