
Okay, maybe not that kind of immersion.
Letโs talk immersion in RPGs. Most players and GMs would probably tell you that immersion is a good thing. When looking up the word in a dictionary, right after the definition of dumping โsomeone or something in liquidโ, the meaning of immersion is described as โdeep mental involvementโ. So, what does this mean for us gamers? In general, it means getting into character and being caught up in the game so much that the actions you choose for your character are almost innate.
This particular topic reared its head because Iโve recently heard and seen some debate on the types of games and systems that best promote immersion and those which are the worst for it. We gamers do like our debates, so itโs not as if discussions and arguments about which system is the best are anything new. What riled me up, though, were the arguments stating that the games with a narrative approach towards RPGs (i.e. FATE, Apocalypse World and its various spawn, etc.) are in direct opposition to player immersion.
Since the style of these games is definitely my jam as a GM, and I choose them because of how easy it is for me to draw players into a rich, textured world designed for the characters they have created, I was a bit defensive. Rather than immediately start arguing with strangers on the internet, though, I paused to think about what they might actually be trying to get at with that particular argument. From what I understand of that perspective, they believe any game that asks you to think beyond the scope of your characterโs personality and motivation is designed to break immersion. Having to contribute to the creation of the world beyond the character or think about whatโs good for the game as a whole rather than just what the character would want is inherently the opposite of losing yourself in your character.
The idea that being obsessively in-character is the only way to experience immersion is also one I take issue with. Some of the most annoying players I have ever had the displeasure of playing with or GMing for are the ones that end up justifying obstructionist or disruptive behavior by hiding behind the shield of being in-character. “I was just playing my character.” The best players know how to be true to their character, but also know how to contribute to drawing in other players or moving the game forward for the enjoyment of everyone at the table. Just because someone is acting in-character doesnโt change the fact when theyโre being a dick. Someday I might write about how not all metagaming is bad, but that’s an article for another day.
Ultimately, regardless of what type of game someone enjoys, immersion really only happens in moments. Theyโre the intense, brilliant scenes that keep us coming back to the game table time and time again, but when you really look at how they actually work, theyโre just flashes of exciting, engrossing, and intensely immersive moments. Itโs the moment when youโre completely in-character, passionately arguing with an NPC to convince them to help you. Itโs the moment when you succeed at a wildly improbable action that gives a surge of adrenaline and you can imagine exactly how it would happen in a movie. Itโs the moment when a hush falls over the table and every player is on the edge of their seat as the GM sets the scene for an encounter everyone knows is leading to a do or die moment. Itโs the moment your character makes a decision that surprises you, but you know makes perfect sense with who the character has become.

Your mileage may vary when it comes to immersion in LARPs.
In between those engrossing and addicting moments are all the other things that come with gaming: remembering whose turn it is, looking up rules, passing the snacks, cracking up over an in-joke timed just right, little and unavoidable interruptions from the other residents of the place youโre playing, whether it’s a spouse, a kid, a roommate, or even a pet. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a game come to a standstill because someone’s pet is being ridiculous and adorable. Itโs nearly impossible to sustain a sense of complete immersion for an entire game session no matter what system youโre playing.
Donโt get me wrong here. Those magical moments where I get lost in a game are why I play. GMs and players both should absolutely strive to make them happen as often as possible, but understand that it’s unrealistic to sustain that level of immersionรย for an entire game session and what makes for good immersion can vary from person to person. I’ve lost myself in those moments in systems ranging from Shadowrun toรย FATE, and any number of games in between. Feed and embrace them when they happen and don’t worry about forcing it. Your players will always dive into immersion when the moments are right.
“Having to contribute to the creation of the world beyond the character or think about whatรขโฌโขs good for the game as a whole rather than just what the character would want is inherently the opposite of losing yourself in your character.”
Or in other words, people who only want to play in Actor Stance will resist a Narrative Mode. Also, Immersion is a vague term, and whatever your definition of it it’s not something that can be sustained for long periods of play.
This has been known since (at least) 2001. ๐
I must have missed the conversation back in 2001. Makes sense as I was pretty much stuck in either WoD or D&D 3.0. Most of the games I hear being discussed with this particular topic are relatively recent games, so it’s probably a conversation still worth having. ๐
This article couldnรขโฌโขt be better timed for me. Iรขโฌโขm lucky in that, other than later editions of DnD (Iรขโฌโขm looking at you Pathfinder!), I like most systems. But after refereeing just one session of Fate I got an email with this in itรขโฌยฆ
รขโฌลSorry, but I just can’t stand thinking about FATE a moment longer. It’s a storygaming system, and I really don’t like the whole narrativist /storygaming philosophy behind it. I have a more immersionist /simulationist approach to roleplaying.รขโฌย
And this from a player I know and respect from playing Warhammer, a crunchy, slightly clunky system that I also happen to really like.
I understand his emotional reaction, I really do. Having been weaned on DnD in the late 70s, early 80รขโฌโขs, these days it gives me the shudders. But I had to answer, รขโฌลI see FATE as immersionist storygaming as opposed to the awful clunky number crunching of all those DnD derivatives.รขโฌย (the rest of the group are digging our first excursion into Fate, BTW).
