Immerse Game World

Magic Circle
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- In games, the “Magic Circle” refers to the boundary that divides ideas and activities that are meaningful in the game from those that are meaningful in the real world. (Thus, making games artificial.)

- The Magic circle, communicates to the players, consciously or unconsciously, that a game is being played.


Dimensions of Game World
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- The Physical Dimension
==>Spatial Dimension (2D, 3D), Scale, Boundaries

- The Temporal Dimension
==> Time in the World

- The Environmental Dimension
==> Cultural Context
==> Physical Surroundings (what the world looks like)
==> Detail
==> Style
==> Setting

- The Emotional Dimension
==> Environment
==> Story-telling
==> Interactions

- The Ethical Dimension
==> Right / wrong in context of the world


Fantasy Vs. Reality-----------------------
- On a basic level, a game with a fictional world can be seen as a simulation

- Simulation can have varying degrees of fidelity to what is being simulated.

- A game does not as much attempt to implement real world activity as it attempts to implement a specific stylized (abstracted) concept of a real-world activity.

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Pokemon Black & White - Nintendo DS

[reference]

Physical Dimension

• Spatial Dimension: 3D
• Scale: Relative to characters in the game (except for the Pokemon Anime, some are meant to be larger than player but in game all are around the same size)
• Boundaries: Rocks/Trees/fence [land], Indoor [normally walls / in gym sometimes it's just a bit more on the extreme], the sea and  water [rocks and cave] used to limit where the players could go to

Every objects in the game are part of the environment an environment which we could iconically relate to in relative to what could been possible in real life. It would less likely fall into the uncanny valley due to it not being expected to do what in 100% would.

Temporal Dimension

• Time in the world [time treatment]: It follows the same/similar timing/seasons as in real life [the above missed by few minutes because I've not touched the DS for a while, and the time of my DS timing is off] The interval of morning/night lighting and seasons changes at fixed interval though. 
• Time [reference]
• Morning lasts from 4:00 AM to 9:59 AM
• Day lasts from 10:00 AM to 7:59 PM
• Twilight lasting from around 5:00 PM until night sets in
• Night lasts from 8:00 PM to 3:59 AM, with lights in buildings turning off at 12:00 midnight
• Players play real time along as in the game. In the game many things is affected by what time players go into the game and play. Example: Evolve Evee at night in order to get Umbreon and morning to get Espeon instead. This makes the world more believable 
• aesthetically changes in lighting of environment and battle field
• Seasons [reference]

• different month result different season [some what like a real 4 seasonal place system]

• Aesthetic looks of some type of Pokemon [e.g. Deerling & Sawsbuck]
• Varying types of Pokemon from season to season 

• background music will change in a variety of areas to reflect the season. Example, in Winter, you'll hear more bells in certain areas and Undella Town's music is more upbeat during Summer. The final effect is the change in the way the time of day works. 

Highly polish time consideration used in the game which enhance the relatable players feel towards the world.

Environmental Dimension

• Cultural Context:
• Beliefs: 
• Pokemon can be catch and kept to be train and battle / as pet or friend
• Attitudes:
• Pokemon is everything
• Pokemon base buildings, speak about Pokemon this and that
• Values:
• for some is to protect the Pokemon
• for others is making use of the Pokemon [example: their power for things such as taking over the world]
• Game Back Story [background story]: 
• the game started with this cinematic
• showing a boy, later known as N who is being crown 
• the start scene also shows some flash back of his childhood 
• which left lots of queries on players
• Physical Surroundings (what the world looks like): 
• town, city, cave, underwater world with part of the environment to limit where the player can go
• Detail: 
• Quite detail in terms of environment layouts and polish
• fog, flower moving, pokemon animation as though they're breathing or seems alive  
• Style [Visually]: 
• 3D Cartoon Pixel
• Setting:

• Black and White are set in the Unova region, a continental mass located far away from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. 
• Unlike the previous regions which were based on locations in Japan, Unova is modeled after New York City
• Example: Castelia City, which served as the region's central metropolis and had such inspirations as its "Brooklyn Bridge-style suspension bridge" and its "huge skyscrapers"
• Attempt to convey a "feeling of communities" in Castelia streets
• Unova is host to large urban areas, a harbor, an airport, an amusement park, several bridges, and several mountain ranges. 
• In addition to a diversity of new landscapes, the Unova region is also home to a diversity of people who vary in skin tone and occupation. 
• The region's Japanese name "Isshu" (イッシュ) is derived from the Japanese words tashu (多種, meaning "many kinds") and isshu (一種, meaning "one kind"); the many kinds of people and Pokémon seen up close look like only one kind of life from afar.
• basically, Pokemon black have couple of places which are remade or made use of real life areas to be modified into that area. Thus, the believability of the world is amazingly high.

Emotional Dimension

• Environment/Setting [Can Influence The Player's Feeling]: 
• example, Catelia city have tons of tall buildings 
• portray city 
• have alley with bins and hooligan loitering there
• busy people walking up and down a road with some statics
• Story-telling[Narrative/Story Told/Techniques Story Is Told]:
• cinematic linear way of telling
• players won't feel lost as they play the game [they know when they're at the right place]
• Interactions[between the characters make the player feel something]:
• when you try interacting with those busy people they'll try to avoid you 

Evoke the feeling of stress within the town.

Ethical Dimension

• Right/Wrong in context of the world [culture/history]:
• mistreating Pokemon is inhumane so is in real world mistreating animals is inhumane

Expanding The Magic Circle

• Underwater ruin
• uses cipher/logogram which players won't know that they are that until they search further on the internet and try decoding them
• some players got curious of the symbols and started to went viral about it and some players starts to decode  
• rumors says they're there to guide players through to the top within limited steps
• Dream world
• on computer players get into the Pokemon dream after sending their Pokemon to sleep
• what ever is gotten within the dream come into live in DS when Pokemon is woken up