Tuesday, 22 May 2018

On Immersion

Immersion

A couple of weeks ago I was playing a game of Epic with a gaming buddy. 

Previously he had asked why I occasionally snapped unsighted pics of the table with my phone camera from tabletop height.

On this particular game though he actually got down for a model-eye view and noted (paraphrase) 'That actually looks pretty cool. Like a battlefield.'

Which is obviously the point... and one of the main reasons I do this particular hobby.

The competitive side of the game is... meh whatever.

Collecting cool stuff just for the sake of it is... kinda pfft.

But watching a battle unfold (albeit slowly, in miniature, and broken up with coffee breaks and looking up rules) is pretty narly. Usually beats reading it in a book, often beats watching it on a movie.


Perhaps it's a matter of empathy (read: over-imagination) but having a realistic looking battlefield changes my attitude when i'm playing - casualties and victories are more visceral than an abstracted game's framework.



Chess and card games have their particular versions of suspense of course, but seeing a squad get mowed down by the enemy is that much worse; crushing an enemy squad that much more satisfying.

You do of course have to be selectively-blind to bases, stats sheets and coffee cups; but if you can tune all that out it's a great passtime.

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