For immersion, toggle self-relevance and the challenge-skill balance.
technique — attributed to Andrew Lacanienta
Lacanienta's specific levers for immersion experiences are two. Self-relevance: as the experience becomes more self-relevant to the participant, it becomes easier to be immersed. Balance of challenge and skill: not so hard that it produces anxiety, not so easy that it produces boredom. Balance both and immersion increases. The framework echoes Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's flow research applied to design contexts. The implication for designers is operational. Immersion is not produced by intensity; it is produced by the precise calibration of stakes the participant cares about against the capability the participant brings.
For experience designers, learning designers, and gameplay designers thinking about how to produce immersion. The technique is most useful as a diagnostic when immersive experiences have been falling short on either end of the challenge-skill spectrum.
immersion-levers, self-relevance, challenge-skill, flow