Play.Perform.Participate
Credit: Merlin Entertainments & Mojang Studios
Over the past decade, the boundaries that once separated video games, themed entertainment and live performance have steadily dissolved. What began as occasional crossovers - film adaptations of games, theme-park rides themed after popular franchises, or theatrical stagings using digital projection - has evolved into a bold new landscape where game design, world-building game IPs and theatrical design no longer operate in silos. Instead, they blend into a single creative language capable of producing some of the most powerful immersive experiences the world has ever seen.
This convergence is not merely a trend; it is a response to shifting audience expectations. Today’s audiences, shaped by interactive media, crave agency, emotional immediacy and continuity across physical & digital worlds. Creators across disciplines are recognising that the future of entertainment lies in building experiences - not just stories - where the audience becomes an active participant inside the narrative. At the centre of this shift lies a fundamental truth: video games, theatrical design and world-building IPs all excel at different aspects of immersion. When combined, they unlock a transformative potential that none of these fields can achieve alone.
Game Design: The Blueprint for Agency
Game design brings to immersive experiences something theatre traditionally could not: systems that respond to the audience. Whether through branching narrative, environmental puzzles, or character-driven quests, game design methods are built around the idea that audiences influence outcomes. This sense of agency - of being the protagonist rather than a spectator - has become the gold standard for immersive installations and themed attractions.
Mechanics like progression, reward loops, cooperative play and emergent storytelling translate remarkably well into physical space. Escape rooms, interactive theatre, LARP (live-action role-play) experiences and hybrid digital-physical attractions all borrow heavily from game design techniques to structure audience engagement. Even large-scale exhibitions now employ quest systems, achievement tracking and character archetypes to give visitors a personalised journey.
Game design techniques also offer experience creators robust tools for balancing complexity: pacing, onboarding, feedback systems and difficulty modulation. These elements are just as crucial in a physical environment as in a digital one. A poorly onboarded guest in an immersive attraction becomes confused and disengaged; a well-structured experience leads them confidently deeper into the world.
Game IPs: The New Mythologies of the 21st Century
If game design provides the how, game IPs provide the why. Modern game franchises - whether sprawling open worlds or tightly crafted indie narratives - have richly developed mythologies, dedicated fanbases and distinctive storytelling identities. These worlds, shaped over years of gameplay and community engagement, are fertile ground for immersive adaptation.
Unlike film or television, game IPs already place the player at the center of the narrative. They have built-in logic for interactivity, branching outcomes and spatial exploration. This makes them ideal for translation into physical environments that mirror the agency players expect.
Consider how fans of a role-playing game already think:
What class am I? What faction do I belong to? What quest am I on? Who am I in this world?
These questions align perfectly with immersive experience design, where guests often adopt roles or identities that define their path.
Game IPs also bring the advantage of deep emotional investment. Fans who have spent hundreds of hours in a digital world will leap at the chance to step into that world physically. The emotional payoff - seeing familiar locations rendered in 1:1 scale, interacting with characters they know, or influencing lore - is enormous. This creates experiences that are not only entertaining but culturally significant.
Theatrical Design: The Architecture of Emotion
If game design introduces agency and IP introduces world context, theatrical design brings the emotional and aesthetic dimension that grounds experiences in reality. Theatre - especially immersive theatre - has centuries of expertise in manipulating light, sound, set, costume, spatial choreography and performance to shape emotional journeys.
Theatre designers understand how to use sensory cues to guide audiences subconsciously:
Lighting that shifts mood as a story turns darker
Soundscapes that make a world feel alive
Spatial layouts that direct flow and influence choices
Environmental storytelling embedded in set details
Unlike game environments that exist behind a screen, theatrical design must function at a 1:1 scale. It must feel real enough to touch. This tactile quality is what transforms a conceptual narrative into a physical world the audience can inhabit fully.
Moreover, theatrical performers bring the irreplaceable human element: improvisation, responsiveness, and emotional nuance. In an immersive setting, performers act as real-time narrative engines, guiding players when necessary and reacting to their choices. This dynamic interplay elevates the experience beyond what either games or theatre can achieve independently.
Where the Convergence Happens
The most groundbreaking immersive experiences today sit precisely at the intersection of these three disciplines:
Game design provides the framework for interactivity.
Game IPs supply expansive, fan-loved worlds to explore.
Theatrical design brings these worlds into physical reality with emotional resonance.
This convergence can be seen in ambitious projects like story-driven theme park lands, site-specific immersive installations, gamified theatre productions, or hybrid digital-physical experiences integrating AR, VR, or AI-driven characters. Designers from gaming, theatre, film, architecture and live events increasingly collaborate to create unified experiences where narrative, mechanics and scenography reinforce one another.
The Rise of Persistent Hybrid Worlds
A defining feature of cutting-edge immersive experiences is their persistence. Unlike traditional shows that reset each night, many modern experiences evolve over time - just like online games. Guests build relationships with characters, contribute to ongoing story arcs, and return to see the consequences of their actions.
Technology enables this fluidity: wearable tech, mobile apps, RFID systems and AI-driven NPCs allow experiences to adapt to guest behavior, track progress, and personalise interactions. This is a game design principle embedded inside a theatrical form, powered by an IP that supports long-term narrative expansion.
Why This Convergence Matters
What makes this convergence so powerful is not simply innovation for innovation’s sake. It taps into something deeper: our innate desire for storytelling that we can inhabit. In an age where passive entertainment saturates daily life, the opportunity to step into a cohesive world - where our decisions matter and where fiction becomes physically real - is profoundly compelling.
These immersive forms are not just transforming entertainment; they are reshaping culture. They influence how we socialise, how we consume stories and how we imagine the future of shared experiences.
PIONEERING THE FUTURE
I imagine the next generation of immersive experiences will continue in this trend, becoming -
More dynamic - shaped in real time by guest decisions.
More transmedia - extending across games, films, theatre and interactive worlds.
More emotionally intelligent - using AI-driven characters and responsive environments.
More participatory - blurring the line between audience and performer.
As the boundaries continue to dissolve, one truth becomes clear: the future of world-leading immersive experiences is not driven by a single discipline but by the harmonious fusion of game design, world-building IPs and theatrical design. Together, they are giving rise to a new era of storytelling - one that you don’t just witness, but “you live inside”.