Player Immersion and Music

Abstract

When players are “immersed” in a game, they become temporarily unaware of the existence of the outside world. Audio creators have a heavy responsibility to make each game experience as engrossing, or immersive, as possible. The choices can greatly enhance the player’s connection to the game world, or just as easily can be a distraction that detracts from his or her experience. There are certain factors that make game immersion unique compared to other forms of media immersion, and they stem primarily from interaction. This chapter will discuss how music affects player immersion, then will dive deeper into how the player interacts with the music.