An ongoing discussion on immersion

I've been playing a lot of billiards recently. My school recently put a pool table in out cafe/gameroom, and it's been in nearly constant use ever since. There's just something about the physical presence of a traditional game that video games have yet to match. Sorry, beloved technology!

Anyhow, this morning Raph Koster posted about immersion on his blog. Rather than split the discussion, I will direct you there.

"Immersion is not a core game virtue. It was a style, one that has had an amazing run, and may continue to pop up from time to time the way that we still hear swing music in the occasional pop hit. It’ll be available for us, the dreamers, as a niche product, perhaps higher priced, or in specialty shops. We’ll understand how those crotchety old war gamers felt, finally."

Hmm.