Immersion: the key to a good gaming experience

Abstract

The first ever reference to games in history, a description of the origin of games by a figure from the 5th Century BC, Herodotus, appears alongside the first mention of immersion. Herodotus told a story about the King of the Ancient Lydians who was said to have invented games. The King was faced with a dilemma when he found that a famine had hit his land and he did not have enough food to feed his people; however, he came up with a very interesting solution. The King decided that his citizens would be allowed to eat during the first day, and for the second day they would become so deeply involved, immersed, in dice games, that they would forget about being hungry and would not need to eat, and this pattern would continue, with the people playing games instead of eating every second day. By this method, the King’s ...