Relationships in Digital Media

Please Knock on My Door Mental Health and Immersion

Murray makes the note that “We seek the same feeling from a psychologically immersive experience that we do from a plunge in the ocean or swimming pool: the sensation of being surrounded by a completely other reality, as different as water is from air, that takes over all of our attention, our whole perceptual apparatus” (Murray 103). This is actually the exact opposite feeling that you receive from this game. The player's agency is actually being removed from them by confining them within a tiny box apartment with only the same monotonous moves of a continuous cycle. Everyday seems like the last which demonstrates the relationship that individuals with depression have with themselves. Everyday is a struggle and it becomes extremely difficult for some individuals to even get up out of bed. They continuously talk down to themselves and subject themselves to the bare minimum to be "hid" away from the world. The setting in this perfectly portraits this feeling of hopelessness and the player is subjected to that feeling and begins to become immersed even without agency. However, its due to this lack of agency that causes the player to become immersed because even though no matter how hard the player tries to help the person, it is futile. This demonstrates not only the relationship between internal and external struggle of individuals with depression but also the relationship between player, immersion and agency as the player desperately desires to change the story but is met with the same outcome.
 

This page has paths:

Contents of this path:

This page references: