The sense of immersion in role-play and computer games is
sometimes viewed as dangerous, as players' strong perceptions of fictional
worlds are assumed to make them lose contact with reality. On the other hand,
players' immersion also implies a potential for improved learning, since it
enables them to 'experience' new places and historical eras. Yet a new study
from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that immersion in online
role-play games requires a lot of hard work.
Gaming researcher Jonas Linderoth, at the Department of
Education, Communication and Learning, University of Gothenburg, followed a
group of players in the world's largest online role-play game World of Warcraft
for a period of ten months. He observed the players almost daily in their
fictional online lives and also filmed and interviewed them.