Purdue University
`Purdue e-Pubs
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`Open Access Theses
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`Spring 2015
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`Immersion and identity in video games
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`Yaman Terzioglu
`Purdue University
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`Theses and Dissertations
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`Follow this and additional works at: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses
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`Recommended Citation
`Terzioglu, Yaman, "Immersion and identity in video games" (2015). Open Access Theses. 620.
`http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses/620
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`This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact epubs@purdue.edu for
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`Graduate School Form 30
`Updated 1/15/2015
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`PURDUE UNIVERSITY
`GRADUATE SCHOOL
`Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance
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`This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation prepared
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`By Yaman Terzioglu
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`Entitled
`IMMERSION AND IDENTITY IN VIDEO GAMES
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`For the degree of Master of Fine Arts
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`Is approved by the final examining committee:
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`David Sigman
`Chair
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`Fabian Winkler
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`Shannon C. McMullen
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`To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation
`Agreement, Publication Delay, and Certification Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32),
`this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy of
`Integrity in Research” and the use of copyright material.
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`Approved by Major Professor(s):; Pid Sigman
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`Approvedby: Harry Bulow
`Head of the Departmental Graduate Program
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`4/22/2015
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`Date
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`IMMERSION  AND  IDENTITY  IN  VIDEO  GAMES  
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`A  Thesis  
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`Submitted  to  the  Faculty  
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`Purdue  University  
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`by  
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`Yaman  Terzioglu  
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`In  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  
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`Requirements  for  the  Degree  
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`Master  of  Fine  Arts  
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`May  2015  
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`Purdue  University  
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`West  Lafayette,  Indiana  
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`ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  
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`I  would  like  to  thank  my  major  professor,  David  Sigman  for  his  support  and  
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`letting  me  pursue  my  interest  in  game  development  and  research.  I’m  also  thankful  for  
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`the  support  of  Shannon  McMullen  and  Fabian  Winkler  for  being  in  my  MFA  committee.  
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`I  also  would  like  to  thank  my  family  for  their  never-­‐ending  support  for  me  to  
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`TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  
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`ABSTRACT  ..........................................................................................................................  vii  
`CHAPTER  1.  INTRODUCTION  ..............................................................................................  1  
`1.1  introduction  ..............................................................................................................  1  
`CHAPTER  2.  CONCEPTS  AND  LITERATURE  REVIEW:  ...........................................................  3  
`2.1  Immersion:  ...............................................................................................................  3  
`2.2  Identity  ...................................................................................................................  11  
`2.2.1  Theories  of  Identity  .............................................................................................  14  
`CHAPTER  3.  VIDEO  GAME  ELEMENTS  IN  SPACE  SIMULATION  GENRE  .............................  17  
`3.1  Space  Simulation  Genre  .........................................................................................  17  
`3.2  Case  Study  ..............................................................................................................  19  
`3.2.1  Case  1:  Kerbal  Space  Program  .........................................................................  19  
`Case  2:  X3:  Albion  Prelude  .......................................................................................  22  
`CHAPTER  4.  VIDEO  GAME  ELEMENTS  IN  SPACE  SIMULATION  GAMES  ............................  26  
`4.1  Physical  Interaction  Methods  .................................................................................  26  
`4.1.1  Keyboard  .........................................................................................................  26  
`4.1.2  Mouse  ..............................................................................................................  27  
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`4.1.3  Joystick  ............................................................................................................  28  
`4.2  Sound  Devices  ........................................................................................................  28  
