Chapter 0 Immersion in Digital Games : a Review of Gaming Experience Research

 Abstract— Immersion is a widely valued experience when playing digital games however it is only one component of the gaming experience. In this chapter, we review our specific approach to immersion in relation to other concepts that are used to describe gaming experiences. These include: concepts that are not specific to games such as flow and attention; generic conceptualizations of the gaming experience of which immersion may form part, such as incorporation; and specific concepts around immersion, engagement and involvement such as presence and other formulations of immersion. To illustrate the sorts of studies being done in this area, we describe one experiment in detail which aims to position immersion in relation to presence. The chapter makes three contributions: a clear formulation of immersion as one aspect of gaming experience; an overview of the state-of-the-art of gaming experience research; and a demonstration of the possibility to achieve an empirically founded understanding of these rich, subjective experiences.

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