What this blogpost is all about

As my final entry, I wanted to continue looking into immersion and what may cause it.
As an avid anime and video game fan myself, I have always been fascinated by how some of my favourite pieces of media managed to catch the audience and deepen immersion by not only having a compelling story, but also mange to make use of various different auditory and visual storytelling elements to underline it. This lead to this blog-post, where I want to explore some of my favourite recent examples and explore some ideas, on what makes them work. By looking into these examples, analysing them and learning from their respective examples, I hope to also gain insight into how to make my own work more immersive.
Also, while I will try to keep my entry as spoiler-free as possible, there may be some spoilers for the analysed media, you have been warned!

Case 1 – Sousou no Frieren: A slow burner with a twist

Sousou no Frieren – translation: Frieren at the funeral, official English title: Frieren: Beyond the journey’s end – is a currently airing fantasy anime, that deals with a very simple premise: What happens to the heroes, after the big bad boss at the end of every fantasy story is slain and the world is saved? What comes afterwards, when the journey that should define a lifetime, is over?

In Sousou no Frieren, that is where our story begins, with the hero’s party, consisting of the noble human hero Himmel, the ever-unfazed dwarven warrior Eisen, the corrupt human priest Heiter and the stoic, century old elven mage and titular character, Frieren, having just slain the Demon Lord, thus bringing peace to the lands. And, as the title suggests, Frieren and her emotional journey from this point, is also the focus going forward.

Because, in the first episode already, as the heroes party is celebrating their victory in the capital, they manage to catch a very rare sight: A meteor shower, that only appears every 50 years. It is at that time, that they all agree to see it together next time too, though in a place with a better view, because Frieren remarks, how she knows such a place and that they should just meet. Afterwards, the party splits up, and our elven mage embarks on another journey. It should be 50 years before she sees her companions again, a time, that passes in the blink of an eye, barely even 2 minutes pass in the episode, and it is in that moment, that you, as a viewer begin to realise, how different Frieren perceives time and its meaning. When meeting her friends again, the two humans, Himmel and Heiter, have become old men, barely recognisable from before. However, they all keep their promise and watch the meteor shower together once more. Shortly after, Himmel dies, and it is at his funeral, where the usually stoic and composed Frieren breaks down, crying, wondering, why she feels so sad about someone, that „she only spent a 10 year journey with“, which to her, barely is a blip in her long, long life, but to her human companions, is one of the most important times of their lifes. She regrets, not spending more time with them, connecting more with them, and getting to know them better. It is at this moment, that Frieren decides to retrace her former parties steps and go on a journey of self-discovery, to deal with the question, on what it means, to form a connection, when it will eventually be lost anyway, how precious time together can be and how to deal with loss and her emotions in general.

Duality between Action and Slice of Life

During this journey, Frieren will come to experience the change, that her actions have brought, take on an apprentice, face all kinds of hardships, old and new foes and other battles, and generally grow as a person.

Screenshots from the first 6 episodes of the anime:
Sousou no Frieren’s backdrops (top) and frequent wide-angle have an almost pittoresque quality to them, inviting the viewer to stop and gaze, slowing down the pace, without appearing boring
The fight scenes (bottom), however, are usually much more dynamic, the art style changes, it features clear focus points, harsher lines, dynamic movement.

Now, it is important to note, however, that, while there are some amazingly animated action secquences, Sousou no Frieren is not an action anime at all. If anything, it would be more appropriate to call it a fantasy slice of life show, due to how Frieren’s journey is more about her everyday life and how she finds her way in a world, where elves are increasingly rare and thus, nearly everyone she meets, will die before her. This duality in moods, and how to approach them from a storytelling perspective, is by no means an easy feat, and while the aforementioned change in artstyle certainly sells the change in tempo and engage the viewer, it is without a doubt also the amazing soundtrack, composed by Evan Call, that helps the change along in a very unique way.

