Exploring immersive sim game design with Raphaël Colantonio: “You basically let the player cheat the game”
Exploring immersive sim game design with Raphaël Colantonio: “You basically let the player cheat the game”
Exploring immersive sim game design with Raphaël Colantonio: “You basically let the player cheat the game”
By Oleg Nesterenko
February 2, 2024
Summary
Check out our interview with one of the industry's most prominent creative minds for a quick dive into the immersive sim genre and Raphaël's approach to game development.
Oleg Nesterenko, Game World Observer: I believe that one game design concept has grown to be almost synonymous with Raphaël Colantonio and Arkane, which is "Immersive sim," so let's start with that.
Since there is not a lot of consensus, even within the game dev community, on what this label means, could you let us into your own understanding of what exactly immersive sims are?
There always have to be multiple solutions, including ones that the player might make for themselves, so you basically let the player cheat the game using the tools available.
It's more about a set of values that allows a game to get that Immersive Sim stamp, which is in any case pretty arbitrary.
Game development is obviously an iterative process, but immersive sims require you to go even deeper, right? I guess there is a period in the life cycle of a game where it's an utter mess and you cannot be convinced that it's ever going to come together.
If you think about games versus movies, the more interactive a game is, the more the player can influence the experience, the better it is.
Reference
Nesterenko, O. (2024, February 9). Exploring immersive sim game design with Raphaël Colantonio: “You basically let the player cheat the game.” Game World Observer. https://gameworldobserver.com/2024/02/09/what-is-immersive-sim-raphael-colantonio-interview