Summary
Published: October 6, 2025
This is an abridged version of a long overdue conversation with Scott Welker, long-time gamer and successful game designer with titles based in Savage Worlds, D20, Year Zero, and soon a system of his own making. Scott is one half of Thieves Guild Gaming. Our conversation is a full on, open-minded examination about focused attention in RPGs – otherwise known colloquially but ambiguously and unhelpfully as “immersion.”
You can watch the full conversation, with its load of annotations and notes, on YouTube:
Scott likes to say “Immersion is impossible!” We get into what he means by that. I, as you know, Dear Listener, like to say that immersion, like so many other things, is frequently misunderstood. We get into that, too. For added value, one way we explore the topic is through Scott’s games and how they were written.
Useful links:
Thieves Guild Games on DTRPG, has just launched a public beta of their new OPENSIX system and are looking for feedback. As a system, it is directly relevant to this discussion. The game is currently PWYW and can be found here:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/524225/opensix-zero-edition-take-back-your-imagination
First in a series of videos on Scott’s first game, OS+R https://youtu.be/HaDi13UM21Y?si=dgRGHBnLRIDw6brd
Scott and I discuss the film: Zero Charisma https://www.youtube.com/live/dVXKIX78DIQ?si=oeIvKiePEcTp_WMI
My follow-up:
https://youtu.be/X2TCg2cl9aI?si=PS_sEUrfL2wKmxYi
Scott’s recent video on Autotelic Engagement: https://youtu.be/qHVyFOYRPgo?si=Lcuf10VFaZfFaT2v
Blog post summarizing my basic theory of “immersion”
On Immersion and Engagement in RPG Play
A recent video from James Bacon modelled on the above post and exploring the points raised by Scott can be found here:
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