Jaime Banks ~ @amperjayNicholas David Bowman ~ @bowmanspartanWest Virginia University, USA ~ @wvucommstudies #ixlab

Validation of a merged metric for Player-Avatar Interaction (PAX)

(the next chapter)

Avatar =

• Graphical user representations

• Carriers of meaning/agency

• Mediators of phenomenal

gameplay

…

• Psychological Merging

• Dimensions

• Identification

• Suspension of Disbelief

• Sense of Control

• Sense of care/responsibility

• Associated with play motivations, pro/antisocial

tendencies, enjoyment/appreciation

Lewis, Weber, & Bowman (2008)

Bowman, Schultheiss, & Schumann (2012)

Bowman, Rogers, & Sherrick (2013)

Object Me Symbiote Other

Banks (2013, 2015)

• Theoretically divergent

• Conceptual overlaps: agency, emotion

• Predictive/associative value

• Narrative involvement

• Prosocial/cooperative play

• Appreciation

Avatar as

Object

Avatar as

Me

Avatar as

Symbiote

Avatar as

Social Other

Identification Low High Mid Low

Suspension of

disbeliefLow Mid Mid High

Sense of

ControlHigh Mid Mid Low

Sense of care/

responsibilityLow Mid Mid High

Banks & Bowman (2013)

Para-social Social

Banks & Bowman (2014)

• RQ1: Can exploratory and linguistics-based indicators of player-avatar relationships be translated to a meaningful survey instrument to measure perceived PAR sociality?

• RQ2: Are dimensions of PAR sociality and CA empirically distinct?

• RQ3: Can PAR sociality and CA dimensions be synthesized into an instrument with (a) predictive and (b) convergent validity?

• Online surveys• 95 questions from exploratory/follow-up work + CA Scale + construct

validity measures + PAR type

• Sociality scale + CA embedded in larger study

• Sample• Multi-game, international (N = 494, initial subsample n = 176)

• WoW only, international (N = 458)

• Recruited via Reddit/Blizzard forums

Character Attachment

• Identification

(pretending, being,

affinity)

• Suspension of disbelief

(error, plausibility)

• Control

(‘obedience,’ frustration)

• Care/responsibility

(wants, needs, interests)

PAR Sociality

• Anthro. autonomy

(thoughts, feelings, life)

• Emotional investment

(love, appreciation, loss)

• Companionship

(friends, understanding,

reciprocation)

(18-item, penultimate, multi-game sample)

(15-item, final, WoW sample)

NNFI (Tucker-Lewis

index) = .978

IFI = .983

CFI = .982

RMSEA = .046

Correlations shown are

significant at the p < .001

level or greater.

• Emotional Investment

• This avatar is very special to me.

• I appreciate this avatar.

• I would be heartbroken if I lost

this avatar.

• I love this avatar.

• (R) I don’t really care about this

avatar.

• (R) I have no emotional

connection to this avatar.

• Player Control

• This avatar does what I want.

• I control this avatar.

• Avatar Autonomy

• When I log out of the game, this

avatar has its own life.

• This avatar has its own feelings.

• This avatar has its own thoughts

and ideas.

• Suspension of Disbelief

• I concentrate on inconsistencies

in this avatar's story and the

game story.

• It is important to check for

inconsistencies in this avatar's

game.

• I pay attention to errors or

contradictions in this avatar's

world.

• Human-like relatedness

• PAR type

• Motivations for play - social

• Motivations for play - immersion

• MMO genre preference

Object Me Symbiote Other

• I sometimes forget my own feelings and take on

those of my character.

• I enjoy pretending my character is a real person.

• I consider my character a friend of mine.

• I enjoy pretending I am my character.

• I could see myself being attracted to my character.

• I daydream about my character.

• Shifts in anthropomorphism PAX

• “Me versus We” in serious games

• Variations in character identification among dimensions

• Moral decision-making (self v. other)

• Symbiotes … unpack those buggers