In our ongoing series, Inside XR Design, we dive into standout examples of extraordinary XR design. We’re exploring the game Synapse today and delving into the concept of embodiment, highlighting its significance in VR gaming.
Editor’s Note: It’s amazing to realize that a year has flown by since this piece first came out, but its insights remain just as pertinent in 2025. We thought it was the perfect time to revisit and update the front page, continuing the dialogue around embodiment as a key design element for engaging VR experiences.
You can watch the full video below, or keep scrolling for a detailed text version.
### Defining Embodiment
Welcome back to Inside XR Design. Today, we’re diving into Synapse, a 2023 PSVR 2 exclusive by nDreams, examining it through the concept of embodiment.
So, what exactly is embodiment, and why should we focus on it instead of just showcasing the game’s flashy shooting mechanics, explosions, and innovative design? Understanding embodiment will help us appreciate why the design choices in Synapse are so impactful. So bear with me for a moment.
Embodiment refers to the sensation of being physically present in a VR environment, as if you’re truly standing within the world surrounding you.
You might wonder, “Isn’t that what ‘immersion’ describes?” While commonly used interchangeably, I want to draw a distinction between ‘immersion’ and ‘embodiment’.
For our discussion, ‘immersion’ is when something fully captivates your attention. We agree that movies can be immersive—when a film’s narrative or action engrosses us, making everything outside the theater fade away. But even the most immersive film doesn’t make you feel like you’re in it physically.
That’s where ‘embodiment’ steps in. While immersion is about attention, embodiment is about your physical presence and its relationship to the virtual world.
In VR, achieving immersion is quite straightforward. With your vision and hearing captivated, these games naturally command your attention as soon as you put on a headset.
Yet some VR games elevate the experience further; they make you feel as though your entire body has been transported into the virtual world. It’s as if you could reach out and touch the objects within these worlds.
To clarify, while immersion grabs your attention, embodiment makes you feel like you’re genuinely there.
Embodiment isn’t merely a binary concept. It exists on a spectrum. Some VR games just lightly touch upon embodiment, while others envelop you completely. What factors swing it one way or the other?
This leads us to our exploration of Synapse.
### Cover You Can Feel
Initially, Synapse might seem like your typical VR shooter, yet it harnesses clever design decisions that enhance the sense of embodiment. The cover system is particularly noteworthy.
In every VR shooter, you can use cover by positioning behind walls that shield you from enemy fire. Traditionally, these walls remain passive—a mere obstacle in the environment.
Synapse revolutionizes this dynamic by letting you interact with cover. You can physically grab and manipulate walls to pull yourself in and out of safety. This interaction feels intuitive and seamlessly integrates into the gameplay.
By involving yourself in motion relative to the wall, rather than merely strafing with a thumbstick, the wall begins to feel tangible. This sense of tangibility builds as you use the wall as an anchor for your movements, integrating it into your proprioceptive model, a subconscious understanding of your body’s position and movement within space.
### Understanding Proprioception
Let’s pause to touch upon proprioception, a term that often surfaces when discussing how we trick our bodies into believing they’re in different environments.
An illustrative example of proprioception is watching a cat navigate a table. Remarkably, without seeming to think, the cat flicks its ear out of harm’s way precisely and effortlessly.
Proprioception is this innate awareness of your body’s spatial position relative to its surroundings. It allows the cat to move its ear just in time, knowing precisely where it is in relation to the table without looking.
In Synapse, as you intuitively grasp that moving your hand right manipulates your body left, the walls morph from simple objects you view to significant factors you interact with to control your bodily position. As your mind pays closer attention to these interactions, the walls start to feel more immediate and your presence more rooted in the simulation, enhancing your embodiment.
### Mags Out
Moreover, Synapse walls serve dual functions—they’re not just for cover. You can also reload your weapon using walls.
Breaking away from embodiment for a second, this is a brilliant design move. In a previous episode of Inside XR Design, I extolled the realistic weapon mechanics in Half-Life: Alyx. Synapse adopts a distinctly different style—a fast-paced reloading system fitting the game’s run-and-gun nature.
Instead of fussing over inventory and chambering rounds, Synapse simplifies dynamic reloading. Magazines eject and float, waiting for you to slide them back into the weapon—a method blending perfectly with the game’s sci-fi narrative, easing complexity while preserving the enjoyment of reloading.
This clever mechanic complements the cover interaction beautifully. As using the cover system occupies one hand, how do you reload? By leveraging the wall to slot the magazine back, you can seamlessly use both systems in tandem.
This isn’t just clever—it intensifies engagement with virtual walls. You gauge your arm’s proximity to the wall, coaxing your brain to map the space between your body and these surfaces.
Engaging with the world in such meaningful ways makes walls and objects appear strikingly real. When your surroundings come alive in this manner, the simulation feels genuine, paving the way for reaching out and interacting with the environment in Synapse’s groundbreaking telekinesis system.
### Continue on Page 2: Extend Your Reach
