Indie gaming is on the verge of an immersive sim eruption

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• antaymonkey@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  I’ve never heard the term “immersive sim” before, but if Half- Life, Deus Ex and Thief are examples, then sign me up.

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  • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Bioshock, System Shock, and Dishonoured are also examples.

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  • vividspecter@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Prey (2017) is another example.

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  • MysticKetchup@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    It’s not a super descriptive term for sure, but I have no idea what it would be called otherwise. It’s similar to things like Metroidvanias or Soulslikes in that it’s a very specific niche without a clear delineation of what it is, but fans will know it when they see it

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  • totallymojo@ttrpg.network ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    When I hear immersive sim I think of Arma and not Bioshock.
    I don’t know how sim plays into the genre.

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  • GrammatonCleric@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    [deleted]

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    • JowlesMcGee@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      You can argue half life, but Deus Ex and Thief are the quintessential "immersive sim" forbearers (along with system shock 2). When they say sim, they mean the game reacts to play action in ways that aren't predetermined or scripted. The idea is they value player agency and their impact in the game world over pre-set events

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    • FooBarrington@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Please read up on what an “immersive sim” is, because you’re plain wrong.

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• Linuto@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  So, is “immersive sim” just a vaguely plot-driven game in a setting with good world building?

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  • MysticKetchup@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    It’s kind of a nebulous definition, but typically they’re games in which you have a variety of options and systems to complete objectives. So things like Deus Ex where you can stealth, fight or hack your way through the plot. Usually the games will have a robust amount of physics or interaction with various objects so there’s always a variety of things to do in a level.

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  • swordsmanluke@programming.dev ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Typically, the thing that sets ImmSims apart is that they have a number of interlocking systems that allow the player to solve objectives in different ways.

    Stealth, Speech, and Shooting are the usual suspects, with hacking, gunplay and conversation trees well represented in the genre.

    But generally, it’s a philosophy about designing for extreme player agency.

    On one end you have something like, say, Tetris. As the player, you can direct blocks, but you can’t stop them from falling. The game gives the player little autonomy to direct. Blocks arrive and the player places them (or doesn’t) until the game ends.

    On the other, you have something like Dishonored, where you can choose to kill everyone or no one. You can choose to accept and make use of the magical powers available to you - or reject them all and fight with only human strength and your own wits. The world itself then reacts to these choices and the flow of the game changes accordingly.

    I think Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3 can arguably be called an ImmSim thanks to its insane level of player reactivity.

    Basically, if your choices as a player can actually alter the game world and your path through the story, thanks to the emergent interactions of interrelated systems… It’s probably an ImmSim.

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    • pory@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      The part that makes it confusing is that all of that also applies to a stiffer open-world western RPG like Fallout or Elder Scrolls.

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• 2deck@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Kenshi 2 here we gooo

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