Little things that make game worlds more immersive

[L. Declis]

NPC-story feedback.

For example, if I kill an Emperor, and I am walking around or I talk to someone, and they say "Wait, isn't that the person who killed the Emperor" or something, I like that.

Hell, it's why I like Mass Effect so much.

I like squad chatter. Again, Mass Effect did it well.

This one goes to Spec Ops; having your character look more tired and ragged as things happen to him.

When you walk through a messy thing, kick a bottle and it makes a detectable noise for the enemy; thanks, Last of Us.

 

[SonCamKu]

I don't know why, but when you could take the torches off their racks in Oblivion, and the area went dark really made me feel like I was in the game entirely.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Constraints.

It sounds weird, but constraints make a game world feel real - probably because the real world is full of constraints too. In Morrowind, when my Witch-hunter asks for promotion within the ranks of House Redoran and is told "Sorry, none doubt the strength of your sword-arm, but there are those that question your loyalty", or when my Battlemage tries to join the Thieves Guild and is told that they "don't have the skills the Guild is looking for" it feels like my character is involved in the gameworld, that his/her skills and abilities determine what he/she can achieve in their lives (just like in real life). In Oblivion, when my Orc Barbarian - unable of read or write and dressed in rotting animal furs - stomps up to the gates of the Arcane University he is practically thrown the Archmage's robes because "Hey, you're the PC! Wouldn't want you to miss out on any of the awesome stuff we've put in our game!". In good RPGs the choices a character make affect the gameworld and what they can do in it, which ultimately makes the player feel more tied in with a living breathing world, but games like Oblivion (and to a lesser extent Skyrim) are all about player/avatar power-fullfillment fantasies and tend to render any 'choices' the player makes as moot so as not to 'spoil' the experience.

So, yeah. Constraints.

 

[Altar]

Not certain if this is a small thing but when there's multiple factions that are supposedly fighting each other. Actually seeing them fight each other now and then. Basically not you versus everything else I guess.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

In Crysis (can't remember if they added this to 2 and 3) you don't pick up items, ammo, weapons, etc. by just walking over them, you have to look at them and then pick them up, and you'll actually see your guy's arm shoot out and pick up the object (rather than it just disappearing and then reappearing in your inventory). That, for me, added a TON of immersion to the game. In addition to making it all feel more real and organic, it actually amplified the feeling of you being alone and surrounded on all sides, and you had to fight and scrap your way through everything and scavenge whatever you could to keep alive.

In all of the 'Arkham' games, the way Batman's suit got more torn up as the game went on, and his face began to look more haggard (I think they even had 5 o'clock shadow showing towards the end). It really reminded you that, despite all his abilities and intelligence, he's still a human being who gets tired, beat up, needs to sleep, etc.

In Syndicate, the way that people were referred to as "Consumers", and not population, or people. Really helped sell the world they were creating.

Pretty much the entirety of X-Com: Enemy Unknown. The way that the your lead scientist, engineer, and tactical officer would talk to you throughout the game, being able to name and have Soldiers come from different countries, the 'mystery man' from the council who would talk to you, being able to look in every individual room and see scientists working, engineers building things, soldiers working out, etc. So much of that game added additional immersion that made it that much better.

 

[RiseUp]

Litter and debris which react in game.

I don't care what people say about Source 2 engine if you play Halflife 2 it adds so much to the game that you can pick up pieces of rubble and rubbish or for example play on the See Saw or swing the swings in the park. There's really no reason for this beyond it being an excuse to show off the source 2 engine.

Actually I think that kid of physics interaction serves a great purpose: it makes it seem like each of your actions affects the world around you. Everything feels more organic, even when it's scripted. Take for example the gate that you have to knock open in the riverboat section. It's a scripted event, but it looks as if it's performed by the game's physics interaction. The same goes for the collapsible bridge in the game's first level or the falling smokestack in Waterworks. So much of the game deals with physics interaction that even when something doesn't, you assume it does.

 

[Skeleon]

There were a number of things throughout Fallout 3 in particular that made the world come alive to me (in a post-apocalyptic, rather dead way). A lot of things are simply hinted at that have nothing to do with the story or even just the many side-quests. One instance I remember in particular is finding a baby carriage and a skeleton sitting on a bench near it, with a pistol in its hand. A mother who, when the apocalypse came, killed her child and then herself? Somebody who died trying to defend their child? There are a lot of dark, awful implications to be drawn from stuff strewn about the Wasteland. But often it's not stated, it's only implied. Let your own imagination fill in the grisly details, create the story behind your find. Love it when they do it right. Who gives a flying toss about a puddle of blood or shredded organs lying around? That's not really horrendous to me at this point, it's just so much meat after a while. But if you can make my own mind tell me a story of tragedy and suffering, that's much more effective and immersive. It can involve blood and guts, sure, but it really doesn't have to.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Squad/ambient chatter. It gives the feeling of being around actual people, not scripted pixels designed to only react when spoken to. Sadly, just about the only company that I can think of that actually has somewhat randomized chatter on a consistent basis is Bioware, although there was some pretty good enemy chatter in Arkham Asylum and City.

