Immersion

A summary of:
Ryan, M.-L. (2001). Narrative equally Virtual Reality: Immersion together with Interactivity inwards Literature together with Electronic Media. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.
Interlude (I) – Virtual Realities of the Mind: Baudelaire, Huysmans, Coover
& Chapter iii – The Text equally World: Theories of Immersion
& Interlude (II) – The Discipline of Immersion: Ignatius of Loyola
& Chapter iv – Presence of the Textual World: Spatial Immersion
& Chapter five – Immersive Paradoxes: Temporal together with Emotional Immersion

Ryan writes close an interesting grapheme called Ignatius of Loyola, who encouraged people to vividly visualize scenes from the Bible equally a way of achieving a to a greater extent than immersive together with spiritual experience: “The originality of the method resides inwards the persuasion that the involvement of the sense of the trunk – sight, hearing, smell, taste, together with impact – tin last used equally stepping stones toward the involvement of the ii sense of the soul: the volition together with the intellect” (116). While this illustration may last seen equally a instance of religious rather than spiritual experience, the quest is that immersion has the potential to last linked amongst spiritual engagement. As Ryan explains, “In the Spiritual Exercises the founder of the Jesuits produced a meticulous description of the mental operations that Pb to immersion inwards a textual world” (115).

The quest that Ryan makes together with then eloquently is that at that topographic point is nix incorrect amongst immersion. Many people direct maintain criticized the vision of VR past times tilt that immersion is unsafe to our fragile psyches, equally if nosotros volition lose all sense of reality. This is the tired former declaration that people direct maintain used to protestation against move playing games similar Dungeons together with Dragons, which frankly I encounter no work with. Furthermore, it seems to last a conflation of immersion together with escapism, which are rather different. And I recall that our usage of the discussion "user" to pull people who engage amongst things similar MUIs fifty-fifty farther serves to pathologize the immersive experience, equally if it is analogous to a "drug user."

Anyway, on the contrary, immersion is - together with e'er has been inwards painting, literature, television, etc. - a transcendent opportunity, ane which may approach what, indeed, nosotros hateful past times spiritual engagement. For example, "Baudelaire regards the artificial non equally a re-create that should brand upwards for a lost master but equally a way to overcome the terrifying chaos of organic life” (75). The to a greater extent than ane becomes immersed inwards the experience, the greater this powerfulness to overcome.

Ryan identifies iii dissimilar kinds of immersion: “spatial immersion, the answer to setting; temporal immersion, the answer to plot; together with emotional immersion, the answer to character” (121). She quotes Marcel Proust who describes the sense of the latter:

[I constitute myself] giving to a greater extent than attending together with tenderness to characters inwards books than to people inwards existent life, non e'er daring to acknowledge how much I loved them… those people, for whom I had panted together with sobbed, together with whom, at the unopen of the book, I would never encounter again, together with no longer know anything about…. I would direct maintain wanted together with then much for these books to continue, together with if that were impossible, to direct maintain other data on all those characters, to acquire straight off something close their lives, to devote mine to things that mightiness non last only unusual to the dear they had inspired inwards me together with whose object I was all of a abrupt missing… beings who tomorrow would last but names on a forgotten page, inwards a mass having no connectedness amongst life. – Marcel Proust (140).

(Immediately, I am reminded of the sense described past times Turkle inwards her Life on the Screen.)

And for silent some other example, the immersive potential of tragedy has long been recognized: “Ever since Aristotle defined the outcome of tragedy equally catharsis, or purification through terror together with pity, it has been taken for granted that literary fictions tin elicit the same spectrum of emotional reactions inwards the reader equally real-life situations: empathy, sadness, relief, laughter, admiration, spite, fear, together with fifty-fifty sexual arousal” (148).

And straight off the Internet creates greater chance for the variety of voyeurism that has e'er drawn us into narrative: “Whether or non nosotros similar to acknowledge it, voyeurism has a lot to practise amongst the pleasures nosotros direct maintain inwards narrative fiction: where else but inwards a new tin nosotros penetrate into the most guarded together with the most fascinating of realms, the inner workings of a unusual consciousness” (149)? I practise wonder though, if nosotros would practise good to acquire rid of some of the voyeuristic character of Internet 24-hour interval of the month together with merchandise it for to a greater extent than profound opportunities for connectedness amongst people. In other words, I encounter Ryan's point, but to the score that nosotros tin avoid it, I'm non certain it's worth emulating voyeurism inwards cyberspace equally a way of designing immersive experiences; though I tin variety of sympathise how nosotros got to this quest where voyeurism has laissez passer on such a key business office of cyberspace.

Ryan explains other ways to create an immersive experience: “The depth of immersion – what Walton calls the richness of the game of make-believe – depends on the manner of the representation besides equally on the disposition of the reader” (110). (This dispositional division is why a modest few people may lose impact amongst reality when playing Dungeons together with Dragons or playing MUIs.) But to a greater extent than specifically, “For immersion to direct maintain place, the text must offering an surface area to last immersed within, together with this expanse, inwards a blatantly mixed metaphor, is non an body of body of water but a textual world” (90)…. ‘A footing is non a collection of fragments, nor fifty-fifty an amalgam of pieces. It is a felt totality or whole’ [Michael Heim]” (91).

The query hither is - assuming that immersion offers spiritual potential together with is something to pattern for - whether at that topographic point is whatever coherence inwards the electrical flow pattern of the Internet. There may last pockets of coherence. But I recall that the democratic ideals of the Internet supervene upon whatever ambition of coherence, together with then that private appear together with inventiveness win the day. Is the outcome something incomprehensible to the quest that it interferes amongst immersive - together with spiritual - potential? I realize this is commencement to audio similar I'm advocating totalitarian command over creative space... but I'm only musing over these questions.