`4.2.1  Speakers  ..........................................................................................................  29  
`4.2.2  Headphones  ....................................................................................................  29  
`4.3  Virtual  Interaction  ..................................................................................................  30  
`4.4  Graphics  ..................................................................................................................  30  
`4.4.1  Realism  ............................................................................................................  31  
`4.4.2  Aesthetics  ........................................................................................................  31  
`4.4.3  Cockpit  .............................................................................................................  31  
`4.5  Sound  Design  ..........................................................................................................  32  
`4.5.1  Sound  Effects  ...................................................................................................  32  
`4.5.2  Music  ...............................................................................................................  32  
`4.6  Game  Modes  ..........................................................................................................  33  
`4.6.1  Free  Roam  .......................................................................................................  33  
`4.6.2  Objective  /  Narrative  .......................................................................................  33  
`4.7  Customization  ........................................................................................................  34  
`CHAPTER  5.  IMMERSION  STUDY  ......................................................................................  35  
`5.1  Method:  ..................................................................................................................  35  
`5.1.1  Participants  ......................................................................................................  35  
`5.1.2  Design  ..............................................................................................................  35  
`5.1.2.1  Control  Group  ...........................................................................................  37  
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`5.1.2.2  Experiment  Group  A  .................................................................................  37  
`5.1.2.3  Experiment  Group  B  .................................................................................  38  
`5.1.2.4  Experiment  Group  C  .................................................................................  38  
`5.1.3  Materials  and  Measures  ..................................................................................  39  
`5.2  Results  ....................................................................................................................  40  
`5.2.1  Hypothesis  .......................................................................................................  40  
`5.2.1  Overview  .........................................................................................................  41  
`5.2.2  Detailed  Analysis  .............................................................................................  45  
`5.2.2.1  Physical  Interaction  ..................................................................................  46  
`5.2.2.2  Sound  Devices  ..........................................................................................  47  
`5.2.2.3  Graphics  ........................................................................................................  47  
`5.2.2.4  Sound  Design  ............................................................................................  48  
`5.2.2.5  Game  Modes  ............................................................................................  49  
`5.2.2.6  Customization  ...........................................................................................  50  
`5.3  Discussion  ...............................................................................................................  51  
`CHAPTER  6.  CONCLUSION  ................................................................................................  54  
`BIBLIOGRAPHY  .................................................................................................................  56  
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`ABSTRACT
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`Terzioglu,  Yaman  MFA,  Purdue  University,  May  2015.  Immersion  and  Identity  in  Video  
`Games.  Major  Professor:  David  Sigman  
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`The  video  gaming  industry  is  an  ever-­‐expanding  one.  According  to  Reuters,  the  
`global  net  worth  of  the  industry  in  2011  was  US$65  billion  (Reuters,  2011).  Every  year  
`developers  race  to  deliver  the  best  game  ever  produced.  There  are  various  factors,  
`which  render  a  game  successful  and  a  successful  formulation  of  those  factors  means  a  
`satisfying  game  experience  for  the  players.    Immersion,  the  mental  involvement  
`between  the  game  and  the  player,  is  one  of  the  broader  phenomena,  which  includes  
`most  of  the  game  design  elements  as  its  determinants.  Understanding  the  impact  of  a  
`game’s  immersiveness  and  how  to  form  a  strong  immersive  structure  is  relevant  to  the  
`development  of  a  successful  video  game.    
`Every  video  game  player,  as  they  play  video  games,  connects  their  real  life  
`identity  with  a  virtual  identity,  which  serves  as  a  visual  and  substantial  representation.  
`The  real  life  identity,  with  every  aspect,  is  reflected  on  to  the  virtual  identity  and  the  
`latter  is  reflected  on  to  the  former  as  an  outcome  of  being  exposed  to  video  games.    
`James  Paul  Gee  (2004)  has  suggested  that  a  third  type  of  identity  is  formed  during  this  
`process  of  exchange:    “the  Projective  Identity”  (p.  56).  Understanding  the  relationship  
`between  identity  and  videogames  through  this  idea  of  triple  identities  (real  life,  
`projective  and  virtual)  and  the  interaction  between  players’  real-­‐world  self  and  the  
`avatar  they  are  controlling  inside  the  virtual  space  is  crucial  towards  analyzing  video  
`game  elements  such  as  “Immersion”  and  “Presence”.    
