The start of our journey
In the opening page of The Universe is a Lonely Place, we are met with a video game bit-style solar system and the rhetorical question, "where will your journey take you next?" In Janet Murray's Hamlet on the Holodeck, she talks about immersion being a way detaching from one reality and connecting to another. Specifically, she argues that "the enchantment of the computer creates for us a public space that also feels very private and intimate. In psychological terms, computers are liminal objects, located on the threshold between external reality and our own minds" (Murray 99). In other words, Murray's insight shows us how the player is being invited, from the onset of the game, to immerse into the narratives that follow.
This invitation of immersion is important for games that deal with topics of mental health. Stigmatisation of mental health is often perpetuated simply because of lack of knowledge and exposure to these challenges. Therefore, we should be aiming to immerse as an active participant when learning about these topics through mediums such as interactive gaming. As the game points out, loneliness is a "complicated emotion" and thus the game demands full engagement if the player is to effectively receive the message of the narrative, as opposed to simply enjoying playing a game.
