Immersion &Agency inUnchared 2

February 3, 2010

Immersion vs Agency

*ref: Adams 2004: http://bit.ly/by6lEk

ImmersionThere are 3 main types of immersion in games*

✦ Tactical

✦ Narrative

✦ Strategic

*Adams, 2004: http://bit.ly/by6lEk

Tactical Immersion

✦ In first-person shooters, it’s commonly called

being "In The Zone".

✦ The player has a feeling of active connectedness

to the controls and the game world.

✦ This enables the player to rapidly express

themselves and accomplish goals.

Narrative Immersion

✦ This feeling is more akin to that experienced

with films and books.

✦ The player feels wrapped up and vested in the

story and eventual outcome.

✦ The player identifies and relates with characters

and their trials.

Strategic Immersion

✦ This is the slowest paced of the three types.

✦As longer term goals are played out the player

finds deeper connections to the system.

✦ The connection is tied to the act of finding the

best solution to a problem via repetition.

Agency✦Agency in games is the feeling that you (the

player) are actually in the game.

✦ In Half-Life, the player often feels like Gordon

Freeman (High Agency)

✦ In Tomb Raider, the player may feel like “She

didn’t make that jump” (Low Agency)

✦ Traditionally high agency has been highly valued

in game design.

Immersion & Agencyin Uncharted 2

Solid gun play and close-calls create high tactical immersion. The controls are simple & expressive, allowing the player to feel like a lethal action hero in a very short period of time.

Immersion in Uncharted 2

Climbing, risky jumps, wise cracks, comedy & drama all create narrative immersion as a classic high adventure story. Amazing main character realism, brilliant voice work, and fluid motion capture all help suspend disbelief.

Immersion in Uncharted 2

The strategic immersion plays out over multiple battles. In each battle you get slightly smarter as to how to approach the challenge. By the end game, you are an Uncharted 2 master, all with very little repeat attempts.

Immersion in Uncharted 2

The high realism of the main characters forces a low sense of agency while controlling them, regardless of how direct and expressive the controls are. You never slip, Nathan Drake slips.

Agency in Uncharted 2

Uncharted 2 is extremely immersive, but the strong narrative and character development creates low agency. This goes against the standard 'strong silent' type of main character common in many games today.

Key Takeaway

Thanks for reading!Aaron Rutledge

Questions: aaron@bonusattack.comReviews: http://bonusattack.com

Twitter: @neonarcade