So what makes a game immersive? In the case of the game ‘Illusion Master‘, although the game does not make the player’s experience totally immersive, on some level it still manages to capture the player’s involvement and bring him in Johan Huizinga’s magical circle. How does the game achieve this?
At the start of the game, the player is introduced to the narrative and we are introduced to a magician who has just got his magic chest that holds the power of illusion stolen from a mysterious entity. The magician is of course disappointed at this news and would not simply let his magic chest fall into the wrong hands, so he decides to pursue it and bring it back. Clementine, the magician’s assistant explains how there are minions helping out to the cause and thinks it would be unwise for the magician to go after the chest, however the magician will not listen to reason and decides to go after the chest nonetheless.
At this point in the game I was intrigued and involved in the plot and narrative of the game (into the magical circle I went). I wanted to find out how the story was going to unfold, if the magician (which I was in control of) was going to be able to complete his quest and also who and what form or shape did the ghost-like entity and his minions take? The narrative itself played a good part in making me be a part of the game (immersed) and the game didn’t need to have high-quality graphics for this or any audio for that matter.
Another factor which also played into immersion was the fact that the game makes you feel affectionate for the character. There is an imbalance in the game because the protagonist has unjustifiably gotten his chest stolen and we (the players) want to set things right again and solve this issue.
There is also a pleasant flow to the game. The game takes us straight to the problem (without a lot of dramatisation). After a short cut-scene, the rules of the game are explained in a very simplistic manner and in simple English and provides the player with a clear directive and goal to achieve.
After finishing the game and defeating the boss, the game comes to an end and takes a webcam shot of the player playing the game, hinting that the magician is the player himself.
My conclusion is that Illusion Master is sending a message through playing it more than anything. It is immersive up to a point where the player wants to know what happens and how it happens. The flow of the game makes it engaging and it is not a simple game also. While I was playing it, I got confused many times on which correct key I had to press, especially when the keys were inversed. Feedback was immediately given when the player pressed a wrong key or didn’t press the key at the right time. The only thing I found lacking were the rewards/accomplishments, however it was still an enjoyable casual game.
References
Calleja, G. (2007). [online] Available at: http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/07312.10496.pdf [Accessed 23 Apr. 2018].
Ollero, C (2015). What makes games engaging?. [online] Ennomotive. Available at: https://www.ennomotive.com/the-power-of-engaging-games/ [Accessed 23 Apr. 2018].
McMahan, A. (2006). [online] Available at: http://www.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/fileadmin/Redaktion/Institute/Kultur_und_Medien/Medien_und_Kulturwissenschaft/Dozenten/Szentivanyi/Computerspielanalyse_aus_kulturwissenschaftlicher_Sicht/mcmahan.pdf [Accessed 23 Apr. 2018].
Melvin Magro 