Visual Game & Media Design graduation project
Student: Frederik Kantner Bottrup
Year: 2026
Mobile games are often designed to optimise retention – exploiting the attention of players through rhythmic dopamine hits. This project aims to rethink how immersion can be designed and used to facilitate an intrinsic motivation to meaningfully engage with a mobile game, rather than preying on the psychology of a young audience with shortened attention spans.
The modern media landscape is a capitalistic war fought over the real estate of your attention and mind
Based on research focusing on analysing the inner workings of attention and dissecting the term immersion, I present a collaborative case in the form of a hybrid casual mobile game, targeted towards a preteen audience with a lower attention span. Based on Gordon Calleja’s Player Involvement Model, I iterated on and incorporated different design choices corresponding to the dimensions of involvement into the project: kinesthic, spatial, narrative, shared, ludic and affective.
Even though the mobile screen is small, I explored ways to achieve an absorbing adventure in these limited confines. Inspired by fairy tales, I created an idyllic visual universe for a mobile game that could facilitate an immersive experience through the narrative as well as exploring playful interactions for the player to uncover the mysteries of the world.
With immersion explored in a mobile game case, the term is multifaceted and has many dimensions. A designer can both facilitate a superficial engagement constituted by strategic cognitive challenges, that relies on superimposed ludic involvement to occupy the mind. In contrast, a more meaningful involvement can similarly occur when designing for a more healthy and responsible approach, by being aware of players’ limited attention spans and cognitive resources.
Not only can media negatively affect our attention span, but its structure as well. Intentionally designing negative space, to let player finish tasks and take breaks. Alleviating tension while also creating meditative moments of reprieve so that they may internalise the aesthetic intricacies of the world. Teaching young players to master their own attention, by lending them agency over their own experience.
I’m 26 years old and I love working with aesthetics and atmospheres, explored through concept art and world building. I’m currently creating and visualizing my own world. I work in many different programs as I experiment a lot and enjoy discovering new tools too. I have a structured and analytical approach, whilst I prioritize an overview of the entire project and everyone involved.