American composer Evan Call composed most of the Original Soundtrack of Sousou no Frieren, and already released part of it as a pre-release on Youtube. The full soundtrack is set to release in April

To understand how Call achieves that, it is first important to know, how he approached the Soundtrack in general. It is remarkable to see, how, to fit the music into the world, he actually makes use of medieval instruments, as well as choirs, and combines them with more modern composition techniques to achieve the tempo and response that is appropriate in any given scene. To make it possible, to seamlessly switch between slow-paced and fast-paced sequences, between slice-of-life and action, instruments, and sometimes even whole melodies get used in different paced pieces, while only slightly changing the tact or rythm, adding or substracting drums, but still following the same leitmotifs. A good example of this, when comparing different songs from his pre-released soundtrack, were the following.

Time Flows Ever Onward – a slower piece

Fear Brought Me This Far – an uplifting battle theme, that ends in a crescendo

The similarity between the two pieces, when experienced while watching the anime, is palpable and helps give the experience a more holistic feel. It allows for a change of pace, without one or the other feeling out of place. Of course, it would be possible, to further analyse these two pieces, as well as the rest of the soundtrack in depth, but this is not the goal of this blogpost. Rather, it is to understand, how sometimes seemingly subtle things can influence an experience.

In that regard, it is also very interesting, to see, how the anime plays with the passage of time, as it follows Frieren’s perception of it. As such, sometimes, within a few minutes, years can pass in the blink of an eye, while in others, time seems to almost grind to a standstil. Within a few frame and scenery changes, years can pass, while in others, especially during battles or important dialogues, the passage of time can be experienced almost in real time. It plays with the topic, of how even to someone as epheral and timeless as Frieren, time can pass in the blink of an eye, while still, if you’re aware of them, small moments still can have meaning, even to a life as long as Frieren’s. It is almost melancholic sometimes, to see what an impact memories and what may seem like such small gestures or occasions at the time can have. And of course, Evan Call also provides the audience with more than one other piece, that capture this sometimes epheral and timeless, yet oftentimes even melancholic quality quite well.

For 1000 Years – a slow piece, with an almost epheral quality to it, that is a play on the passage of time

It is very hard to put into written words, what it feels like to experience these pieces while watching, as such it is probably best to experience them oneself. Hopefully, by being a little bit more aware of them now, the experience can be made that much more enjoyable, however.

Master and apprentice

One last thing to add, that deeply fascinated me when watching the anime, was the relationship between Frieren and her apprentice, Fern, as they display both a remarkable similarity in some aspects, despite one being human and the other being an elf, while being completely different in others. It is funny to see their interactions and how they experience the same things sometimes differently and sometimes the same, especially when it comes, again, to the passage of time. In this sense, Fern grounds Frieren in the here and now, and might be the first proper human connection she has made since the passing of her party. To see, how that changes Frieren and to generally see, how they influence each other, how they copy each other’s mannerisms and small little details in their behaviours is a joy to watch. In this regard, the most fun little detail, that shows, how deep of an impact Frieren probably had on Ferns life, has to be their respective themes, both of which follow the exact same melody and leitmotif, with only small changes to singular notes, that still somehow manage to show both of their characters perfectly. Sadly, so far, only Fern’s theme has been released, but, as mentioned before, these songs are probably best experienced live and in person, while watching the anime, anyway.

Zoltraak – a name, that describes the offensive spell both Frieren and Fern use during their journey, that has still, due to stroy progression, become Fern’s theme, with Frieren’s being very similar

Case 2 – Nier: Automata: The ultimate humanist fable?

While Sousou no Frieren follows a more conventional Fantasy setting, albeit one with a new spin on it, Nier: Automata falls into the Science Fiction genre, while being no less fantastical. Set in the year 11.945, Earth has been invaded by advance aliens and their mechanical soldiers – machine lifeforms, whose whole purpose is the conquering of the planet and the extermination of humanity. In response, after endless battles, humanity has been brought to the brink of extinction and had to flee to the moon, from where they now wage a seemingly endless war, using their own placeholders – highly sophisticated battle androids called YoRHa – , to reclaim their planet and defeat the occupiers. In Nier: Automata, the player gets thrust in the middle of that conflict and takes control of two such YoRHa units: A battle unit, called 2B and a scouter, called 9S. Together, they take on the invaders, start to uncover the truth behind the invaders, their human masters, the war they’re part of, why the mysterious unit A2 desserted YoRHa as well as their main adversaries – the machine lifeforms. And while the player experiences the conflict through their eyes, making use of all of its assets and gameplay elements, the game asks its ultimate question: What does it mean, to be human?

