‘You just get sucked into it’: extending the immersion process model to virtual gameplay experiences in managed visitor attractions

Abstract

This study investigates the immersion process in virtual visitor experiences in the context of a managed visitor attraction. It validates and extends previously developed models of the immersion process from tourism and proposes an underlying structure with four mechanisms driving the immersion process forward. Data was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with visitors participating in virtual gameplay at a commercial gaming centre in Oslo, Norway. Findings indicate that the immersion process is comparable across ‘real world’ and virtual visitor experiences and that the process consists of three stages (engagement, engrossment, and transcending involvement), corresponding with involvement triggers, involvement worlds, and the state of immersion. The study extends previous models of the immersion process by identifying the influence of pre-existing involvement as an ‘involvement booster’ enhancing the individual visitor’s immersion process. The findings have implications for how the underlying structure and components of the immersion process can be understood and offers practical implications for experience designers working in the intersection between virtual and ‘real world’ visitor experiences.