He's right and he's wrong. People DO make snap decisions based on screenshots; in this way (and others) graphics matter a lot. But I disagree they're necessary for immersion. If that were so we'd have never gotten immersed in old games with ancient graphics and the entire medium would've died out.

The danger is when AAA developers eschew fun for graphics. This is a mistake Bethesda itself made in Oblivion. The games have to be fun to play, first and foremost. If they have beautiful graphics, even better - but I'll play an ugly fun game a lot more than a gorgeous stupid one.

I'd say Crysis is the classic proof that graphics alone neither immerse nor make the game.

Anachronox was fantastic. I had no idea, going in, what a rich experience I was about to have. So good. Recommended to anyone who enjoys RPGs with a dollop of J, a ton of humor, and more tragedy than you might realize. Great game.

Immersion is a tricky thing. We can get immersed in a book or script; those usually have no graphics at all. Meanwhile some of the most beautiful games are hardest to immerse in, because tiny irregularities and Uncanny Valley effects ruin the immersion. I think this is why the melodrama and stylized visuals of opera, or the complex language and usually simple sets of Shakespeare, make it possible to immerse even if you're not converstant with the language and style.

My sister in law works with autistic children, and she mentioned that some of them love anime. I don't mind anime, but I'm not a big fan. And there's a style I loathe: basically the eastern-humor scrunched eyes sweat drops arms-waving kind. Drives me crazy.

GG says that autistic kids love it, and her theory is that it's because emotions are so evident and un-misreadable in that sort of style. She says many kids with autism have great difficulty identifying and processing subtlety, particularly in human emotion, and watching that kind of anime makes it easier for them so they can immerse without battling the constant, terrible flow of input they have such a hard time organizing and prioritizing.

Offhand I'd say I was most immersed in game moments rather than whole games, and usually moments of fear: Shalebridge cradle, the two seconds of Amnesia I had the courage to play, sections of System Shock 2, the tunnels underneath Agroprom in STALKER.

Meanwhile Bulletstorm is easily the most beautiful game I've played in a while, and I did get "into the zone," as it were, during play. That's sort of like immersion, but it really wasn't the graphics that did it for me, it was the gameplay.

Exactly, Gregg. I agree. It's lilke watching a monster movie and seeing the zipper running up the Creature from the Black Lagoon's suit... or a graphical tear that just reminds you you're in a game.

Heavy Rain's insistence on using largely French actors for a game ostensibly set in Philadelphia was ill-advised. It's nice that Quantic tried to keep jobs in le France, but the game suffered as a result. Only Shelby is particularly good, and he's one of the only American actors they imported. Why not just set the game in Lyon, use French actors with French accents. Then the accents would make sense and we'd feel more comfortable in the world.

Personally, while I like voiced games, I read faster than I listen. I don't mind reading and clicking through conversations. In my mind voice acting might be better limited to ambient sounds - overheard conversations, etc.

As Whitebrice says, when Hines says "graphics" he's not exactly narrowing the field. "good graphics" can mean lots of things. Are the amazing faces of Heavy Rain superior to the amazing landscapes of Oblivion or Crysis 2?

Anachronox: outstanding. It has one of the most tragic and heartbreaking side-stories I've ever seen. Unfortunately you have to get pretty far into the game to see the whole story (though you can probably piece the clues together in advance of that). It's also got moments of sheer hilarity. Definitely give it a shot. It's wacky, it's creative, and it's really touching. There's actually a fan-movie of (most of) the cutscenes spliced together, 6-7 hours long I think, so you can watch from beginning to end if you feel the urge. But it's definitely worth checking out. An ION Storm casualty that didn't deserve to be.