Why ‘Embodiment’ Takes Precedence Over ‘Immersion’

Our Inside XR Design series digs into standout examples of impressive XR design. Today, we’re diving into the world of Synapse and exploring the intriguing concept of embodiment, highlighting its vital role in crafting immersive VR experiences.

Editor’s Note: It’s astonishing to realize it’s been a full year since we initially shared this article. Yet, as we step into 2025, the insights remain as relevant as ever. We’ve decided to bring this piece back to our main page, aiming to amplify the ongoing conversation about embodiment, a pivotal design concept for creating captivating VR content.

You can either watch the complete video below or keep reading for a text adaptation of the insights shared.

Exploring Embodiment

Welcome back to another episode of Inside XR Design. Today, we’re focusing on Synapse, a 2023 PSVR 2 exclusive by nDreams. More specifically, we’ll examine the game through the lens of what we call "embodiment."

Now, you might be wondering—what exactly is embodiment, and why is it so crucial to discuss it rather than focusing solely on the game’s thrilling shoots, explosions, and smart designs? Embodiment helps us understand the effectiveness of certain design choices in Synapse, so hang in there with me for a bit.

Embodiment refers to the sensation of physically being present within a VR environment, as if you’re actually standing there, surrounded by the virtual world.

You might ask, "Isn’t that what we mean by immersion?" While immersion is a commonly used term, there’s an important distinction between immersion and embodiment.

For our discussion, we define immersion as something capturing your full attention. A gripping movie can immerse you, drawing you in until the world outside fades away. But has any movie ever made you feel like you’re physically inside it? Probably not.

This is where embodiment steps in. While immersion is about attention, embodiment focuses on your physical sense of presence in the world around you.

All VR games inherently achieve immersion by engulfing your senses through visuals and sound when you put on the headset. However, some VR experiences go a step further, making you feel as if your entire being has been transported into this virtual realm, encouraging you to touch and interact with it.

To clarify, immersion is your attention, and embodiment encompasses your feeling of truly being there.

Remember, embodiment isn’t a binary concept; it’s on a spectrum. Some VR games achieve slight embodiment, while others go above and beyond. So, what sets them apart?

That’s what we delve into with Synapse.

Cover You Can Feel

At a glance, Synapse may seem like any other VR shooter, but there are intentional design choices that enhance the sense of embodiment. A standout feature is its cover system.

Typically, VR shooters allow you to hide behind walls for cover, but these walls often remain static objects you never really engage with physically—just move behind them for protection.

However, Synapse turns cover into an interactive experience by allowing you to grab walls and manipulate your body in and out of cover, making the actions feel intuitive and natural.

This physical interaction not only enhances gameplay but also makes the walls feel tangible. When you physically move yourself using the wall, it subtly becomes part of your proprioceptive model.

Grasping Proprioception

Before we proceed, let’s discuss proprioception—a key concept when discussing how we trick our bodies into believing they’re elsewhere.

Picture this: a cat deftly moves its ear away from a table edge. This seamless action demonstrates proprioception—our body’s understanding of its placement and relation to surrounding objects without needing vision, ensuring each action aligns perfectly with spatial awareness.

Applying this to Synapse, you instinctively comprehend, “When I pull this wall, my body shifts accordingly.” It’s no longer just about seeing walls—they become integral in influencing your body’s positioning, heightening the realism, and thereby augmenting your sense of embodiment.

Reloading Redefined

Beyond cover, Synapse allows walls to serve another purpose: reloading.

Stepping away from embodiment briefly, this feature exemplifies ingenious design. In a previous episode of Inside XR Design, we explored weapon realism in Half-Life: Alyx. However, Synapse, an action-packed run-and-gun game, employs a distinctly different yet effective reloading method suitable for its fast-paced nature.

Rather than dealing with complex reload mechanics, magazines pop out and hover, ready for you to slide back into the weapon seamlessly. While this might appear whimsical, it fits within the game’s sci-fi realm, maintaining fluid gameplay without unnecessary complications.

This reloading method complements the cover system beautifully. Given that using cover requires one hand, how can players reload their weapons effectively?

The answer lies in utilizing walls to push magazines back into your gun, merging innovative gameplay mechanics with functional interaction with the environment.

Moreover, this enhances your engagement with the walls as tangible features—incorporating them into your spatial perception model, enhancing your sense of the distance and space around you.

In essence, whether you’re leveraging walls for cover or using them for reloading, these interactions reinforce the walls’ reality and your presence within the game.

When the environment begins to feel genuinely real, your perception of being physically inside it strengthens—that’s what embodiment captures. While virtual worlds invariably immerse us by capturing our full attention, embodiment transcends visual immersion by engaging your senses more deeply.

And when it comes to actively engaging with the world around you, Synapse introduces an extraordinary telekinesis system, elevating the experience to unprecedented heights.

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