[Slayder]

Well, I certainly don't think the names of spells, etc is the defining thing that made EQ and other games of that ilk immersive, but they are part of it. I also don't think the lack of creatively named spells/abilities makes your game non-immersive, I'm simply saying the existence of them is a small piece of adding to that immersion.

Take Ice Comet for example. I remember in the early days of EQ when the mere mention of Ice Comet made Wizzies wet themselves. Would Frostbolt rank 9 have done that? The world may never know...

I don't want to derail into a WoW vs. EQ discussion, because god knows there's been enough of that. But part of WoW's immersion-less qualities stem from it's art direction, death mechanics (as you say), and overall ease of access and travel times (or lackthereof).

Would EQ have been just as immersive if it had used the WoW spell model? Probably. Vice versa would probably also be true.

All I'm saying is that when your trying to create a rich, believable fantasy world, you add in those little details as much as possible. It may not make a difference to a lot of people, but for some it does.