Interactivity, immersion and ludic qualities

Overview

Ludic qualities of a game, player agency and three design features that increase immersion.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What distinguishes a video game from other media forms?

   Model answer

   A video game requires its audience to act, so the text is produced in play rather than simply watched, and the product responds to what the player does.

2. 2

   Define the ludic qualities of a game.

   Model answer

   Ludic qualities are the properties that make something a game rather than a story, including rules, goals, obstacles, scoring, challenge and the possibility of winning or losing.

3. 3

   What is meant by player agency?

   Model answer

   Agency is the player's sense that their own decisions genuinely affect the game world and the outcome, rather than that they are being carried along a path fixed in advance.

4. 4

   Distinguish a linear from an open-world game structure.

   Model answer

   A linear game moves the player through a fixed sequence of levels, whereas an open world offers a large continuous space in which the player chooses what to do and in what order.

5. 5

   What is immersion?

   Model answer

   Immersion is the state in which a player becomes so absorbed in the game world that they stop noticing the room around them and the interface they are operating.

6. 6

   Name three design features that increase immersion.

   Model answer

   A consistent and detailed world, responsive controls with no perceptible delay, and audio that reacts to the player's position and actions.

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