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`This  thesis  investigates  different  video  game  elements  and  the  impact  they  have  
`in  terms  of  immersion  and  the  relevance  of  these  elements  based  on  the  Space  
`Simulation  Genre,  to  create  a  model  that  would  be  applicable  to  other  genres.  
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`CHAPTER  1.  INTRODUCTION  
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`1.1  introduction  
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`I  grew  up  playing  video  games  and  one  of  the  main  reasons  why  they  fascinated  
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`me  was  their  ability  to  “pull”  me  in,  regardless  of  their  genre  or  type.  I  had  my  share  of  
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`poorly  designed  games  as  well,  which  didn’t  have  the  same  effect  that  the  “good”  
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`games  had.  Mind  you,  I  played  games  that  belonged  to  different  genres,  even  the  
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`genres  that  I  wasn’t  quite  fond  of.  My  opinions  were  almost  always  supported  by  
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`different  game  critics  and  their  evaluation  of  the  game,  which  meant  that  the  dislike  of  
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`such  “poor”  games  was  not  created  by  my  subjectivity  alone.  The  follow-­‐up  question  to  
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`my  revelation  was  the  simple  question  of:  Why?  Why  are  some  games  so  good  that  I  
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`can’t  stop  playing  and  why  are  some  games  so  poor  that  I  get  bored  /  irritated  /  
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`disenchanted?  What  are  the  factors  and  elements  that  create  such  phenomena  that  
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`make  me  forget  about  my  real-­‐world  identity  and  care  about  this  virtual,  alternative  
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`identity?  These  questions  forced  me  to  think  about  games  as  well,  besides  playing  them.  
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`To  understand  what  makes  a  game  successful,  I  wanted  to  focus  on  the  elements  that  
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`make  a  game  immersive,  an  experience  that  makes  the  players  forget  about  all  of  their  
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`real  life  endeavors  and  be  one  with  the  game  without  interruptions.    
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`The  issue  of  identity  is  a  very  complex  concept.  Throughout  ages,  philosophers,  
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`psychologists  and  even  individuals  tried  to  answer  the  question  of  who  we  really  are.  In  
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`this  thesis,  I  will  approach  theories  of  identity  from  the  perspective  of  video  games.  The  
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`investigation  will  be  about  how  different  game  elements  affect  the  experience  between  
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`the  player  and  the  game  in  terms  of  creating  a  successful  immersive  realm,  which  would  
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`make  it  easier  for  the  player  to  assume  the  identity  of  his/her  avatar.  These  elements  
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`will  be  discussed  further  in  the  context  of  “Immersion”,  a  term  that  was  coined  to  
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`describe  the  “sucking  in”  effect  of  not  just  the  virtual  realities  of  video  games,  but  also  
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`books  movies  and  other  form  of  narratives.  These  elements  and  factors  and  their  effects  
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`on  video  games  that  belong  to  a  specific  genre  will  be  analyzed  through  series  of  surveys  
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`and  tests  with  the  help  of  previous  research.  The  conclusions  to  the  analysis  will  be  used  
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`to  determine  a  research  model/method,  applicable  to  any  game  from  any  genre  that  
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`would  point  out  the  most  important  immersion  elements  that  take  part  in  different  
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`genres  and  video  game  types.  The  conclusions  will  also  be  used  in  terms  of  figuring  out  
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`the  flaws  of  the  study  and  how  the  study  can  be  improved.
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`CHAPTER  2.  CONCEPTS  AND  LITERATURE  REVIEW  
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`2.1  Immersion:  
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`Immersion  is  a  version  of  concentration,  which  is  applicable  to  the  narratives,  
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`stories  and  environments  that  exist  within  an  alternative,  pseudo  reality.  
