Quote:
Originally Posted by TarJak
I think the tow most misused words on these threads are gameplay and immersion.
What is gameplay?
What is immersion?
Why are they different and should they be separated at all?
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Here's a few games that are similar (or from the same series) but excel differently at either immersion or gameplay. This is a purely personal opinion.
Immersion: Morrowind
Gameplay: Oblivion
Immersion: Final Fantasy 9
Gameplay: Final Fantasy 7
Immersion: Flight Unlimited 2
Gameplay: Flight Unlimited 1 (or FSX or FU 3)
Immersion: Mafia
Gameplay: GTA (any since 3)
Immersion: CoD some levels
Gameplay: CoD other levels
Immersion: Battle of Britain 2 and European Air War
Gameplay: IL-2
Immersion: Diablo 1
Gameplay: Diablo 2
Immersion: Wing Commander 4
Gameplay: I-War 1 and 2
Immersion: Max Payne 1
Gameplay: Max Payne 2
Immersion: Jedi Knight 1
Gameplay: Jedi Outcast
Other immersive games: AVP1, Condemned 1, HoMM3 (weird, I know), Fallout (all of them), Icewind Dale 2, and tons more.
Games that might've been immersive for me, but aren't: GTA4, Crysis, Bioshock.
As a rule of thumb, for me, new games are not immersive no matter what they do. I miss the old days. Today graphics just can't balance the weak stories, bugs, bad design.
Immersion is a mix of both gameplay AND excellent design. Simply pouring 1000 gameplay or realistic features doesn't make a game immersive. For example GTA San Andreas had the most options but failed to be as immersive as Mafia. Morrowind for me illustrates how a game with less features and worse graphics can still beat a realistic looking game (oblivion) simply by being perfect in it's originality and story and pure dread.
SH3 is one immersive MF... I can't explain how they did it. SH4 might have better graphics but... it's not even close. SH5 doesn't appear to be that immersive... not sure why. I won't judge it from just a few screenshots but I already expect it to lack that "special thing" that SH3 had.