In the past 25 years, electronic entertainment has progressed in leaps and bounds.  Indeed it would be difficult for a kid playing a linear game like Pong to imagine a game like Deus Ex and its non-linear narrative.  But no matter the plot, graphics, or sound, games come down to one thing: interactivity and the way we interface with the game environment.  For me, interactivity and gameplay can be broken down into three categories: reciprocity, submersion and escapism.  The games that continue to push the bounds of interactive entertainment will deal with all three of these categories in newfangled ways.

Reciprocity
The ability for the gaming environment to react realistically to a player’s input is the first important factor of understanding interactivity. For a gamer to feel like they are part of the fictional gaming world, the world must feel like it is a part of the gamer. When the game responds in a natural, intelligent, and realistic way, the player has no choice but to subliminally accept the fantasy that the game is offering him. In this way, reciprocity of the gaming world is the first integral part of the interactive equation.

Reciprocity of environments like Red Faction’s destructible terrain, or reciprocity of emotions and feelings by AI characters as in The Sims contributes towards a player feeling like they are a part of the fictional reality. Reciprocity of environmental sounds as in Thief, or reciprocity of character control as in Die by the Sword, help to sustain the illusion that the player is actually inside the game world instead of merely looking in through a window.

The future of reciprocity will exist in seamlessly integrated interactive worlds. RTS worlds will be real battle fields where destroyed vehicles stay where they are and affect their environment by downing trees, damming rivers, collapsing land bridges, or creating barricades to stop oncoming troops.  Similarly, if you’re taking fire in a first person game, you’ll be able dive through a window, interrupt a family eating dinner, and even grab their table, flipping it over for cover.