Immersion and how to achive this level of Zen in PoE

[Marceror]

Can there really be any immersion, regardless of how you define it, WITHOUT a VR headset with 360 degree support?

I'm so going to hate gaming when this is the case.

[m3m3nt0]

I am beginning to think this is the first time the length of the game affects immersion for me.

 

When I left the Burial Isle, I completed White March 1 and now I am towards the end of part 2, reaching 122 hours of gameplay.

If you asked me 10 years ago, I would say that the more the better, but at this point the game feels like a chore, not because it is not interesting (it really is), but because I had too much of it. I really want to see what will happen in the end both in the main story and in White March 2, but I now feel exhausted. I have reached a level where I wonder constantly "Are we there yet" on every new map I unlock.

And yes, I have tried taking breaks from the game from time to time, after all my life is so demanding that breaks happen even if I don't choose it. This renews my interest on the game but destroys immersion even more.

 

Obviously I am not blaming Obsidian for this, I suppose I am just getting older.

[JerekKruger]

Can there really be any immersion, regardless of how you define it, WITHOUT a VR headset with 360 degree support?

 

Of course there can, in exactly the same way as reading a novel can be immersive. It's just a case of letting your imagination take over.

[anameforobsidian]

I am beginning to think this is the first time the length of the game affects immersion for me.

 

When I left the Burial Isle, I completed White March 1 and now I am towards the end of part 2, reaching 122 hours of gameplay.

If you asked me 10 years ago, I would say that the more the better, but at this point the game feels like a chore, not because it is not interesting (it really is), but because I had too much of it. I really want to see what will happen in the end both in the main story and in White March 2, but I now feel exhausted. I have reached a level where I wonder constantly "Are we there yet" on every new map I unlock.

And yes, I have tried taking breaks from the game from time to time, after all my life is so demanding that breaks happen even if I don't choose it. This renews my interest on the game but destroys immersion even more.

 

Obviously I am not blaming Obsidian for this, I suppose I am just getting older.

 

I can definitely see how that would happen.  I would say that could also be a function of pacing and spacing.  The game tries to do the same thing Baldur's Gate does, where it segments areas by chapter, but Baldur's Gate had a ton more freedom of movement and areas open initially than PE.  The individual areas wind up feeling less connected.

 

So the first time I played it felt like there were two separate games.  There's the crit path, then there's the Endless Paths.  With the expansion it feels like they added a whole separate game.  I find each of the three games interesting and enjoyable, but it can be jarring to go from one to the next.  It certainly lowers the stakes of the main quest.

Edited April 3, 2016 by anameforobsidian

[Stoner]

 

Can there really be any immersion, regardless of how you define it, WITHOUT a VR headset with 360 degree support?

I'm so going to hate gaming when this is the case.

 

When this gonna be the case (considering I will be able to afford it and most games will support that), I'm afraid I will stop leaving my house/basement or whatever and probly die in first session =)

 

I am beginning to think this is the first time the length of the game affects immersion for me.

 

When I left the Burial Isle, I completed White March 1 and now I am towards the end of part 2, reaching 122 hours of gameplay.

If you asked me 10 years ago, I would say that the more the better, but at this point the game feels like a chore, not because it is not interesting (it really is), but because I had too much of it. I really want to see what will happen in the end both in the main story and in White March 2, but I now feel exhausted. I have reached a level where I wonder constantly "Are we there yet" on every new map I unlock.

And yes, I have tried taking breaks from the game from time to time, after all my life is so demanding that breaks happen even if I don't choose it. This renews my interest on the game but destroys immersion even more.

 

Obviously I am not blaming Obsidian for this, I suppose I am just getting older.

 

 

I don't clearly understand... have you spent 122 hours in single playthrough?

Edited April 3, 2016 by Stoner

[m3m3nt0]

 

 

Can there really be any immersion, regardless of how you define it, WITHOUT a VR headset with 360 degree support?

I'm so going to hate gaming when this is the case.

 

When this gonna be the case (considering I will be able to afford it and most games will support that), I'm afraid I will stop leaving my house/basement or whatever and probly die in first session =)

 

I am beginning to think this is the first time the length of the game affects immersion for me.

 

When I left the Burial Isle, I completed White March 1 and now I am towards the end of part 2, reaching 122 hours of gameplay.

If you asked me 10 years ago, I would say that the more the better, but at this point the game feels like a chore, not because it is not interesting (it really is), but because I had too much of it. I really want to see what will happen in the end both in the main story and in White March 2, but I now feel exhausted. I have reached a level where I wonder constantly "Are we there yet" on every new map I unlock.

And yes, I have tried taking breaks from the game from time to time, after all my life is so demanding that breaks happen even if I don't choose it. This renews my interest on the game but destroys immersion even more.

 

Obviously I am not blaming Obsidian for this, I suppose I am just getting older.

 

 

I don't clearly understand... have you spent 122 hours in single playthrough?

 

 

According to GOG. To be honest I have tried another class for about 2-3 hours, but yes it is 120 hours approximately as a druid, doing every side quest and reading everything except for the baker NPC texts. Also, as I do not emjoy reloading, I usually "live with the consequences" of my actions, meaning this is clear gametime, I do not try to get a perfect character sheet without deaths and things like that.

Edited April 3, 2016 by m3m3nt0

[Madmilitia]

Nothing is more immersive than watching my melee run into an adjacent room like braindead imbeciles during a combat engagement completely ignoring the fight in the current room.

 

/sarcasm

 

If it weren't for that I think I'd feel rather immersed in the game.

[JerekKruger]

According to GOG. To be honest I have tried another class for about 2-3 hours, but yes it is 120 hours approximately as a druid, doing every side quest and reading everything except for the baker NPC texts. Also, as I do not emjoy reloading, I usually "live with the consequences" of my actions, meaning this is clear gametime, I do not try to get a perfect character sheet without deaths and things like that.

 

Wow, that's impressive. I think my first play through was about 100 hours but I reloaded a lot to tailor my dialogue options appropriately to my character (sometimes I'd pick an option, then the response would suggest I'd clearly read the option wrong) and try out different endings for various quests.

[Zenbane]

 

Can there really be any immersion, regardless of how you define it, WITHOUT a VR headset with 360 degree support?

 

Of course there can, in exactly the same way as reading a novel can be immersive. It's just a case of letting your imagination take over.

 

 

I usually refer to that as "thinking" whereas video game immersion is supposed help my imagination come to life instead of keeping it, y'know... in my head.

 

 

 

When this gonna be the case (considering I will be able to afford it and most games will support that), I'm afraid I will stop leaving my house/basement or whatever and probly die in first session =)

Indeed. I'm actually quite excited about the comeback PC gaming is making. I wanna play the new Doom game in 360 degree Virtual Reality.

 

I would love to one day experience a PoE style game from a perspective similar to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtmEjqzg7M

 

Gaming for 2016 and beyond is gonna kick serious immersive arse (without having to keep it all in the imagination lol)

Edited April 4, 2016 by Zenbane

[Sedrefilos]

The only things that broke immersion for me were the too many "bookish" descriptions ("- Hi stranger! [he looks you form head to toe, then to your head again] How are you today?" - you got the idea) and too much text while staring at a blurred limbo on the upper 2/3 of the screen, while it should have been in-game cut-scenes or changing pictures instead.

 

Other than that, isometric prespective is not a problem (though I'd like to see my picture when it is my turn to choose dialogue options - the lack of this alianated me a bit from my character).