Theory of Double Conciousness

"Salen and Zimmerman [27, p.453] argue for a replacement of the “immersive fallacy” of total identification with a notion of doubleconsciousness, in which the player adopts the persona of the character in relation to the gameworld while remaining aware of her own existence as a player manipulating a game object. Gee [9] suggests the emergence of a shared “projective identity” between the poles of the avatar’s virtual identity and the player’s real-world identity, and this model serves as the foundation for Waggoner’s [29] study of the relationship between players and their avatars in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Bethesda, 2002)." (Vella, 2013)

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Case Study: Exploring Identity in World Of Warcraft

In the study 'The Ideal Elf: Identity Exploration in World of Warcraft' the research examined the identity exploration possibilities presented by online multiplayer games in which players use graphics tools and character-creation software to construct an avatar, or character. 'We predicted World of Warcraft players would create their main character more similar to their ideal self than the players themselves were.' (Bessière, Seay, Kiesler, 2007) The studies strongly suggested that a portion of the players considered their online avatars to be more attractive, or successful then their real selves. That players would in fact create in sorts an ideal version of themselves, with characteristics more favorable of that of their real life selves. The studies data suggests that the massive multiplayer online role-playin games' (MMORPGs) worlds gives players the freedom and opportunity to create idealized or alternative versions of themselves." (Bessière, Seay, Ki...

The Proteus Effect in Role-Playing Games

The name Proteus comes from the Greek God who can take on a multitude of forms. When a player has multiple characters that he/she would consider being extensions of their selves, we call that The Proteus Effect (GameSpot, 2014). When a player takes on a characters role they begin to play upon the way they perceive their character should act. When this occurs, similar to Greek mythology, they are taking on another form and thus becoming 'protean'. Jeremy Baileson, an associate professor at Stanford University and Infinite Reality's co-writer explains the Proteus effect being "(a) phenomenon where people change their in-game behavior based on how they think others expect them to behave" (Baileson, 2007). A study at the Stanford university suggests that avatars shape their owners. Meaning that an in-game character that a player takes on may in fact affect the actual real-world-self of the player. According to Bailenson "Avatars are not just or...

Identity Character Creation

This week I will be focusing on how Character Creation enables identity projection in role playing games. There are plenty of types of Role playing games out there, examples of these are table-top RPG, live action RPG, text-based RPGs and the list goes on. However, for the focus of my study I will be focusing on RPG video games. The sub-genres I will study are linear RPG, open world RPG and massively multiplayer RPG (MMORPG). One feature that is present throughout most RPGs, with the exception to more story based (linear) RPGs, contain character customization. Generally beginning at the start of a game, is a tool that offers you the option to personalize your avatar to your every need. Usually, you are given the freedom to change their physical appearance such as their age, sex, hair, and ethnicity. When player's are given the opportunity to customize their character they most often than not create a character with similar physical attributes to th...

Identity in Role-Playing Games

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