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The Immersive Power of Fiction

There’s this tweet I quite like from Mike Rosenthal that reads: “What if your fiance said ‘smell ya later’ and then got his nose shot off in the War? I’m crying now, I hate the immersive power of fiction”

I thought of it often while watching YouTube personality Markiplier play a very simple game for an hour and, despite really simplistic graphics and a hard-to-swallow high concept, find himself completely absorbed in a game where he’s trapped in a cell and asked to simply stay happy and play video games.

The meta-narrative of also being in a room, alone, trying to be happy and play video games might have got to him. There are several points in the video where, in the embedded video Mark shoots of himself while he plays, you can see real emotion as the isolation of the game draws him in and forces a very human reaction, despite the limitations of the medium.

It’s a pretty amazing thing to watch. Be ready to see the immersive power of fiction.