Origin
I am planning my first game side project to prepare me for a career in the gaming industry. While researching game genres, I came across an interesting perspective: music games often provide players with the highest level of immersion. Initially, I believed the various game genres, such as SLG (simulation games) and ACT (action games), would provide users with a sense of presence because of their focus on first-person perspective and interactive objectives. This sense of being there is one of the key elements that contribute to immersion. However, this also led me to wonder: What exactly is the high level of immersion in music games? How does it differ from other genres? Where does it manifest itself?
Who?
I have always been a fan of music games and have even achieved some success in them. Therefore, I plan to use my passion for music games to explore the reasons behind my intense engagement in the process of them (of course, this includes both immersion and addiction, but here I will focus primarily on immersion).
I plan to use Cytus to explore this further. The main process involves completing a full song, including the behaviors, thoughts, and time spent during the process, and then exiting Cytus.
The Phenomenon
As soon as the game begins, my eyes and fingers move in time with the beat on the screen, and my body sways unconsciously with the rhythm. When I come to my senses, it feels like time has sped up. Besides, it’s mostly unconscious when people speak to me or interact with me. I might respond instinctively, but I don’t know what I said, or I might not have responded at all. Additionally, I observed my friends around me and found they were all extremely focused, and their hands and eyes never stopped moving, regardless of whether they were interacting with others.
Despite this, my favorite game for the past 13 years, from junior high school (ages 13–26) to the present, has been Cytus. During this time, I have tried several different types of music games, such as those that combine music with character development or use different types of interactive modes (fixed position dragging), but only Cytus has allowed me to fully immerse myself in the entire gaming process. I am very curious about game mechanics. According to the official introduction, Cytus is a game that combines music with action elements.
Thought
Immersion describes how deeply engaged someone becomes in an experience. Some forum users think it is related to how well the environment is described, almost like putting yourself in the character’s emotional state. In music games, I think the main factor that keeps players engaged is the rhythm itself. Players naturally want to sync with every beat, which keeps them focused and immersed throughout the process. Additionally, most songs last only 1-2 minutes, making them ideal for quickly getting into the flow without losing interest.
Music is also really good at triggering emotions. When players feel emotionally connected, they are able to project their feelings into the game, which makes them more immersed. You can see the same effect in movies and TV shows, for example, background music pulls viewers into the scene, helping them connect with what’s happening or how the characters are feeling.
Reflection
The deeper players get into a game, the more they feel connected to it and get something meaningful back from the experience. I think this is what games do best: they let you be yourself in a whole new way, and you can try out different lives through your characters.