 

[The Goat Tsar]

I've been playing through Assassin's Creed IV recently and I have to say that I love that world. One of my favorite things that makes the world more immersive is the sea shanties your crew sings. It really gives a lot of character to your crew even though none of them are even given a name.

I also really liked that you could pet the animals in the game. That's probably because I really love dogs, but it's also because it adds another item of interaction to the world which makes it feel more real.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Remember in Metal Gear 2's tanker section how Snake was able to shoot out lights? That's a really small thing and it was a really enjoyable little means by which to keep myself hidden from baddies. Do you know where this would make a lot of sense? The Arkham games...as far as I'm aware there isn't a single Arkham game that lets you knock out the lights in a given area despite that being something Bale does in Batman Begins to amazing effect.

 

[Gamer87]

Toilets.
A detail that is sometimes overlooked is that people generally need to eat and go to the bathroom. I like games that are realistic in including this.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Let's see... I wouldn't call these things little, but here goes:

The soundtrack. An effective soundtrack effects the mood in a massive way, in fact I'd say it's one of the most immersive factors in a game. A great soundtrack makes you feel like you're there and shows the tone of the area and story in ways that no amount of graphics can, and a bad soundtrack will ruin that immersion in ways no amount of graphics or great story ever could make up for.

The voice acting. Even terrible english voice acting is better than not having anything, and far better than being stuck with foreign voice acting. I've heard some downright awful voice acting before and I still haven't heard anything that was so bad I'd prefer silence or foreign over it. Voice acting has a VERY strong effect on the characterization and story, without it it's very difficult to recognize how everybody is supposed to feel at any given time unless they make it blatantly obvious, and having to read subtitles to understand anything only makes that worse.

I'd say this is small, but it does annoy me a great deal. The variety on the lines that generic NPCs and enemies make is important to me. I find it incredibly annoying when when everybody says the same 2 or 3 lines over and over again, especially when the NPCs are supposed to have a couple dozen lines available but instead of reading down a list they just choose them randomly and somehow constantly do the same 2 or 3 anyway. When a game, especially an open world game manages to keep the lines from repeating very much at all it keeps me very immersed.

 

[The Madman]

One of my favourite things about point & click adventure games (Or the good ones at least) is how the main character comments on just about everything. As an example hearing little things like April Ryan dryly joking about the advertising campaign for a dinosaur themed supermarket chain in The Longest Journey not only helps make the world seem more real but gives perspective on the character as well.

I wish more games would have a mechanic like that, not just point & clicks.

 

[Xaio30]

Consistency.

If an RPG states that fire in contact with oil with cause the oil to burn, it should do so regardless of where the fire is coming from. Usually a fire spell at an oil puddle will do the trick, but will a swordslash with a burning weapon do it?
If the sword is on fire on your back and someone pours oil on you, will it ignite?
What if you make a cloud of explosive gas in a room with a lit (obviously decorational) candle in it?

If all of these scenarios return true, I'd say that the game has consistency and is one step close to immerse me.

 

[EMWISE94]

It depends on the game somewhat, but one that comes to mind is in open world/sandbox games. I dunno if this is small, but I like it when stuff happens in sandbox/open world games that were not of my doing, one of the things i liked in Skyrim is how you could just be wondering the wilderness and just happen upon a duel happening between two mages, or coming across some dead dudes with loot intact and wondering "the hell happened here?". I feel it adds a lot to the game when its apparent the world doesn't revolve around you and your actions, makes it actually feel alive.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Seemingly neglible thing, but remember how in Metroid Prime the steam would sometimes fog up your visor? That was great. It was a small touch, but I thought nice little addition.

From a different vein, the world of Dark Souls. The more I played the game and I realized that those buildings and ruins I'd see in the distance could actually be visited the more invested I became in the world. There was a lot of little touches as well that gave some character and history to the environments. Things like the various statues with all of these odd details that make it feel like there was more to it than just a generic statue placed there for filler. For all that Dark Souls did wrong (I'm looking at you "Exposition via item descriptions") I'd like to see more games try to make the environments look that characterized and deliberate.