Immersion

"Can you recreate elements of popular video games in real life? Let's find out."
- Official website 
Immersion (TV Series) is an ongoing American Rooster Teeth Live action production Sci-Fi Comedy TV Web series by Rooster Teeth Productions about how well video gaming material works in real life. During each episode, several Rooster Teeth staff members try to recreate the elements of popular video games to see weather or not and how well the video game material indeed works in real life. Like the show Mythbusters, Rooster Teeth takes all sorts of video game conventions, ideas, abilities and tests them in real life on real people. It's a webseries where Burnie (and another Scientist) decides to test various video game facts on Geoff and Gus, seeing if they would work in real life. After a long hiatus, a second season aired featuring the tests this time on Gavin and Michael. The show is currently in it's fifth season.
The series is created in which Burnie Burns and Gus Sorola (Griffon Ramsey in the first season) test the concepts of video games in real life, such as whether the heckling that sometimes occurs in multiplayer video games would negatively affect the performance of real soldiers. Burns joked in the Rooster Teeth podcast that the series started as an "elaborate way for [them] to do fun stuff and get paid for it.", stated by Burns on RT Podcast Episode 89. Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola were the test subjects throughout the first season. Gavin Free and Michael Jones (of Achievement Hunter) served as the test subjects for the second season. Various other Rooster Teeth employees have served as test subjects in certain episodes such as Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, Ryan Haywood, Blaine Gibson and Chris Demaris.
== Overview ==
In this show, Burnie Burns determines that many things that are taken for granted in Video Games - gaming's own tropes, if you will - simply don't work in real life.
Or do they? With the help of his set- and costume-designer friend Griffon Ramsey, he decides to go and test scientifically if some of the things in video games are in fact possible, like a gamer's MythBusters.
The first season involved Burnie and Griffon working together to explain and set up the experiments, with Griffon's husband Geoff Ramsey and his friend Gus Sorola, also both longtime members of Rooster Teeth Productions and cast of Red vs. Blue, acting as the Lab Rats - usually getting themselves hurt somehow.
Season One of Immersion was co-hosted and co-written by Griffon Ramsey and Burnie Burns with Gus taking Griffon's place in Season Two following Griffon's departure from the company.
Season One starred Gustavo Sorola and Geoff Ramsey as the shows two main participants.
Season Two introduced two new lab rats, Michael Jones and Gavin Free, with Barbara Dunkelman and Lindsay Jones added on as assistants for the scientists.
Season Three has a rotating cast of lab rats with the return of Gavin and Michael, and introducing Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross, and Blaine Gibson and Chris Demarais in addition to Barbara and Lindsay. In the Season 3 finale, Ryan Haywood guest starred as the lab rat while Gavin served as the scientist instructor observer along with Barbara as his assistant.
Michael and Gavin returned to co-host Season 4 and 5 with Burnie, with rotating appearances from secondary lab rats such as Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, Chris Demarais, Lindsay Jones, Barbara Dunkleman, Ryan Haywood, Adam Kovic, Bruce Greene, James Willems, Lawrence Sonntag,and Jeremy Dooley.
== History ==
During PAX East in late March 2010, Rooster Teeth released a teaser trailer for a series with a pilot episode that tested how easy it would be to drive a car from a third-person perspective. Nothing was mentioned of Immersion until October 2010, when Burnie Burns stated during the company's podcast, The Rooster Teeth Podcast, that production had begun on further episodes.
Soon after, on November 23, 2010, the company released pictures on Reddit of a door in their office turned into a safe-room door from the video game Left 4 Dead to build hype for the series' debut the following day. The post became the most popular post of the day on Reddit.https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/eau7w/we_turned_our_studios_exit_door_into_a_l4d_safe/http://roosterteeth.com/post/2644219 Rooster Teeth re-released a tweaked pilot episode the following day to begin the weekly series, which concluded with its seventh episode on January 5, 2011.
