On April 29th, PhD student Aleksander Franiczek (English Language and Literature) presented his research as part of the English Department’s PRES (Projects and Research by English Students) Lecture series, followed by a response by PhD candidate Alexander Fleck (English Language and Literature).
Franiczek’s talk titled "The Virtual Self, Gameplay, and Becoming: Immersive Roleplaying as Self-Reflective Experience" explored his dissertation research about understanding player immersion.
Franiczek explained that while immersion is a “loaded term” that has been heavily critiqued by academics and game designers, the industry continues to use it as a “buzzword to promote new games and hardware.” The term is notoriously hard to pin down, and Franiczek’s research looks to better understand immersion by answering questions such as: “what does it mean to be immersed in a virtual world and character role?” and “what happens to the player’s sense of self during gameplay?”
He sees immersion as having great potential to create a “space for self-reflection” in which players can “act freely from self-consciousness.”
After the presentation, fellow game studies scholar Alexander Fleck responded to the research with questions of his own, specifically about the transmedia and fan studies implications of this work.
The English Language and Literature's PRES Lecture series showcases grad student research once a month. If you have any questions about the series, please contact Shannon Lodoen. Updated information about PRES Lectures can be found on SAGE’s Discord channel and Twitter page, as well as Shannon’s Twitter. The schedule of upcoming and past presentations is available online.