Furdiburb

(this is the recycling machine in Furdiburb - you put one object into each of the three tubes and it creates a completely new object that you can store in your inventory)

Laurie N Taylor describes intradiegetic immersion as being deeply involved in a game as an experiential space. Typically we understand games can lure you into immersion by egging you into getting the top scores, or killing the most people. But i offer a different perspective into how immersion is experienced, as i have seen how some games can lure you into immersion by keeping the controls of the game a mystery so the user needs to keep playing to figure out HOW to play.

I have never considered myself to be much of a gamer but since i got a new android phone, i have been downloading all the free games i can get my hands on (providing they have been rated with 4 stars or more :D ). So far i have the obvious Fruit Ninja, and Angry Birds, but i have also played around with Paradise island, Solitaire, and my favourite Furdiburb.

The latter is a classic pet game. If you have ever owned a Tamagochi during your youth you will know what i am talking about. Furdiburb is an alien baby that has been dropped on earth by accident and left here all helpless and alone. But wait! Furdiburb needs you to take care of him, or else he will become "a sad, sad Furdiburb".

Similiar to the game Monkey Island, Furdiburb gives you almost no instruction on how to play, and in addition to this you need to unlock various mysteries. You need to figure out not what to do, but HOW you do it. You need to figure out how to hatch Furdiburb out of an egg, how to find food for him when he is hungry, how to shower him when he is stinky, which potion to give him when he is sick, and how to earn money to buy him stuff.

But this is what is so appealing about it, you as the player have to figure out what constitutes as a control for the game, and where to find it, and when to use it. It's the equivalent of being given a play station and turning the remote control into a shape shifting object and hiding it in your living room for you to find. Aside from the basics you also need to find out how to unlock all the secrets of the game space. You see, when i was playing this game i was pretty useless which meant it took me ages to figure out what i needed to do. I had no idea what i was meant to do, since i'm not used to playing games like this. Yet it was because of this reason that i became completely immersed in it because the game compelled me to keep playing in order to figure out how to use it.

So like anyone would, i just googled it. I connected with the other fans of the game via the facebook fan page and found out all the new things i had to do. I figured out that i needed to collect certain components from the environment and put it into the recycling machine, and with certain combinations i would get certain completely new items. For example, if you put three pumpkins into the machine, you get a slice of pumpkin pie! If you put two strawberries and an empty bottle, voila! You have yourself some strawberry jam!

Its not quite the type of game that we have been hearing about in lectures, or discussing in tutorials, but it offers a different perspective into the processes of immersion nevertheless. Give this game a try and let me know what you think!