Jaime Banks

@amperjay

West Virginia University, USA

@wvucommstudies

#ixlab

Of beard physics and worldness:

The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism on player-avatar relations

I CAN HAZ

MOAR

POLYGONZ

PLZ?

Player-Avatar Interaction (PAX)

Object Me Symbiote Other

(Banks, 2015; Banks & Bowman, 2013, 2014, 2016)

“ ”

~45-50% ~45-50% ~5-10% ~5-10%

(Relational) anthropomorphism• Avatar contributions (eval = self-sameness)

• Appearance – ear length, skin color, cartoonishness, organic curves

• Behaviors – expressions, gaits, gaze, autonomy

• Other qualities – genderedness, speech, social norm adherence

• Player contributions (eval = phenomenal response)

• Process of rationalization by superimposing human frames

• Schema activation and inference

• Cognitive biases against non-human agencies/subjectivities

Research Question:Does enhanced

avatar anthropomorphism

(of familiar avatars)

influence player-avatar relations?

Study context …

World of Warcraft, October 2014

Shape/texture enhancements

Expression/posture enhancements

Movement enhancements

Method• Longitudinal field experiment

• Recruitment questionnaire + 3 surveys

• PAX Scale (Banks & Bowman, 2016)Dimension M∆ by condition over time

• Survey 1 = Past, 2 = Present (model changes), 3 = Future

• Identify favorite avatar

• Naturally occurring conditions• Old avatars (low anthro, unchanged): Blood Elves (~21%)

• Modern avatars (high anthro, unchanged): Pandaren, Worgen Goblins (~12%)

• Upgraded avatars (low anthro, changed to high anthro): Draenei, Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf, Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead (~67%)

Participants• Recruited through online WoW forums, FB groups

• 1 year of WoW game time (~$180) drawing

• Characteristics

• ~81% male (n = 247)

• ~79% Caucasian (n = 240)

• WoW tenure ≈ 7 years

• Avatar tenure ≈ 4.5 years, M = ~63% of playtime

• Attrition

• Recruitment Questionnaire, 3-5 weeks prior, N = 857

• Survey #1, 2 weeks prior, N = 491 (43% attrition)

• Survey #2, 1 week after, N = 370 (25% attrition)

• Survey #3, 3 weeks after, N = 305 (18% attrition)

Results …

NO.

No significant differences by Time, Condition, or Time*Condition when controlling for demographics and play habits.

Post-hoc thematic analysis

Thoughts on a “current event” – avatar model changes:

• Explicit anthropomorphism mentioned infrequently

• Implicit anthropomorphism “more believable”

• Cleaner, more fluid, lifelike, believable, closer to reality

• Depth and energy > Literal animacy

• Nostalgic concern for the ‘soul’ of the avatar ……………………….

• Tension: Game needs v. Avatar changes

• Modernization necessary to survive, but jarring

• Linked to changes in gameworld feel ………………………

• (Dis)satisfaction with discrete features

• Love: beard physics, hair styles, curves

• Hate: feet, perma-grin, run animations, skin tones ……………

Model changes may result in …• Shifts in perceptual (not social) realism

… Implicit (not explicit) anthropomorphism

… Human-likeness (not humanness)

… PAX operationalizes AA as explicit anthro

• Shifts in worldness, not relations

… Interplays: world aesthetics, combat dynamics,

expressive potentials, social interactions

… Systemic phenomenological change

Implications Academic v. lay notions of human(like)ness

Short-term/assigned v. long-term/familiar

Examining games/play/avatars as systems

• Discrete effects of perceptual/social realism

• Interplays of explicit/implicit anthropomorphism

• Themes: souls, benefit tensions, avparts/whole

• Phenomenology of (relational) anthropomorphism

Future Research

@amperjayjabanks@mail.wvu.edu