Probably an odd question as it pertains to myself specifically, but I thought maybe others here have had similar experiences and can tell me.

When I was a kid I used to really get immersed into the games I played; I'd feel as though I was actually, feeling the very walls around me in dungeon crawlers, getting tense in fights and such, but nowadays I don't really get that sense any more. I'm in my mid-30's and now I'm thankfully able to afford any game I wish, I thankfully can choose how long I spend gaming, yet I just can't get immersed, I just can't get pulled in anymore.

My buddy told me about the Witcher 3 and told me it's great and immersive like only the oldest games ever were, and yet when I played it....I got kind of bored, and lost interest somewhat fast. One possibility is that maybe with modern proliferation of game knowledge, we can simply google for anything we want rather than let the game help us find what we need, pulling us out for that much of the game, another possibility is that we recognize mechanics and animations for what they are, and we try and memorize enemy combat animations, and our own iframes and such, even if instinctively.

I honestly can't remember the last game I played where I got immersed into the game and just felt the world rather than just see it.

  • Darthsenio_Mall [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    My problem is the background hum of all of the more productive things i know i should be doing, looping constantly in the back of my mind and preventing me from being present while playing a game. I have a more enjoyable time when i recognize that that's happening and rationalize to myself that if I'm going to spend the next whatever amount of time playing a game regardless, then i might as well put that thought out of my mind and at least allow myself the chance to be immersed.

    I think the anxieties of adulthood take up processing power that during childhood was more freely utilized in enjoying experiences. It can be managed consciously or suppressed with a more intense sensory experience like VR (or by increasing the sensitivity to the experience like with weed).

    I've been playing some VR stuff with a couple friends recently and having the walls literally (virtually) around me for sure brings back some of that feeling of engagement i remember getting from games when i was a kid.