Exploring the user-avatar relationship in videogames: A systematic review of the Proteus effect

IF 4.5 2区工程技术 Q1 COMPUTER SCIENCE, CYBERNETICS

Human-Computer Interaction Pub Date : 2022-08-10 DOI:10.1080/07370024.2022.2103419

Kim Szolin, D. Kuss, F. Nuyens, M. Griffiths

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引用次数: 8

Abstract

Since their commercial introduction in the 1970s, videogames have become an increasingly popular form of entertainment leading to the multi-billion-pound industry seen today (Juniper Research, 2020). The mechanics of videogames can vary significantly, and may require little more than pressing a specific button at the correct time to sweeping narrative-driven epics in vast and dynamic game worlds. Although not universal, a common and often integral component found in videogames is the avatar. An avatar is a visual representation of a character that the gamer uses to navigate and interact with in a virtual world through which gamers are able to seek out and achieve in-game objectives. Avatars can often be highly customized characters whose visual design and in-game behavior are controlled by the gamers themselves. As both a visual representation of the gamer as well as a means of facilitating manipulation of a virtual world, an avatar can be seen as a means through which an individual is able to project their physical world self into a game world (Ducheneaut et al., 2009). This projection of individuals in a virtual world via their avatars has received increasing research attention, and personal aspects such as an individual’s personality (Worth & Book, 2014; Yee et al., 2011) and appearance (Cacioli & Mussap, 2014; Kafai et al., 2010; Messinger et al., 2008) have been indicated as factors with the potential to affect in-game avatar appearance and behavior. However, while the research evidence indicates that the gamer can, and often does, project elements of themselves into a game world through their avatar, the reverse may also be true and an avatar can impact or influence the gamer. More specifically, it has been suggested that the avatar may become integrated into the gamer’s sense of self, allowing for in-game avatar-related characteristics to influence the gamer in terms of both attitudes and behavior (Ratan & Sah, 20152015). One specific and increasingly prominent area of research regarding this aspect of the user-avatar relationship is referred to as the ‘Proteus effect’ (PE).

查看原文本刊更多论文

探索电子游戏中的用户角色关系:对Proteus效应的系统回顾

自20世纪70年代电子游戏进入商业市场以来，电子游戏已经成为一种越来越受欢迎的娱乐形式，导致了今天数十亿英镑的产业(Juniper Research, 2020)。电子游戏的机制可能会有很大的不同，可能只需要在正确的时间按下一个特定的按钮，就可以在广阔而动态的游戏世界中展开由故事驱动的史诗。尽管并非普遍存在，但电子游戏中常见且不可或缺的元素便是角色。虚拟角色是玩家用来在虚拟世界中导航和互动的角色的视觉表现，玩家可以通过虚拟世界寻找并实现游戏中的目标。化身通常是高度定制的角色，其视觉设计和游戏行为由玩家自己控制。作为玩家的视觉表现和操纵虚拟世界的手段，角色可以被视为个体将其物理世界的自我投射到游戏世界的手段(Ducheneaut et al.， 2009)。这种通过他们的化身在虚拟世界中的个人投射已经受到越来越多的研究关注，个人方面，如个人的个性(Worth & Book, 2014;Yee et al.， 2011)和外观(Cacioli & Mussap, 2014;Kafai et al.， 2010;Messinger et al.， 2008)被认为是影响游戏角色外观和行为的潜在因素。然而，尽管研究证据表明，玩家可以(而且经常)通过他们的角色将自己的元素投射到游戏世界中，但反过来也可能是正确的，角色也可能影响或影响玩家。更具体地说，有人认为角色可能会融入玩家的自我意识，允许游戏中的角色相关特征在态度和行为方面影响玩家(Ratan & Sah, 2015 - 2015)。关于用户-角色关系这方面的一个特定且日益突出的研究领域被称为“普罗透斯效应”(PE)。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Human-Computer Interaction 工程技术-计算机：控制论

CiteScore

12.20

自引率

3.80%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a multidisciplinary journal defining and reporting on fundamental research in human-computer interaction. The goal of HCI is to be a journal of the highest quality that combines the best research and design work to extend our understanding of human-computer interaction. The target audience is the research community with an interest in both the scientific implications and practical relevance of how interactive computer systems should be designed and how they are actually used. HCI is concerned with the theoretical, empirical, and methodological issues of interaction science and system design as it affects the user.