Game Theory: Can games create immersion by being inaccessible?

[Kelbear]

Difficulty can get people to invest in their success. You enjoy beating a game more if you put personal effort into reaching the end, instead of just coasting through easily.

Comepletely agree. Well said.

But immersion, in terms of feeling like you're /in/ the game, is actually subverted by difficulty. When you die and get sent back to the gameover screen, you are pulled out of the game's reality, and you remember that you need to pee, or go get something to eat, etc. Pauses in gameplay necessarily break immersion because it pauses the game's reality, sending you back to your own.

Sure, you're immersed within the game but as soon as you die... That 4th wall is broken. Annihilated! The village of Immersion is raped and pillaged and burned.

That argument always made sense in my head. I mean, I get it. If you die you are taken out of the world and are suddenly faced with a menu of some sort.

But personally, that has never affected me. I don't know why, it just never bothered me. It usually just means I'll eagerly quick load and try again.

To be honest, solutions to this problem have even made it worse for me. In FF XIII when you die at a boss, you have the option of 'Retry' which basically spawns you right back in the boss fight. It's extremely quick and shouldn't break immersion, but ironically it does for me. When I face a boss and can retry fighting him without any penalties followed by a quick 'Retry?' question, then it just reminds me more of this being a game. I almost think it's cheap. I prefer having to actually replay passages and limited safe-points because it'll keep you on your toes.

It seems that there is a trade-off involved between challenging the player to get them to invest in the game, and driving the player off with difficulty walls.

I think it's a design decision for the developer, they have to sit down right at the beginning and think long and hard about their vision of what their game will be. With that in mind, they have to consider who their target market is. I'm not going to say hardcore and casual gamers because those terms have just been riddled to death with pejorative meaning.

If they can sell to a broad range of players, good for them, but that kind of game will be much harder to make. Easy-going players and difficulty-gluttons probably won't see games the same way. As long as the developer can target their niche and sell well to them, the game will be a success. Games like Gran Turismo have a core market of car enthusiasts that they can sell very well to. I, on the other hand, enjoy light arcade-style racing. I really wouldn't expect Gran Turismo to bend to fit my interests, and I don't think they should.

 

[Racher]

Short answer: Yes, they can.

Longer answer:
Yes, this exactly same thing was the case back when Fallout games came out.
You were thrown into there world, and told to get item X. There, go do it. I especially liked them since you were so vulnerable. Health regen doesn't exist, you have to use First Aid and Doctor skills to fix yourself (or party member). Made me way more cautious, which deepened the immersion. Good times.

 

[L-J-F]

Definitely, though it depends how it's done.

 

[bobknowsall]

Inaccessibility is rarely a good thing in games, in my experience. Actually, I can't remember a game where it contributed positively to the experience.

I don't want my hand held for the entire game, but I would appreciate an optional tutorial that explains how the GUI works, y'know? Difficulty can be a good thing, but making the game difficult to use is not.