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`Immersion  plays  an  active  role  and  is  in  relationship  with  our  psyche,  
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`environment  and  means  of  interaction  every  time  we  step  into  an  alternative,  virtual  
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`reality  that  is  crafted  and  embedded  into  different  media  like  a  book,  a  movie  or  a  video  
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`game.  Immersion,  in  the  scope  of  these  happenings  and  narratives  within  the  
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`alternative  realities,  affect  the  way  we  interact  with  them,  it  affects  the  time  we  spend  
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`on  them  and  most  importantly,  determines  the  satisfaction  and  pleasure  we  get  from  
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`them.  The  most  common  definition  of  Immersion  is  by  Janet  Murray  (1997)  in  her  book,  
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`“Hamlet  on  Holodeck”:  
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`A  stirring  narrative  in  any  medium  can  be  experienced  as  a  virtual  reality  be-­‐
`cause  our  brains  are  programmed  to  tune  into  stories  with  an  intensity  that  can  
`obliterate  the  world  around  us.  .  .  .The  experience  of  being  transported  to  an  
`elaborately  simulated  place  is  pleasurable  in  itself,  regardless  of  the  fantasy  
`content.  We  refer  to  this  experience  as  immersion.  Immersion  is  a  metaphorical  
`term  derived  from  the  physical  experience  of  being  submerged  in  water.  We  
`seek  the  same  feeling  from  a  psychologically  immersive  experience  that  we  do  
`from  a  plunge  in  the  ocean  or  swimming  pool:  the  sensation  of  being  surrounded  
`by  a  completely  other  reality,  as  different  as  water  is  from  air,  that  takes  over  all  
`of  our  attention,  our  whole  perceptual  apparatus  .  .  .  in  a  participatory  medium,  
`immersion  implies  learning  to  swim,  to  do  the  things  that  the  new  environment  
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`makes  possible  .  .  .  the  enjoyment  of  immersion  as  a  participatory  activity.(pg.  
`98-­‐99)  
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`Immersion  is  most  critical  in  video  games,  as  video  games  combine  two  elements  
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`that  exist  within  books  and  motion  pictures:  The  narrative  and  the  visual  stimuli.  Most  
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`importantly,  it  adds  another  dimension  and  a  layer  that  serves  as  a  critical  determinant  
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`to  the  levels  of  immersion:  non-­‐trivial  interaction1.  The  combination  of  these  three  
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`elements—narrative,  visual  stimuli  and  non-­‐trivial  interaction—forms  a  virtual  
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`environment  that  is  both  genuine  and  responsive.  This  is  a  new  form  of  interaction,  a  
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`new  dimension  that  embraces  and  houses  new  forms  of  identities  of  the  players’.  
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`Immersion  is  a  very  hot  topic  in  terms  of  video  game  design  research  as  it  is  the  
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`most  important  indicator  of  the  interaction  between  a  game  and  the  player.  Previous  
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`papers  and  research  almost  always  investigates  the  phenomena  of  immersion  in  
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`comparison  to  other  extremely  similar  elements  such  as  “Engagement,  Flow  and  
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`Presence  that  either  affect  or  become  the  outcome  of  the  overall  experience.  This  is  due  
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`to  the  fact  that  most  definitions  for  such  terms  have  blurry  lines  that  make  them  very  
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`hard  to  differentiate  from  each  other.    
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`1  Non-­‐trivial  Interaction:  any  sort  of  interaction  between  the  player  and  the  game  should  have  an  impact  
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`on  the  game  itself;  a  unique  reaction  given  by  the  game,  based  on  the  players’  actions.  Simply  put,  every  
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`action  should  have  a  reaction,  which  should  be  observable  by  the  player.  
