Immersive Interactivity

Immersive interaction is explained my Lunenfeld as the in depth connection between a person and the virtual world. Lunenfeld suggests that many computer games, where the player becomes the character of the game, involve this immersive interactivity. The clarity and precision seen in some of these games allows a person to become immersed in the story and character they have "become". For many, playing these games acts as a cut off from the world, a chance to live as an action hero or to fulfill personal dreams. However, being immersed in a virtual world could be dangerous. There are already concerns of video and computer games becoming too violent and graphic, and children getting too engrossed in their chosen characters. For many people immersive interactivity is not necessary, many prefer 'extractive' interactivity, using chat rooms, forums and other hypertextual forms, each of these, however, can be just as addictive as 3D virtual gaming. With the Internet having so many choices, and different ways of interacting, people are free to discover themselves and what they like, whether it be through immersive gaming or forums and chat rooms.