In “The Psychology of Immersion,” Jamie Madigan claims that there are a number of factors that can contribute to a games “immersiveness.” Among the most important factors are audio, visuals, cognitively demanding environments, and a strong narratives. Madigan further posits that a game that has “multiple channels of sensory input” or more of these factors working at once, the more immersive said game will be.
While it is true that a game that operates within multiple channels will typically be more immersive, I would argue that with Fortnite gameplay, auditory stimuli becomes the predominant factor that drives the games “presence.” In Fortnite, the audio doesn’t merely exist as a “channel” that adds to the gaming experience, as Madigan outlines. It is basically a requirement to play the game well and therefore becomes its own living breathing thing that drives the gameplay. With a form of sensory input driving your experience rather than just being a part of it, its hard not to accept the gameplay as reality.
For example, the sound in Fortnite is engineered in a way that live sound from other players in the game helps construct the 3-D space around you. If someone is walking on the floor above you or someone shoots a gun from your right side, you can clearly tell where they are and how far away. Without a map that shows enemies on it in real time, these auditory clues are all you have to piece together an image of the game space as it relates to other players, effectively creating a world where auditory stimuli is basically operating as part of the “cognitively demanding environment.”
If you look at Fortnite’s cartoonish elements and other formal aspects of the game’s design on their own, it’s very easy to take yourself out of the game, especially considering that the game operates with a third person view of your avatar rather than a first person one. However, since the auditory aspect of the game drives the high level of cognitive demand , you can easily forget about the fact that the game doesn’t have photo-realistic graphics because you are too wrapped up in making sure you are aware of your surroundings. In addition, even though some of the sounds in the game aren’t ones you would hear in the real world, the way you interact with the game’s auditory stimuli is so in tune with how we experience the real world, it is seamless enough as you step into this game world that you almost can’t tell the difference (or at least don’t have time to think about it while your in the game).
Here is an example of auditory stimuli in Fortnite is integral to the gameplay. There are glowing chests all over the map that contain “loot” (guns, ammo, health objects, etc.) and this video demonstrates how you can hear the chests and other players in the game even before you can see them. If a chest is hidden behind something or on the floor above you, you can easily tell exactly where it is because of the auditory cues. Without this audio, your gaming experience would be extremely incomplete and a complete experience equals an immersive one.
Source: When World’s Collide: Audio and How it Effects a Game’s “Presence”