A new episode of Immersion premiered on June 17, 2011, after five months on hiatus. The episode's filming took place on May 29, 2011, during Rooster Teeth's convention, RTX, as well as 400 participants dressed as zombies. The episode shows Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola defending themselves from a horde of zombies.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHBST1QZq0w
On June 17, Burns stated during a panel at Supanova Sydney, that they would be producing a second season, and they were developing concepts. They also confirmed that Gavin Free and Michael Jones of Achievement Hunter would be joining the cast in the second season, replacing Sorola and Ramsey as the test subjects. In the Rooster Teeth Podcast, it was confirmed that the second season began production in 2013. Burns stated in an episode of the Rooster Teeth Podcast that several television stations were interested in picking up the series for its second season. On the RT Recap: Immersion Set, it was seen that Rooster Teeth was recording an episode of the series.
During RTX 2015, Burns announced that there would be a third season of Immersion. The third season premiered in November 2015 and wrapped up in mid-February of 2016.
Filming for Season 4 began on August 2016 and wrapped up in September of 2016.https://www.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/4xap2c/gav_michael_shooting_immersion_season_4/ The trailer premiered on November 4, 2016.https://twitter.com/roosterteeth/status/794611447724523520?lang=en Season 4 of Immersion premiered on November 8, 2016 and wrapped up on December 7, 2016.https://twitter.com/roosterteeth/status/807218822063079424?lang=en A fifth set of episodes began showing on March 21, 2017:
== Synopsis ==
Ever wondered how video game mechanics and concepts such as a zombie hoard in Left 4 Dead or the banana peel in Mario kart would work in the real world? This is a show that will test these mechanics and concepts using what ever means necessary even if it means risking the two test subject's physical well being and mental state.
=Episodes Guide=
==Season One/1==
Episode No.	Episode Name 	
Description 	Scenario 	Cast 	Air Date 	Link
1 	The Video Game Car 	Burnie and Griffon change up a car for the test subjects to drive in third person. Gus wins because he finished faster and while hitting less obstacles 	In games like Grand Theft Auto, you drive a car in third-person, with the camera about 10 feet behind. Could that possibly work in real life? 	Burnie Burns, Monty Oum, Geoff Ramsey,	April 5, 2010 	1
2 	Online Gaming Distractions 	
Spec Ops veteran Shane becomes the test subject for what real life combat would be like if online distractions existed. Interestingly enough, with distractions Shane performed slightly better than without.	In Call of Duty and other online shooters, some of the more rude players can be quite distracting. But would a real combat specialist be distracted by random sexual and ethnic slurs? 	 	December 1, 2010 	2
3 	Fighting Girl Clothes 	Using two actresses, Burnie and Griffon test how female fighting clothing from Soul Calibur would fare in a real life fight. Everyone wins 	In a lot of Japanese fighting games like SoulCalibur, the women's clothing can be pretty scanty. Just how practical would it be to fight in that kind of clothing? 	 	December 8, 2010 	3
4 	Side Scrolling in Real Life 	
Burnie and Griffon subject Gus and Geoff to a real life sidescroller
Geoff won with 2425 points, Gus had -999 	It's strange how people can seem to orient themselves so well in side-scrolling games like Super Mario Bros.. It must be easy to do it in real life then, right? 	 	December 15, 2010	4
5 	Video Game Inventory Systems	The hosts suit up the test subjects with a lot of stuff and have them race to the finish. Geoff wins 	In Doom, your character carries a shotgun, rocket launcher, BFG and many other guns - all at once. How would a real person cope with this? 	 	December 22, 2010	5
6 	Video Game Foods 	The hosts get the test subjects drunk, then have them feast to see who will feel better afterwards. Gus wins after Geoff couldn't hold his food in his stomach	In games, whenever your character is hurt the only thing that makes them feel better is food. Would that work in real life? 	 	December 30, 2010	6
7 	Zombie Headshots 	The test subjects take turns firing weapons at mannequin heads. Geoff won because he was the most accurate 	In comparison to zombie games like Left 4 Dead, would it really be that easy for an average person in real life to just pick up a firearm and be able to shoot zombies in the head? 	 	January 6, 2011 	7
8 	Food Special 	 	A special episode shown at PAX East 2011, which has no video game tie-in. We all know that artificial flavoring doesn't taste like real fruit, but if you put purple flavor into a grape, would anyone notice?	 	March 11–13, 2011	
9 	Horde Mode RTX Special 	The test subjects defend base against zombie hordes (RTX attendees).  	Geoff and Gus have already shown their relative ability to face off with Zombies. It gets moved to practical application when they are on the receiving end of a Zombie Apocalypse. 	 	June 17, 2011 	8
10 	Behind the Scenes 	Behind the scenes of Horde Mode 	 	 	March 5, 2012 	9
==Season Two==
Then in a visit to Supanova with Gavin Free, Burnie confirmed that they would be shooting a new season in late 2012/early 2013... and the people acting as the new Lab Rats would be Gavin himself, as well as Michael Jones. Shooting was confirmed to have started in Spring 2013, for a presumed summer release.
