Immersion (virtual reality)
perception of being physically present in a non-physical world
In virtual reality (VR), immersion is the perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The perception is created by surrounding the user of the VR system in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total environment.
Etymology
The name is a metaphoric use of the experience of submersion applied to representation, fiction or simulation. Immersion can also be defined as the state of consciousness where a "visitor" (Maurice Benayoun) or "immersant" (Char Davies) has their awareness of their physical self transformed by being surrounded in an artificial environment. The term is used to describe partial or complete suspension of disbelief, enabling action or reaction to stimulations encountered in a virtual or artistic environment. The greater the suspension of disbelief, the greater the degree of presence achieved.
Types
According to Ernest W. Adams, immersion can be separated into three main categories:
Tactical immersion: Tactical immersion is experienced when performing tactile operations that involve skill. Players feel "in the zone" while perfecting actions that result in success.
Strategic immersion: Strategic immersion is more cerebral, and is associated with mental challenge. Chess players experience strategic immersion when choosing a correct solution among a broad array of possibilities.
“Immersion (virtual reality)” enters the record as perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Immersion, virtual and reality can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1660060. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Immersion (virtual reality)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.