Topic: Video Game Nirvana

What is Video Game immersion?
Do you feel you're living in the world of the game, or just taking care of chores and task?
Do video games take advantage of the full scope of its environment?
What should be implemented in a video game to fully get the player involved in the universe?

Improvements That Can Be Made

Weather

Snow
-The weather must affect the character's skill and decisions.
-If it's snowing, gear should be frozen overtime if not in use and movement also altered. The weather
should affect the gear and decisions of your characters, makes for a more interesting play through.
-Players could become ill, and their skills are affected, nothing like the cold affecting your character's
skill output.
-After heavy snow fall, heat/friction/ and sun can melt and fall within the environment.
-Snow accumulation on characters and environment.
-Slight and heavy blizzards with the effects it has on the player and environments.
-The ability to slip on ice.

Sun
-Glare affects the environment and players.
-Experiencing too much heat can cause mirages, dehydration, dizziness and fatigue and the player must find ways to rest and overcome it, instead of just drinking a potion to heal.This brings a great dynamic to the game.

Rain
-Causes floods and alters landscape of the player environment.
-Splashes off objects.
-Player gear becomes slippery and must be altered to handle environment conditions, upgrading gear to
be water resistance helps bring realism to game situations.

Wind
-The direction of the wind can be noticed and could possibly affect video game conditions.
-Dust affects environment and player decisions.
-Tornadoes and how it affects it surrounding environment. Possibly windows breaking, building torn apart and player's decisions.

Moon
-The effect the moon has on the ocean, high tides could affect video game environments as it closes off
and open up certain areas the player has to access.

Environment Rhythm
Ecosystem
-a true biosphere where nature, the environment and player are interacting with each other. The sky, the mountains, the land and the ocean must come together to visually capture the true scope of the game. Seasons, night and day events, opening up player interactions to random sequences. Environmental changes, such as deterioration of structures to seeing them built during game play, naturally changes the landscape overtime. Morning precipitation, mist, and fog with the installation of full seasons helps with player immersion. Different seasons should affect different things in the game's universe, creating fresh outcomes each time. Random events such as volcanic eruptions affects villages and the characters within, it's a great way to keep the game fresh. Not being able to know when one of the natural elements earth, wind, water, fire, and time will affect player decisions, would be great for the dynamics of a video game and when you include weather disasters it is a great way to keep the player on their toes.

Sound
-this is a major part of video game immersion, as it draws you into the video game atmosphere.
-Being able to hear the wind howling is a cool effect that causes player immersion. The sound of feet
slushing through snow. Tree branches snapping while you walk through a brush in the jungle, trees
swaying from heavy wind or wild life running through the bushes.
The crackling of lightning and thunder. Imagine an impromptu earthquake where you could hear everything shake around you. Sound quality is very important in a video game, it makes the game feel alive and nothing that more alive than nature itself.

Over Abundance
-Too much of anything is no good and causes clutter, interrupts game flow you're seeking moderation
Traveling place to place can become a burden in a game. The environment should flow well with each
other, forcing the player to stop and notice the beauty and natural sequences of nature, this is great game play itself.

Mechanics
-Injuries during a game can give players something to overcome and also keep them on their toes. When the player has to stave off situations where they could get injured, the outcome being uncertain in each situation makes for great game play. This brings a sense of realism. It helps brings a sense of elation overcoming the injury and when you are able to use the player at full capacity again you are grateful for their full strength. Imagine during game play you injure a limb, but you have to find a way to win. The game becomes that much tougher trying overcoming it, but to win while incapacitated brings great elation to the player.

-Destruction of the environment from wear and tear of a battle, is a cool effect that should be introduced to video games. It shows progression, the environment being torn down during game play shows that the action that's taking place is impactful. Letting the environment affect the battle, where awareness is needed, is a really enjoyable way to capture the journey of the player.

-Skilled based and timing moves in my opinion are the best mechanics for most video games
genres. Button mashing become tedious and boring, there's nothing like learning how to defeat an opponent through skill and timing, almost like the art of life just waiting for the right opportunity.

Final Thoughts
-The game must be alive and have a natural rhythm, from traveling to locations and mechanics. Rewards must be fun to earn and sometimes should be random, this keeps the game fresh.
Seeking shelter during a snow storm is just one of the little things that could be added to help with player immersion. The games must feel natural and designed aesthetically to look and flow well to give the game a great vibe. In short, the game must be alive, invoking all the human senses from smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight to create a sense of enjoyment for the player. The game must have an identity. There is nothing more fun than seeing characters that makes the world come to life. Observation of characters going about their daily life, affecting the environment and character decisions, brings the game to life. The human senses, natural elements and the weather should be a major part of the game. This keep things fresh, no scenario is ever going to be the same and that would ramp up reliability, making it truly next gen.

There's already games with some of this stuff, however there's also room for others that don't attempt to make something in such a big scale and in such a realistic way. Sometimes all you need to immerse yourself in a game is to find it enjoyable.

Personally, while I do like realistic stuff like Red Dead Redemption 2, I also enjoy simpler games and prefer that they keep a certain line before they become too real. After all, I have the real world for that and videogames are a way too distract myself amd escape from reality for a while.

Also, for anyone reading my post, take a shot anytime I write "real" or "realistic".

Gaming nirvana is when I take a break from playing a game, I look at the time, and I'm baffled as to where the hours went.