Season 2 commenced on May 22, 2013, with the release of the episode "Simulation Racer", before settling into a regular schedule in April 2014. The season concluded a year after its start, on May 29, 2014, with the "Trials Fusion" episode.
Episode 	Description 	Scenario 	Air Date 	Link
Simulation Racer	Michael and Gavin test their simulation racing skills by racing agaisnt professional championship racer Terry Earwood, who is driving the car on the actual track, while the lab rats play a simulation of the track within the car Terry is driving, stopping after each lap and switching drivers. Terry managed to complete three laps while the combined efforts of Michael and Gavin only managed one. 	Is it possible that driving a car in a video game could make you anywhere near as good as a driver who races the same track for real? 	May 22, 2013 	1
Split Screen 	Michael and Gavin compete in a split-screen first person shooter environment, where each player is allowed to "screen peek" at the other player's display. They were outfitted with goggles that allowed them to see what was directly ahead of them as well as the other person's feed. The game was held in a forest with multiple obstacles using paintball gear. No winner was declared, instead, Lindsay and Barbara (the "NPC" bots) won science for the day.	Back in the days when you had to share a screen in multi-player, looking at your opponent's screen was a tactic to locate them and give yourself an advantage. But would screen looking work in a real-life situation?	April 2, 2014 	2
Fruit Ninja 	Michael and Gavin come face to face with..... FRUIT. 	Is it possible to slice fruit with ninja style moves? Or is this just an excuse for the scientists to throw fruit at our Lab Rats? 	April 17, 2014	3
Pacman 	Just how effective is a top-down point of view in a real life Pacman level? 	In Pacman you navigate a top down maze, avoiding the ghosts that you can see as a result of your viewpoint. But would such a view help you avoid the ghosts in a real-life maze situation? 	May 1, 2014 	4
Mario Kart 	Can running over a banana really spin out a speeding go-kart and how do you pull off the perfect start in Mario Kart? 	A two-for-one episode. Burnie and the Lab Rats investigate whether it's possible to actually do a 'boost' from the start line of a go-kart race; and ask - just how many bananas does it take to flip a kart? 	May 15, 2014 	5
Trials Fusion 	Can two regular guys navigate a real-life Trials Fusion course? Get ready for one hell of a ride! 	Has playing bike rider game Trials Fusion helped our Lab Rats learn to ride bikes over obstacles? 	May 29, 2014 	6
==Season Three==
A third season was announced in April 2015 and premiered on November 1, 2015. This one features a rotating cast of five scientists and six lab rats, including the writing team for RWBY and had much more elaborate experiment set ups. Starting from '"Five Nights at Freddy's in Real Life"', there are bonus episodes that features another pair of Lab Rats playing the course.