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`2  McMahon  quotes  this  term  referring  to  Lomard  and  Ditton’s  (2000)  study  about  
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`While  investigating  methods  for  “Analyzing  3-­‐D  Video  Games”,  Alison  McMahan  
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`(2003)  starts  with  a  brief  explanation  of  what  immersion  is  and  immediately  mentions  
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`presence,  “a  term  often  used  synonymously  with  immersion”,  as  a  result  of  the  lack  of  
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`definitive  descriptions  for  each  term.  Further  on,  McMahan  delves  deeper  into  the  inner  
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`workings  of  presence,  mentioning  Matthew  Lombard  and  Theresa  Ditton’s  (2000)  “At  
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`the  Heart  of  it  All:  The  Concept  of  Presence“  study  by  referring  to  Presence  “as  the  
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`result  of  a  combination  of  one  or  all  of  six  different  factors:    quality  of  social  interaction,  
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`realism  in  the  environment  (graphics,  sound,  etc.),  the  effect  of  “transportation2”,  from  
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`the  degree  of  immersiveness  generated  by  the  interface,  the  user’s  ability  to  accomplish  
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`significant  actions  within  the  environment  and  the  social  impact  of  what  occurs  in  the  
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`environment,  and  users  responding  to  the  computer  itself  as  an  intelligent,  social  
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`agent.”(2003)  This  definition  is  important  as  it  renders  Presence  as  an  outcome  of  the  
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`immersion  of  the  player  which,  makes  the  difference  between  immersion  and  presence  
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`much  more  understandable  and  approachable.  She  concludes  by  saying  that  “Lombard  
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`and  Ditton’s  conceptualization  of  Presence  enables  critics  and  analysts  to  conduct  an  
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`2  McMahon  quotes  this  term  referring  to  Lomard  and  Ditton’s  (2000)  study  about  
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`transportation/telepresence  and  the  three  different  forms  of  it:  (1)  “You  are  there,”  in  which  the  user  is  
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`transported  to  another  place,  the  oldest  version  of  presence;  (2)  “It  is  here,”  in  which  another  place  and  
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`the  objects  within  it  are  transported  to  the  user—the  example  given  is  of  how  television  “brings  the  
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`objects  and  people  from  another  place  to  the  media  user’s  environment”;  and  (3)  “We  are  together,”  in  
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`which  two  or  more  communicators  are  transported  to  a  common  space,  such  as  in  immersive  video  
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`conferencing.  (2003)  
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`aesthetic  analysis  of  various  types  of  games”(2003)  as  different  factors  alter  the  
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`immersion  of  the  player.  This  ultimately  changes  the  players’  presence  within  the  virtual  
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`environment  and  the  overall  identity  one  assumes.  
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`As  one  of  the  most  cited  papers  on  the  subject  of  immersion,  what  it  is  and  what  
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`it  consists  of,  A  Grounded  Investigation  of  Immersion  in  Games  by  Emily  Brown  and  Paul  
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`Cairns  (2004),  an  interview-­‐based  study  about  video  game  players’  thoughts  on  what  
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`immersion  is,  is  probably  the  best  written  paper  about  immersion  and  its  complex  
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`structure.  Brown  and  Cairns  dissect  immersion  into  3  parts:  
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`  (1)“Engagement,  the  lowest  initial  level  of  immersion”,  which  consists  of  the  
`access,  and  the  time  the  player  invests  in  the  game.    
`(2)“Engrossment  or  the  emotional  attachment  of  the  player  to  the  game  
`determined  by  the  construction  of  the  game.”  
`(3)”Total  Immersion  or  presence,  where  the  players  are  cut  off  from  reality  as  a  
`result  of  their  empathy  level  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  overall  design.”    
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`Most  modern  views  of  immersion  are  based  on  this  simple  approach  and  it  is  the  one  
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`that  this  thesis  will  adopt.  
