Immersion, Technology, and Gaming

Big ol' nerdpost here. Flee while you can.

So I started a new game of Skyrim for the first time in two years. I decided to use mods this time. Once I got one or two graphical mods, I wound up searching for a few hours, grabbing a total of about 50 mods, largely changing visual features, but occasionally changing functionality as well.

Now, when I enter the game, I'm met with ludicrously gorgeous scenery and unmistakeable immersion. The sounds, the sights, I can almost feel the chill as breath visibly rises from the breaths of NPCs.

Now take the existence of a game that has come close to a plateau in virtual depth, and give it this:
The Oculus Rift.

The first consumer marketable virtual reality headset with headtracking and fully immersive field of vision. To say I'm excited for the day the Rift is available for purchase and compatible with a wide array of games is probably the greatest understatement I will make in years. Removing the artificiality of sitting at a desk, faced with the normal comforts of home surrounding you, the Rift convinces your mind through your eyes that you are, in fact, somewhere else.

Watch a 46 second clip of the Guillotine experience to see what I mean.

Despite the fact that people are clearly still in the safety of their own environment, with friends, family, or loved ones around them, the idea that one of their senses has been borrowed for sole use by a game takes them almost completely into the virtual universe that they're experiencing. So much so that their eyes accidentally mistake virtual stimuli for real phenomena.

This level of immersion is unprecedented, unparalleled, and almost unimaginable. You have to experience it to believe it. Which is why I cannot wait to get my hands on one of these things.

Oh, but it only gets better. The Oculus Rift had an enormously successful Kickstarter that raised almost 1000% of its initial goal, garnering emotional investment and excitement in some of the biggest names in the gaming industry. The model they went with was a direct attempt to put Rifts in the hands of independent developers so that hundreds and thousands of people could begin playing with the system, designing games, critiquing, and formulating ideas for the headset.
The result of this? Widespread excitement among the gaming population. So much so that other designers began working almost immediately on ideas that could improve immersion in other ways.
The most popular of such ideas was the Omni. The Omni is a simple, relatively compact omni-directional treadmill designed to be compatible with the Oculus Rift and hopefully, any future games that are compatible therein.

This means that not only are we visually completely included in the virtual scenario, but we're also kinesthesiologically part of the universe as well. Our movements sync to our virtual avatars in head and feet. Ultimately, this leaves the hands and some of the more fine motor movements.

That's where the Razer Hydra comes in.

While I think it's a woefully incomplete product, the idea is largely upheld. Have a controller (or glove) in each hand that mimics placement and movement of the hands, controlled by motion sensing technology. Kinda' like the Wiimote, except about a thousand times better.

What we're left with now is an immersive experience unlike any other we've had the potential to create to this point.

Sound can easily be as immersive as sight with the technology we have.
That leaves taste, smell, and some of the more nuanced instances of touch.

While it was a failed Kickstarter, As Real as it Gets shows us where the technology is headed. Pressurized suits that provide physical stimulation based on in-game events, such as being hit by bullets, having someone touch your shoulder, or even mimicking certain aspects of pain in a non-dangerous way. With the same idea, scaled in size, you could have an entire bodysuit that allows you to feel mimicked sensations. All this while walking, looking, and acting in the real world in order to make your avatar do the same things.

All of this technology is wildly imperfect in myriad ways. There's so much to be considered and so many steps left to take, but the fact that we're this close is nothing short of miraculous. As game technology progresses, we're seeing a switch to highly immersive environments, with much greater focus on attention to detail, exploration, and the feeling that you're in an actual, functioning universe.


Imagine you're playing a horror game with all this immersive technology.
Imagine walking down a long, dark hallway. A single dim light flickers at the end of the expanse, barely lighting the floor. You hear something strange- it sounds like an unnatural slither. As you continue walking forward and looking around, you feel something slowly slide across your back.
You whip around, but there's nothing there and the sensation is gone as quickly as it had come.

Is your heart beating faster yet? The more we mimic real events that continue to be within the safe space of our own homes, voluntarily chosen at our discretion, the more we convince our brains to activate real-world hormones that are increasingly rare to experience "naturally." The rush of adrenaline, the pure terror, sweat dripping from your face, heart racing, the impending feeling that something is about to get you, but you have no idea what it is.
To willingly choose to have this sensation is an exercise in freedom in the most fascinating sense. We're using free will to actively stress ourselves out in visceral and concerning ways. But it's that voluntary aspect that makes gaming so enjoyable. Choosing to overcome arbitrary obstacles and valueless tribulations. It gives us a sense of power and meaning.

It's almost like practice for a life that's much more interesting and terrifying than the lives we actually lead.

I'm too excited for real words. Just... Like...
Holy shit, you guys.
I've got goosebumps thinking about this.

-
Waddles