I think Shenmue II was a great early example of a game making you feel completely immersed in its world. In many ways the universe did entirely revolve around your character Ryo. But for its time it really made you feel like you were in a living, breathing world.
I need to look into that game. I've seen a few clips but I always see the jank but then I hear other positive things about it. I've even heard some people call it iconic. Dang, for some reason, I was just remind of Yakuza. It's wacky but man, does it suck you in.
I have very fond memories of playing Shenmue 2 and it offered some genuine moments that have stuck with me. Even still, I have zero desire to replay it.
The Yakuza franchise is very much its spiritual-punk rock successor.
Totally. You fully had to manage your time. Heaven forbid you were late for work or missed a meeting time with someone...
I missed it on Dreamcast, but a pal insisted I play the Xbox re-release when that came out. It really is brilliant in so many ways, but also a sluggish chore in others.
Still, I am glad I played it, even though I won't be revisiting it.
I've been watching a friend play that game, and all I have to say is: medieval life really sucked. I'm surprised how detailed and how many different mechanics that game has. I haven't seen any other game like it, though I don't know much about games in that genre, to be fair.
Yeah, it’s definitely top for that “immersion” factor you describe! I give it credit for realistically showing that medieval life sucked but then making a fun game around it.
The way you speak of realism makes me think of Watch Dogs Legion.
Its system to play as any NPC basically assigned a schedule to every NPC you started to "follow". They would have a work shift with a beginning and end, after work they might hit the pub and the game kept track of all of that.
The problem is that Watch Dogs Legion as a game is not very good in my opinion, it's an impressive system that got all the attention and the rest of the game is a bit... meh.
Sounds like a good system for a bad game... I can think of Watch Dogs in a good light with how they fooled me with the first one. Which is why I never went into Legion but uh... It looked cool but you confirmed that it's not good. RIP a cool idea.
Do you (both) distinguish between real vs. immersion? Or are they one in the same for you?
I ask because I think I want more immersion, even if it isn't "real" if that makes sense?
The Shadows/War of Mordor series was fairly immersive and with real consequences for the player as well -- Orcs that you were supposed to fight could also fight each other and eliminate each other, changing the power structure amongst the Orcs through the Nemesis system.
But yeah...random spawning/despawning for the sake of "immersion" feels icky to me.
Hmmm... They could be interchangeable. It's like how some stories, when talking about some civilizations, will talk about what they import or export, traditions that people follow, etc., which may not make sense for us but makes sense for the people that live there. It helps with immersion to treat it like a real thing that could happen, at least in that universe. So, in a sense, it is real.
The nemesis system makes sense, seeing that orcs are very aggressive and all that, but put that system in Safety City where the inhabitants are Pillow-people and it may not make much sense.
For me, it does feel that people want immersion, not realism. Imagine every game having survival mechanics (eating, sleeping, hygiene), some where you have to do taxes, having your character exercise or becoming obese. It's an extreme, for sure, but there's a reason why not everyone is a fan of ARMA or other sims.
I think Shenmue II was a great early example of a game making you feel completely immersed in its world. In many ways the universe did entirely revolve around your character Ryo. But for its time it really made you feel like you were in a living, breathing world.
I need to look into that game. I've seen a few clips but I always see the jank but then I hear other positive things about it. I've even heard some people call it iconic. Dang, for some reason, I was just remind of Yakuza. It's wacky but man, does it suck you in.
I have very fond memories of playing Shenmue 2 and it offered some genuine moments that have stuck with me. Even still, I have zero desire to replay it.
The Yakuza franchise is very much its spiritual-punk rock successor.
I’ve always heard of this game. Way before its time with a day night cycle
Totally. You fully had to manage your time. Heaven forbid you were late for work or missed a meeting time with someone...
I missed it on Dreamcast, but a pal insisted I play the Xbox re-release when that came out. It really is brilliant in so many ways, but also a sluggish chore in others.
Still, I am glad I played it, even though I won't be revisiting it.
You may like Kingdom Come, if you want Czech realism.
I've been watching a friend play that game, and all I have to say is: medieval life really sucked. I'm surprised how detailed and how many different mechanics that game has. I haven't seen any other game like it, though I don't know much about games in that genre, to be fair.
Yeah, it’s definitely top for that “immersion” factor you describe! I give it credit for realistically showing that medieval life sucked but then making a fun game around it.
I can only imagine how the second improved on it!
I am looking forward to finding out!
The way you speak of realism makes me think of Watch Dogs Legion.
Its system to play as any NPC basically assigned a schedule to every NPC you started to "follow". They would have a work shift with a beginning and end, after work they might hit the pub and the game kept track of all of that.
The problem is that Watch Dogs Legion as a game is not very good in my opinion, it's an impressive system that got all the attention and the rest of the game is a bit... meh.
Yes I remember now! I played Legion when the Xbox launched. Loved WD2!
Sounds like a good system for a bad game... I can think of Watch Dogs in a good light with how they fooled me with the first one. Which is why I never went into Legion but uh... It looked cool but you confirmed that it's not good. RIP a cool idea.
Yeah, it's sad to see good design ideas being poorly implemented.
I do think that Watch Dogs 2 is worth playing, though, it's one of the best Ubi Open World games in my opinion.
I'm a little soured out with Ubi to be honest. But I'll take your word for it, as you're not the only person I've heard say that.
Do you (both) distinguish between real vs. immersion? Or are they one in the same for you?
I ask because I think I want more immersion, even if it isn't "real" if that makes sense?
The Shadows/War of Mordor series was fairly immersive and with real consequences for the player as well -- Orcs that you were supposed to fight could also fight each other and eliminate each other, changing the power structure amongst the Orcs through the Nemesis system.
But yeah...random spawning/despawning for the sake of "immersion" feels icky to me.
I agree a game can be fictional and immersive. That id be happy with.
Hmmm... They could be interchangeable. It's like how some stories, when talking about some civilizations, will talk about what they import or export, traditions that people follow, etc., which may not make sense for us but makes sense for the people that live there. It helps with immersion to treat it like a real thing that could happen, at least in that universe. So, in a sense, it is real.
The nemesis system makes sense, seeing that orcs are very aggressive and all that, but put that system in Safety City where the inhabitants are Pillow-people and it may not make much sense.
For me, it does feel that people want immersion, not realism. Imagine every game having survival mechanics (eating, sleeping, hygiene), some where you have to do taxes, having your character exercise or becoming obese. It's an extreme, for sure, but there's a reason why not everyone is a fan of ARMA or other sims.
I may have yapped a bit here.
Great post, makes me reminise and wanna play RDR2 again!
I've been getting tons of RDR2 RP videos which makes me curious on on this realism talk and roleplay in games.