L’immersion fictionnelle au-delà de la narrativité

Abstract

This article is intended to show how game components interact to favor the player’s fictional immersion. With the help of a ludonarrative approach and in light of Calleja’s holistic model of immersion as well as Ermi and Mäyrä’s SCI-Model, we intend to demonstrate the complexity of fictional immersion, which tends to be masked by the creation of categories and subcategories of immersion. Our objective is twofold : showing that the different types of immersion are not mutually exclusive and explaining how non-narrative game elements can influence fictional immersion. To illustrate these ideas and to identify the many ways that combined effects of game components can impact fictional immersion, we will carry out an analysis of the adventure and exploration game Abzû, that is aimed to immerse the player – literally and figuratively – in a colorful underwater world teeming with marine life.

Keywords

• fictional immersion
• video game
• narration
• character
• gameplay
• spatiality