A stylised cast and environment, and a large, varied number of tracks

As mentioned in the video, the game delivers a strong message and uses all of its gameplay elements towards it. These range from the wide variety of stylisation in its cast members – which, given its sometimes risque nature, admittedly might be slightly off-putting to some people at first – , its varied, open and completely different environments – from overgrown and reclaimed by nature urban areas, to dry desserts to amusement parks, where machine lifeforms celebrate – , it’s different gameplay elements – featuring mainly hack and slash action game, with top down or 2,5D sections as well as bullet hell and other mini-games added to the mix – all the way to its soundtrack, which was composed by studio Monaca, with its lead composer Keiichi Okaba, and which has earned multiple rewards, most notably „Soundtrack of the year“ at the yearly Game Awards.

Japanese composer Keiichi Okabe is founder and chief executive officer of music production company MONACA, which provided the Original Soundtrack for NieR: Automata

What makes the soundtrack and Okabe’s work so impressive is, how it incorporates seamlessly into the story and extends it, telling its own tale in an additional layer, that gets added to the other storytelling elements. It does so, using a variety of different languages, styles – instrumental, vocal as well as using 8Bit sounds, among others – and musical elements, that create a unique, but strangely holistic sounding composition of tracks. Of course, what makes this soundtrack even more impressive, is its sheer length and variety of track – Keiichi Okabe provides the player with more than 6 hours of total track length, each track finely tuned to the exact moment it appears ingame, which might only be once during the whole playthrough, for a short time, but still, adding to the told story.

意味/無 – meaning/nothing, which could also be read as meaningless when put together, is just the first of 119 tracks the composer has uploaded to Youtube. And the name already hints at one of the games hidden messages

A shift in perspective and a strong social element that transcends borders and time

Another aspect, that makes the game very unique is, that it has to be played through a total of 7 times in order to get the complete experience and get the complete picture. And while this certainly can be another factor, that could be off-putting for many people, it is certainly worth every second spent in the game world.

A review by Skill Up, that encapsulates, what maakes the game so special, aptly titled „The Masterpiece You (Probably) Won’t Play“, due to the multiple playthroughs the player has to complete first

While it may seem ridiculous at first, to expect the player to play the same game multiple times, there is a logic and approach behind it, as with each playthrough, you take control of a different character and experience the story through their eyes, each time adding different things to the experience, putting emphasis on different things, unveiling more of the truth. And, while it might seem, that each playthrough is the same at first, that is only really true, as only those culminate in what appears to be the same ending. On the third playthrough, however, an additional secret is revealed, namely, that the player actually hasn’t experienced the same story twice, but rather a repeating cycle of the same occurances. This may seem like a negligible difference at first, but will become very important to the game’s overall message as the story progresses. And while the different endings may appear similar at first – though of course each character adds thier different experiences – here too, Okabe’s music hints at a deeper message.

Weight of the world – the first ending’s song, in English

„壊レタ世界ノ歌“ (Kowareta Sekkai no Uta, lit.: „Song of a broken world“) – the second ending’s song, in Japanese

It does so via the final soundtrack for each ending, that, while being the same melody and song, gets completely transformed by its lyrics. Because, while the first ending’s song, „Weight of the world“, is sung in English from 2B’s perspective, the second ending’s „壊レタ世界ノ歌“ (Kowareta Sekkai no Uta, lit.: „Song of a broken world“) is sung from 9S’s in Japanese and delivers a completely different meaning to the just experienced playthrough. And just like this, each added ending song, of which there are 4, for reasons I do not want to spoil right now, gets another added layer.

