The Immersive Fallacy, Frank Lantz's GDC 2005 Rant

[@megasoniczxx]

15 years later and I really feel like he hit the nail on the head with this.

[@Semikami]

Thanks for publishing this. Playing Killer7 taught me about the value of abstraction and not aiming for the realistic simulation.

[@nolnsypie]

5:56 that one guys enthusiasm is great

[@richardellis8193]

This. A thousand times yes!

[@kennethcajamarca71]

Thanks Barry !!!!

[@iestynne]

Very well put, couldn't agree more.

[@TheLordLogic]

Incoming Grumps

[@convrgevr3579]

Awesome :)

[@followingtheroe1952]

4:43 Oxygen Not included, Sims and The Ship: allow us to introduce ourselves

[@GillesLouisReneDeleuze]

hello people

[@samaBR333]

but if life is a simulation...

[@peterkerj7357]

Credits Video games Gearheads (1996), Phillips Interactive Junkbot (2001), Lego Group Spybot: The Nightfall Incident (2002), Lego Group Diner Dash (2004), PlayFirst Drop7 (2009), Zynga CSI: Crime City (2010), Ubisoft Universal Paperclips (2017)[7]

[@gabrielsandstedt]

How about simulators? Maybe they do not count as games, I like just flying and immersing myself in flight simulator

[@tiyenin]

They're not games. Like, taking a hike is picturesque and invigorating... but hiking is NOT a "game." That's the point he's making: without direction, immersion does not a passable game make.

[@lliatto]

simulations are NOT the thing they are simulating AT ALL

[@ioda006]

Addressed here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqW6pGmderyEbNE

[@PoshPom]

I mean, he's comparing things in hyperbole in strawmanning the situation himself. It's hyporcritical. It's not about truly being entirely immersed, it's about reasonably losing yourself and using your imagination to carry yourself into a world in which you aren't in as a sort of escapism.

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

That's called the magic circle in games.

[@FireheadLazzo]

I don't think he says anything here that hurts that end. He's just saying that immersion for its own sake is counterproductive. There's no point to simulating reality if it doesn't benefit the game. The human mind can handle abstraction very well and there's no compelling reason not to take advantage of that.

[@jzungre]

but it's not all escapism. Most of the most important and popular games of all time have nothing to do with escaping to an alternate world of simulated things. Is tetris good because you escape into a world? super mario bros? CAndy Crush? Chess? Go? Poker? Basketball? Even something like Fortnite or LoL really don't rely on simulation / escapism (at least not like a Skyrim or a GTA do), they're more about competition, socializing and streaming

[@BobbyRunout]

Wrong, but charming!

[@BobbyRunout]

I was mistaken in my assessment

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

:D Cool to take the time to get back and tell us. :)

[@lliatto]

@@BobbyRunout ok lol