# Exploring the Impact of Ambient and Character Sounds on Player Experience in Video Games
## 1 Introduction
### Game Experience
#### 1.1.1 Immersion  
Immersion is one of the most important aspects of the game experience [3]. The definitions of immersion are numerous and wide-ranging. One more colloquial definition of immersion is the _sense of being there_ in a non-physical world or surroundings [4]. However, there are many more definitions, depending on the media context and the name of the construct. For example, transportation, presence, absorption, and immersion are often used almost synonymously. [PERSON] and co-authors have attempted to integrate different definitions of immersion and delimit it from other similar constructs [5]. They define immersion as \"a phenomenon experienced by an individual when they are in a state of deep mental involvement in which their cognitive processes (with or without sensory stimulation) cause a shift in their attentional state such that one may experience dissociation from the awareness of the physical world.\" [5] (p. 6). The construct of transportation is a very similar experience that is focused more on the narrative, while presence can be differentiated from immersion. Presence has been defined as the sense of being in a location other than the exact physical location and, as such, can occur together with immersion; however, both can also occur separately (one does not necessarily feel present in an abstract game like Tetris but can still be immersed, while a recording of a restaurant can make one feel as if they are there but is not necessarily immersive) [5]. The concept of flow as a state of deep involvement in an activity where nothing else seems to matter is also often mentioned in connection with immersion. However, flow is usually an all-or-nothing experience where you have either achieved the state of flow or you have not, whereas immersion can be a gradual experience [5].  
One interesting definition of immersion in the context of video games differentiates between three aspects of immersion [6]. _Sensory immersion_ concerns the audio-visual presentation of the game and how real-world stimuli are overpowered by the game stimuli, and players become focused solely on the game world; _challenge-based immersion_ is achieved when a game contains a satisfying balance of challenges compared to the player's abilities; and _imaginative immersion_ describes the feeling of being absorbed in the game's story or connecting to a game character and having the chance to experience the fantasy of the game by contributing to it with your imagination [6].  
While there have been attempts to investigate immersion using physiological indicators, the most frequently used measures are questionnaires that gauge subjective experiences [5; 7], one of which is the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) [8], which also measures aspects such as flow, perceived competence, or negative and positive affect.  
As immersion is the experience of being deeply involved in a fictional world, it in itself already creates one of the motivations to play video games, as people often report playing video games to discover new things, create a new persona, and escape real-world problems through the game [9].