Episode 	Description 	Scenario 	Air Date 	Link
Fallout 4 In Real Life 	Gavin and Michael are stranded in an open world wasteland and their only hope is to find the code to Vault 636. 	Can our Lab Rats navigate the (Texas) wasteland, finding a code to enter the Vault they are headed for, and without dying to the numerous hazards? 	November 2, 2015 	1
Fallout 4 In Real Life Part 2 	Can Gavin and Michael complete Coe's mission? Will they ever make it safely to Vault 636? Find out in the second installment of Immersion - Open World! 	 	November 5, 2015 	2
Five Nights At Freddy's 	Gavin and Michael attempt to protect themselves from various cast and characters from Rooster Teeth's past while trapped in the security room of Stage 5. 	Michael and Gavin have played all the Five Nights at Freddy's games; so surviving the night locked up with Rooster Teeth's own maybe-animatronic horrors should be a breeze for them. Right? 	November 19, 2015	3
Metal Gear Solid in Real Life 	Could you really sneak around a military base using only a cardboard box? Our newest Lab Rats, Miles and Kerry, put it to the test. 	Featuring two new Lab Rats (Kerry and Miles), Burnie and Gavin want to see if box camouflage would really work when sneaking through a warehouse. 	January 11, 2016 	4
Star Wars Jetpacks in Real Life	In a combat scenario, would flying around in a jetpack actually give you an advantage? Watch Blaine and Chris take to the skies to find out. 	With Blaine and Chris as our Lab Rats, they see if Star Wars jetpacks can really work as depicted. 	January 25, 2016 	5
Space Invaders in Real Life 	Rooster Teeth creates SPACE INVADERS in real life as our lab rats Michael and Ryan defend earth from an army of aliens. Will they save the planet or die embarrassingly?	Could one small ship really defend a planet from lines of descending space invaders if you knew the pattern they were coming at? Shot at RTX Aus, with Michael and Ryan as Lab Rats and Gavin filling in Burnie's main scientist role.	February 8, 2016 	6
== Season 4 ==
Season 4 began airing on November 9, 2016 with Team Nice Dynamite at the helm again and concluded on December 8, 2016.
Episode 	Description 	Scenario 	Air Date
Hitman in Real Life 	On the Season Premiere of Immersion, Michael and Gavin must take on multiple disguises to sneak through a crowded ballroom and assassinate Congressman Mike Hawk. Thanks to all our RTX attendees for making this episode possible!	Michael and Gavin return in an attempt to see if it's highly possible to sneak into a party, assassinate a target and escape without getting caught, similar to all of the Let's Watches towards the Hitman2016 game.	November 10, 2016
Resident Evil in Real Life 	In this episode of Immersion, our Lab Rats must survive a gauntlet of zombies and dark corridors as they test the many camera perspectives from the Resident Evil franchise. 	Michael and Gavin go into a zombie infested hospital to see how different camera angles (first person, third person, fixed) work in real life compared to Resident Evil games 	November 17, 2016
Destructibles in Real Life 	Real world objects vs video game objects. Gavin and Michael must smash, crash and demolish their way through famous props from games like Half Life 2, Zelda and Rainbow Six: Siege. 	Michael and Gavin test to see if it's possible to break shit the same way they do in Half-Life, Legend of Zelda and Rainbow Six Siege 	November 24, 2016
Surgeon Simulator in Real Life	Gavin and Michael must operate on a familiar face before blood loss kills their patient in this Surgeon Simulator Immersion. 	Michael and Gavin are tasked to replace a heart similar to Surgeon Simulator 2013 	December 1, 2016
NBA Jam in Real Life 	Can a flaming basketball really improve your basketball game? Gavin and Michael are burning to find out. 	Michael and Gavin play with fire to see if lighting a basketball on fire will make you play better similar to NBA Jam. 	December 8, 2016
== Season 5 ==
A fifth set of episodes began showing on March 21, 2017:
Episode Title 	Description	Scenario 	Air Date
The Last of Us in Real Life	 	Would being hung upside down from a snare really affect your aiming as much as The Last of Us suggests it does? 	
Mass Effect in Real Life 	 	In the game Mass Effect the ability 'Charge' allows for the infliction of massive damage on enemies. But how practical would such an ability be in real life? 	
Fortnite in Real Life 	 	A lot of video games let you build a defensible structure to help you take on enemy waves - but would such a construction do the job in a real-life situation?	
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