Nouveau – another ending song in French

This slow change in perception by the characters – via a musical expression – may be somewhat unnoticeable by the player at first, especially during the initial playthroughs, however, it is an important element, that leads up to its final end, its final crescendo, in „the End of YoRHa“. What makes this song special, is, that it makes the players aware of a gameplay element, that they may have not consciously realised was part of the game – while, of course, still making use of it – and brings them together in a way, that I have not yet seen in a video game since. It is an adequate end to a very emotional journey, that is made all the sweeter by its final, moving piece, that has all of the game’s development team joining in to a choir – a small detail, that once more highlights the togetherness and sense of belonging, of being part of a bigger whole the player may feel in that moment.

the End of YoRHa – the final track in the soundtrack, combining all previous experiences, before presenting the player with the ultimate choice

It is in this moment, after the player has overcome the so far biggest challenge, all the different story-hints and paths come together and they are at the height of their emotional investment, that the game shows its final message to the player, while presenting them with one, final choice. It is a masterclass, on how investment and immersion can work.

Case 3 – Arknights: „Lone Trail“ and „Under Tides“: A holistic approach to ingame events

As a final entry to the presented case studies, Arknights is a multiplayer mobile tower-defense game developed by Chinese developer Hypergryph, that is set in the world of Terra. On Terra, which could be seen as a more grimmdark fantasy copy of our own worlds, which is made up of multiple factions and nations, the population lives in constant fear of catastrophes – cataclysmic events, that can wipe whole cities of the map – as well as Oripathy – a cancerous desease caused by a catastrophe’s aftermath, that is lethal – while also struggling for survival due to prejudice, scarce resources and the different nations being in conflict. These nations, factions and conflicts are oftentimes heavily inspired by our own world, while being placed in an environment, that is far more hostile and unforgiving than ours – a dark spin to the world, so to speak. Similar is true for the game’s ingame events, that add to the overarching story, push the narrative forward and reveal more of Terra, its people and their struggles to the player. Two such events, as well as their aural theme – Arknights plays heavily with music and its themes, with its developer Hypergryph even building a whole sub-sector wholy dedicated to creating and promoting music in their company -, are the focus of this study. Coincidentally, the final theme of both events has been composed by the same composer – America-born Steven Grove

Composer Steven Grove composed the final soundtrack / boss – theme for both Lone Trail and Under Tides

Lone Trail

The official trailer of Arknights – Lone trail already hints at its theme

Lone Trail is a ingame event, that has been inspired by the space race of the 1950s and 1960s between the Soviet Union and the United States. Nowhere is that more apparent than in its visual design, which can be described as retro-futuristic and which aludes to its inspiration. The following video perfectly encapsulatey and exemplifies, how Lone Trail manages to engage the player while drawing its connection to our real, historic counterparts.

An analysis of the Visual Design that make up the Lone Trail event in Arknights

While the visual design of Lone Trail is one part, that needs to be mentioned to understand Hypergryphs holistic approach when it comes to their game design and the design of their ingame events, all with the intent purpose of engaging and investing the player in their built world, as previously mentioned, another is Steven Grove’s music-addition to it.

Steven Grove – Control’s Wishes are both the first and final piece of music the player hears when experiencing the story of Lone Trail

The final soundtrack, Control’s Wishes, which can already be heard in the trailer, gains a whole new meaning, when connecting it to both the just experienced story and its overall setting. It is a multi-layered and multi-facetted track, that can both add to the existing story, thus boosting the players immersion at the end, but can also be understood without much context, just through its composition and musical elements alone. It is once more interesting to see, how much a well-composed track can add in terms of perceived information and mood, without the user having to necessarily be consciously aware of it.

Professionally trained opera singer and voice actor MarcoMeatball reacts to Control’s Wishes and analyses the main elements of the song

Under Tides

The official trailer of Arknights – Under Tide features many of the aquatic elements – both visually and aurally

Another event, that follows a similar scheme in terms of its visual design and aural depth – and whose first and final piece also was composed by Steven Grove, is Under Tides. This final piece is named „Under Tides“, and while the player may be confronted with it during the initial trailer already, it is only during the final boss battle, that its true meaning becomes apparent.

Steven Grove – Under Tides is a boss battle theme, that has a slight twist to it

Because, while, due to the audiovisual storytelling of the trailer, the setting of the event and its connection to the sea already become obvious, it’s in the final boss battle, that all the aural and visual hints, that have been dropped before, become obvious.