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`Laura  Ermi  and  Frans  Mäyrä  collaborated  for  a  study  called  the  “Fundamental  
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`Components  of  the  Gameplay  Experience:  Analysing  Immersion”  on  2005.  The  study  
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`was  conducted  to  identify  how  video  games  that  belong  to  different  genres  provide  
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`different  types  of  immersion.  This  study  is  critical  if  one  wants  to  focus  on  immersion  
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`and  diversify  it  based  on  different  types  of  experiences  and  gameplay  structures.  Ermi  
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`and  Mäyrä  created  the  “SCI-­‐model”,  a  model  that  divides  immersion  into  3  categories:  
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`1.  Sensory  Immersion,  2.  Challenge-­‐based  immersion  and  3.  Imaginative  immersion.  
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`Sensory  immersion  is  the  “audiovisual  execution  of  games”(2005),  the  one  that  is  easily  
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`recognizable  as  it  is  the  physical  parts  of  the  digital  realm  and  the  layer  that  has  the  
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`fastest  response  rate  in  terms  of  sensory  data  from  the  players.  The  Challenge-­‐based  
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`Immersion,  as  the  name  indicates,  relies  on  problem  solving  and  strategical  thinking,  
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`which  ties  in  with  the  “flow”  theory  of  Mihalyi  Csikszentmihalyi  (1975).  Like  the  Flow  
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`theory  this  type  of  immersion  occurs  when  there  is  a  certain  balance  between  the  
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`problems  being  solved,  the  experience  of  the  player  and  the  number/severity  of  the  
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`challenges  being  faced.  The  third  type;  Imaginative  Immersion  is  based  on  the  narrative,  
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`lore  and  the  culture  of  the  game  and  how  the  player  transfers  his  identity  in  to  the  game  
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`world  to  form  a  bond  between  his/her  virtual  identity.  
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`Figure  1:  The  SCI  model  and  the  interaction  between  different  gameplay  elements,  types  of  immersion  
`and  outcomes.  From:  Ermi  and  Mäyrä.  Fundamental  Components  of  the  Gameplay  Experience:  Analyzing  
`Immersion.  Finland.  2005.  Page  8.  
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`One  might  argue  that  the  elements  of  the  imaginative  immersion  might  bleed  in  
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`to  the  first  one,  the  sensory  immersion  as  these  ludology  and  conceptual  elements  
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`determine  the  shape  of  the  physical  aspect  of  the  game  and  this  will  be  partially  right.  
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`However,  the  main  difference  between  the  sensory  and  imaginative  immersion  is  the  
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`response  type/rate  and  how  they  make  the  player  feel  immersed.    
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`Overall,  this  fits  perfectly  to  the  study  shown  in  this  thesis  as  the  gameplay  
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`elements  the  study  investigates  refer  to  the  SCI  model  and  each  individual  immersion  
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`type  mentioned.  The  structure  of  the  study  is  created  so  that  each  experiment  group  
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`tests  different  types  of  immersion.
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`Based  on  Ermi  and  Mäyrä’s  model,  Lennart  Nacke  and  Craig  Lindley  (2010)  
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`conducted  a  study  to  measure  three  different  game  level  designs  that  target  three  
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`different  experiences  during  a  gameplay  of  a  First  Person  Shooter  (FPS)  in  order  to  “find  
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`the  correlation  between  psychological  effects  and  physiological  responses”(2010).  The  
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`levels  tailored  for  the  study  were  the  boredom  level,  the  immersion  level  and  the  flow  
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`level.  What  makes  these  levels  unique  were  the  different  gameplay  elements  that  were  
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`included  for  each  level.  For  example,  for  the  Boredom  Level,  a  linear  path  (one  
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`beginning,  one  end,  one  path  between  each  other),  non-­‐challenging  adversaries,  dull  
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`environments  and  high  number  of  supplements  (health  boosts,  ammo  etc.)  were  
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`included.  The  Immersion  Level  allowed  player  exploration,  had  average  adversaries  and  
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`excellent  atmosphere  that  triggered  Sensory  Immersion.  The  Flow  Level  focused  on  
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`series  of  challenges  rather  than  a  narrative  and  exploratory  system  and  an  adversary  
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`system  that