As is often the case on occasions like this, I found myself turning to early twentieth century dancer and choreographer, Doris Humphrey, to help explain. She described dance as traversing what she termed The Arc Between Two Deaths รขโฌโ the Apollonian Death of total stasis, and the Dionysian Death of total loss of control. Law and Chaos I guess. The perfect dance should swing from one to the other, getting frighteningly close to each in turn without ever totally surrendering to either. From a role playing perspective, we have Venger Satanis on one hand telling us in รขโฌหHow to GM Like aรขโฌยฆรขโฌโข that story is just dressing because all that really matters is that moment of complete immersion (Apollonian Death). On the other hand, is Look, Robotรขโฌโขs article from June 2013 about telling a great story first (Dionysian Death), over any in-character immersion.
Surely, somewhere in between is the sweet spot.
I love immersion. I have memories of places and events that never existed or happened anywhere but in my and my friendsรขโฌโข heads รขโฌโ and those memories are completely indistinguishable from my other real memories in terms of quality of recall. I love that. But at the table itรขโฌโขs vital to be a generous, mindful player to both the GM and the other players, and to tell a great story to get to those breath-taking moments of alternative reality creation.
The conduit can be fluid Fate or clunky Warhammer but the aim has to be traipsing the narrative path along the Arc Between Two Deaths: lots of story but not to the exclusion of those little pockets of รขโฌหI was there!รขโฌโข Well, that and laughing at comedic pets, of course.
Apologies for the long rambling response รขโฌโ your great article just landed in my in-box at exactly the right time.
PS The Fate-hating player has since said heรขโฌโขll carry on playing just to find out what happens in the story, so I must be doing something rightรขโฌยฆ
I lI’ve the idea of fate being that story/narratives experience because it is but it’s just on the edge because it shares a lot with traditional games in structure and execution. Take another step and your really in the narrativis space with games like swords without master and Psi Run, Microscope, Our Last Best Hope, and Doomed Pilgrim just to name a few. I would start talking about powered by the apocalypse but that has some structures that feel pretty close to the edge of that immersive space.
It’s interesting stuff though. The idea of being immersed. What level of immersion are you looking for. The game level. The player level. The story level. The character level. They’re all valid but we move between them when playing which defies being immersed in that one space which is different from losing ourselves in a movie or a book. We only need to be one thing. Watcher or reader so we can place ourselves in the ongoing fiction longer, trick our minds because we don’t have to be more than one thing. It’s why an actor can be immersed in a role. They’re the person, the role, fully when they’re on stage and they can forget who they really are. Immersion. Quite an interesting concept.
The levels of immersion is an interesting topic in and of itself. Something I didn’t touch on, but briefly thought about, was the way in which the fear of immersion was part of what drove the D&D = Devil Worship scares of the 80’s. Each little bit of fear mongering was based around the idea of some ‘child’ getting so immersed in the game, they lose their sense of self and only see the game. ๐
I’m really glad your Fate hating player is still carrying on. I always figure as long as a group isn’t exclusive to one system or type of game, you can get through the stuff that’s not quite your jam until you get to something that is. My group is definitely polygamerous, so we play almost everything. ๐
And no apologies needed on the long comment. You had a lot to say!
I know I’ve found with my group, I have one player that doesn’t do well being put on the spot. When I ask them to fill in the details on things that happened off camera or why things might be the way they are, he always freezes up. I’m trying to learn the points where I can go to him and the points where it’s better to pass the narrative baton to someone else.
LOL, I think we’ve all seen that player who sits in the boat when you have prepared an underwater adventure. Everyone else has swallowed their water breathing potions and jumped in the water. “I told you I was raised in a savanna. So I won’t go in the water.” Ugh!
I’ve had more success in group story telling when I encourage it rather than require it. I’ve had a player in Hillfolk have a jolly good time without doing a bit of world/story building. They said “It’s like 5 GMs and me. I don’t want to be a GM, but it’s cool that everyone else does.”
I had a young player a while back who didn’t want her character to get out of the car because something bad was going to happen. I gently pointed out to her that if she stayed in the car, then NOTHING would happen and that would make for a very boring story. She was still a bit hesitant about getting into the adventure, but she at least got out of the car. When the player is an older, theoretically more experienced player, I have far less sympathy and patience. ๐
You’ve also got a really good point about letting your players be as involved as they want to be. If they know the opportunity exists to jump in, they’ll do it if and when they’re ready.
Another terrific article. Angela Murray is why I keep coming back to this blog.
Aw, thank you! (The other authors here are pretty damn fantastic, so I hope you read them too!)
Oh I do. But yours keep Gnomestew on my radar. Thanks for all the hard work you put into this. I and my players appreciate it.
The SECOND I’m able to use this in my sessions I will UNQUESTIONABLY do so
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLkFWq_ipCc
It could transform the entire gaming area into a medieval setting. It could give you God’s own hexmap. Hell, you could probably have the ceiling break open and a dragon stick its head into the room.
edit: I’m not affiliated with that company in any way whatsoever, nor am I marketing for them blablabla etc etc.
THAT is pretty damn cool and would definitely make for some highly immersive games. It’s probably a while away, though, both in general affordability and ease of use. ๐