Voice actor and opera singer MarcoMeatball also analysed the musical elements of Under Tides, revealing the true meaning, that the player is exposed to, without having played the event himself

It is during the final fight, or rather, at its conclusion, that the final twist of the event is revealed: Under Tides isn’t the battle theme of the enemy you are fighting, but rather of the player, more specifically of the Abyssal Hunters at his side, that he commands throughout the battle and most of the event. „The player is the boss“ is an endearing and exciting new twist on how battles can work in general, as letting them experience being the final obstacle, the ultimate foe to overcome, is something not many games have attempted so far and Steven Groves music provides a very fitting backdrop for the experience.

A short summary and reflection of my journey so far

Finally, it is important to mention, that all these case studies should, at best, provide a broad overview of my experiences to the reader and are in no case to be understood as an in-depth analysis of the discussed material, as doing so would require a much deeper engagement of each of the discussed elements and source materials at hand. It should, however, hopefully engage the viewer and show, how different small details and used design elements can naturally come together to create a bigger whole, all with the goal of creating an immersive, engaging and holistic experience to the user.

On my journey so far – which included research into storytelling, world building, animation, rigging, extended realities and more – I have become deeply fascinated by the topic of immersion and how to invest someone into a story. I am especially fascinated by experiences inspired by modern games and media and set in the virtual. As such, after reflecting on my findings, I have decided to further pursue immersion as my goal, with the final goal being to create a virtual reality experience, that hopefully manages to catch the user’s interest and allow them to completely immerse themselves in the world I am building, whichever shape or form it ends up taking. To refine my goal and to achieve it, I will continue my research into various topics around it and start first studies and small-scale tests into different applications and designs, that will then hopefully help me carve out my path and help me find my final world.

Sources:

1. Kanehito, Yamada: Sousou no Frieren, Japan 2023-2024, Anime by: Studio Madhouse, Episodes 1 – 6, streamed at: https://www.crunchyroll.com/de/series/GG5H5XQX4/frieren-beyond-journeys-end, in: https://www.crunchyroll.com/de/ [22.02.2024].
2. Evan Call – Topic: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Original Series Soundtrack EP, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n9086XIv_nf3_qDXrEYnUm_dwW1KGxyrE [22.02.2024].
3. n.a.: Evan Call, https://anilist.co/staff/119999/Evan-Call, online in: https://anilist.co/ [22.02.2024].
4. Saba, Michael: How NieR: Automata Tells the Ultimate Humanist Fable, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63PzQIbTrM8 [22.02.2024].
5. n.a.: Keiichi Okabe, https://myanimelist.net/people/42543/Keiichi_Okabe, online in: https://myanimelist.net/ [22.02.2024].
6. Keiichi Okabe – Topic: NieR: Automata complete OST, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdR7m7PFLzQ7RqOVfxk2Fr2F-a7iWzovn&si=90M0GsB9J6ZDHFt2 [22.02.2024].
7. Skill Up: Nier: Automate | The Masterpiece You (Probably) Won’t Play, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NiyfG8Ctbo [22.02.2024].
8. Grove, Steven: Steven Grove Music, https://www.stevengrove.com/ [22.02.2024].
9. Arknights Official – Yostar: Arknights Official Trailer – Lone Trail, https://youtu.be/U_laI-G21fo [22.02.2024].
10. HalfACupOfRice: The Visual Design of Arknights Lone Trail, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS8nnjrMlQc [22.02.2024].
11. 塞壬唱片-MSR – Topic: Control’s Wishes, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKhEwcWMH9M [22.02.2024].
12. MarcoMeatball: Arknights – Lone Trail: Control’s Wishes || MUSIC REACTION, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7NdkeSQcjI [22.02.2024].
13. Arknights Official – Yostar: Arknights Official Trailer – Under Tides, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hqKmICjh0g [22.02.2024].
14. 塞壬唱片-MSR – Topic: Under Tides, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uTMR6vZqFM [22.02.2024].
15. MarcoMeatball: Opera Singer Reacts To The Music of Arknights, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l7nivLqz4Q [22.02.2024].