(Topic ID: 178304)

Do you get immersed in a pinball game?

By Oldgoat

7 years ago


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  • 12 posts
  • 10 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 years ago by Mfsrc791
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    #1 7 years ago

    While reading several of the threads around new games (particularly Alien) I was struck by comments about becoming immersed in the game. When I play a game, I am focused on the game, not the theme. Sure, the music and call-outs are great and add to the enjoyment but I don't have an 'out-of'body' experience.

    Now, I get it with console games where everything is shown in first person. Where you are the person walking through the halls looking for bad guys However, I've never played a pinball game and felt this same 'connection' For example, I don't assume the role of Indiana Jones or Batman, or Bill Murray or fill-in the-blank. Perhaps it is because the first games I played were EM's? I would be interested in starting a poll on this topic, but I really don't know what the options are beyond the two extremes of 1) When I am in the 'zone' I become the role of the lead character and am transported into the theme versus 2) While I enjoy the A/V experience, when I am in the 'zone' I 'become the ball' and hit the shots exactly where I want. I'm really curious to know the emotional/psychological state people attain when playing pinball.

    #2 7 years ago

    I get involved heavily yes .... some music in the background a beer in the holster and it's on.. f14 I am the American tryin to kill jackoff I mean yagov.. lol expecially when a certain score is reached multi ball ect..

    #3 7 years ago
    Quoted from Oldgoat:

    Do you get immersed in a pinball game?

    I haven't yet, but I keep a towel handy whenever I play a game like Waterworld or Whitewater.

    #4 7 years ago

    When it's a theme I like and the gameplay is designed well with theme I can get completely immersed.

    The ball snapping into a lock on Indiana Jones starts to feel like I'm cracking the whip.

    I'm totally there in middle earth when I'm helping The Fellowship avoid the Balrog and get across the bridge in LOTR.

    Or the final moment when you launch the black arrow into Smaug's heart in The Hobbit. Absolutely and completely immersed.

    But not all games have this chemistry. Sometimes the theme is good but isn't integrated into the game well enough. Other times I don't like the theme at all but the gameplay is quite appealing. In these situation it's just pinball, nothing more nothing less.

    -1
    #5 7 years ago

    Ah yes, those poor alien guys. They are going to be so disappointed IF they ever get their pin. People pretending their crawling through an air duct with a flame thrower when they hit the left ramp, or being attacked by a xeno when that magnetic Q-tip comes out of the aliens mouth in slow motion to grab the ball. Gimme a break. Just sensational daydreaming of some euphoric pinball experience that after well over 2 years of waiting is guaranteed to underwhelm. This playboy pin was really the only game I ever played that felt immersive.

    [Image removed]

    #6 7 years ago

    Yes, just like I do in a good book or movie.

    #7 7 years ago

    I get immersed in Jack Daniels while playing my games.

    #8 7 years ago

    I stay mostly focused on play but, I'd be lying if I said the tempo of back round music increasing to a frantic pace or the clock ticking faster and faster in whirl wind doesn't draw me in and I'm in the zone.

    #9 7 years ago

    It is interesting that the norm seems to be immersion; although I think there are some differences. For example, when I workout, I listen to music and it definitely impacts the pace and intensity. However, I don't feel like I am transported to the stage of the Roxy with a guitar in my hand. This is what I equate to RWH's experience, which seems to be different than FlippyD's.

    #10 7 years ago
    Quoted from txstargazer3:

    Yes, just like I do in a good book or movie.

    I am able to get much more immersed in a good book or movie. Not sure why but I suspect it is because the author (in the case of a book) or actors, director, etc (in the case of the movie) do all the work. There is no physical activity required on my part, nor any added independent intellectual component of: "Hmm, where should I aim", "try to control it", or "man, what a terrible shot". Then again, perhaps it is because I spend most of my time in that last example...'another brick, I suck!'

    #11 7 years ago

    I suck so bad at Pinball that my games don't last long enough to get immersed in!

    #12 7 years ago

    I usually only start to get immersed when i get further in a game. If im getting close to a wizard node i start to not think about everything else and only focus on the objective.

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