from toy and tool to partner and person: phenomenal convergence/divergence among game avatar...
Post on 13-Feb-2017
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Jaime Banks@amperjay
Nicholas David Bowman@bowmanspartan
West Virginia University, USA@wvucommstudies #ixlab
From toy and tool to partner and person:
Phenomenal convergence/divergence among game avatar metaphors
Avatars• Graphical user representations• Carriers of meaning/agency• Participants in varied
relations with players• Mediators of phenomenal gameplay
Metaphorical characterizationsExamples:• “The uncanny aspect of the relationship between player and
avatar is heightened by the use of them as vehicles through a 3D game space ….” (Carr, 2002).
• “The same is true for users of avatars – the effects of donning their “virtual costumes” are enhanced by deindividuation and the reactions of others (Merola & Peña, 2010).
• “… while in the avatar-supported medium, anonymity can be further increased by ‘wearing a mask’ to confuse or distract the recipient about one’s identity” (Balanxhi & Nah, 2007).
• “Self-differentiation was revealed in … stories of avatars’ existence as whole, independent personalities in the gameworld” (Banks, 2015).
Metaphorical characterizations• Utility
• Addressing nuances in avatar use, perception• Making unfamiliar experiences accessible
• Problems• “Metaphor sprawl” inhibits synthesis of new knowledge within
existing frameworks (cumulative/static developments not progressive/dynamic)
• Often analytical artifacts rather than phenomenologically valid characterizations
Player-Avatar Interaction (PAX)
Object Me Symbiote Other
(Banks, 2015; Banks & Bowman, 2014, 2016)
*
Research questions …• RQ1: Can avatar metaphors be meaningfully situated
within the sociality continuum?• RQ2: Can avatar metaphors be collapsed into a
parsimonious model for metaphorically characterizing player-avatar sociality?
Method …• MMO-related gaming forums and FB groups
(general and game-specific)• Online survey re: self-selected ‘favorite’ MMO avatar• One-item sociality measure:
I connect with that avatar as I connect with other humans.(M = 3.81, SD = 2.89)
• 26 avatar metaphors, 10-point Likert scale, not at all/very accurate ratings:How well do each of the following words describe how you see this avatar?
• Analysis• RQ1: Correlations between sociality and metaphor ratings• RQ2: EFA of metaphor ratings
Participants …
• N = 501• 31.5% female• Age M = ~30,
ranging 18-69
• International sample(33 countries)
• Diverse MMOs(39 games)
Results … (Banks & Bowman, 2015)
Discussion …• Theoretically divergent characterizations are sometimes empirically convergent
• PAR typology may be useful for synthesizing existing scholarship using different characterizations, as function of sociality
• In analysis, pair generalizable ‘meta-metaphors’ with more nuanced metaphors for breadth and depth
@amperjay @bowmanspartan
Means …
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