Immersion, The Facts & Fiction

[Konachibi]

Man, this thread has ruined my immersion in the game...

Nah, just joking! Good job with the OP, Konata!

Hehe, I was gonna throw exactly the same joke into the end of my opening post but thought people may interpret it as me not taking the matter seriously :P

And thanks ^.^

[Commat]

The only thing that can cause you to be immersed in FFXIV is your own willingness to. If you cannot become immersed in it, it is because you cannot accept it or something within it. This is not because of something that is contained within the game, this is your own inability to accept something. Therefore the game is not at fault, blame cannot be thrown at it or the developers. Your lack of immersion in the game is your own fault. If it were possible to put a numbered percentage on the games current immersion it would be at a constant 100% no matter what anyone argued otherwise. It is at 100% simply by it existing and allowing people to play it.

Really good OP.

The only part I disagree with is your conclusion's first paragraph which I quoted.
By the definition of immersion that you've offered, "To engage wholly or deeply; absorb," it's clear that the game is not 100% immersive simply by existing.

Examples:
1. Watching Netflix while crafting.
2. Making something to eat while held prisoner on a boat.
3. Reading the forums while auto running long distances.

You see, immersion as your definition details, is dictated by the level of involvement and focus required to master/enjoy the moment. That goes for reading, studying, watching movies, ect.

XIV fails at requiring skill/focus for an overwhelming amount of its content and that. Not instaporting, short airship rides or jumping, is what ruins immersion.

With that said, I wholeheartedly agree with your observation that personal responsibility to be immersed is something people should consider before posting on the subject.

As far as misuse goes, porting couldn't be a worse offender. An ability that lets you quickly travel from an area that's boring to an area you want to be in with only a slight pause can't possibly ruin immersion by definition.

For reference, this post is by a player with enough imagination for 50 people who can suspend disbelief indefinitely if need be.

[Archadius]

*sigh.....*

[Azurymber]

Most of the article in that link was explaining immersiveness when being used to tell stories. Your arguements so far have been about the immersiveness of the FFXIV world (Teleporting etc.) FFXIV features a story but it is not it's entire purpose. Stories and online video games are two totally different things. A story in a book is JUST a story, a story in a game is just part of it's entirity. The article that has been linked does not counter my statement.

Untill you can come up with a legitimate FACTUAL reason with proper information that tells me how the facts I stated in the original post are wrong, you cannot prove that what I am saying is wrong, you can only make baseless statements using irrelevant information in an attempt to to catch me off guard and say something that will differ from my original post.

I however, will not fall for this.

Your statement is still incorrect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game

Both authors and major publishers of tabletop role-playing games consider them to be a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling.[8][9][10] Events, characters and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience, and the game need not have a strongly-defined storyline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_video_game

The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests. The major similarities with pen-and-paper games involve developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replayability and immersion.

Immersion is a part of RPGs

[Commat]

I only say nice things because I'm a nice person.

I enjoy your upbeat attitude and friendly demeanor.

[Azurymber]

I don't know why but damn did I LOL at that.

lol i felt it was too mean and removed it

[odette]

outher fail thread for inmersion
this people want waste of time runing point a to point b all day and everyday

for me inmersion= content

[Commat]

lol i felt it was too mean and removed it

Don't worry I won't out you. I've fixed my post accordingly.

[Molly_Millions]

Your mom affects game immersion. That is all. Tank you. Please drive through.

[Crica]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion

Immersion (virtual reality) - the state of consciousness where an immersant's awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment.

Immersion is a state of mind.

State's of mind vary from player to player.

There is no possible way to maximize immersion for every player.

Therefore Square's goal will be maximizing profits by catering to the majority.

If the majority of FFXIV players are casual gamers (players who do not have alot of time per gaming session to play), then that is who will be catered to.

If the majority of FFXIV players are hardcore gamers (players who have alot of time per gaming session to play), then that is who will be catered to.

This is the only feasible way to do business - cater to a majority.

If a business caters to a minority, they will not be in business for long.