ABSTRACT
The experience of presence during game play has become an increasingly central component of video game research. Ongoing developments in video game technology have continued the long-standing practice of making games more vivid and interactive, two factors thought to invoke feelings of presence (Steuer, 1992). Advances in graphic and sound quality, the widespread use of fi rst-person viewpoints, and the inclusion of haptic feedback systems have increased the vividness of these virtual environments, while the expanded use of a variety of different control devices-including the more recent use of naturally mapped game controllers-has increased the interactivity of video games. In sum, as video games have continued to become more vivid and interactive, the experience of presence has become a critical component of understanding how they are used (Klimmt & Vorderer, 2003; Tamborini et al., 2004).
