Me, My Self, My Character, and I: Role-playing Identities in Ludic Space.

27/04/2010 Amy Bear 30 comments

This paper proposes that though Self is both persistent and variable in game space, the influence of self over character avatars is reflected by the influence of character avatars on the self. Projecting identity into a character avatar has a direct influence on the identity of the player, both within the game and in their physical world.

Drawing upon studies, experiments, and experience from academics in the fields of social sciences and game studies, it will be argued that there exists a symbiotic relationship between the personal identity of the player and the character avatar created to represent the player in game space, a relationship reinforced by social interaction and in-game achievements.

By recreating identity through the creation of a character avatar, players are empowered by their character’s appearance, success, and society, via a conduit of identity ownership and responsibility. Through this mechanism of self-exploration and experimentation (Adams, n.d.; Turkle, 1994, 1995), players with low self-esteem experiencing some discrepancy between their actual and ideal selves, can adopt the traits reinforced through the process of game play and improve their perception of actual self (Adams, n.d.).

Therefore, this paper proposes that there is much to be gained for socially awkward individuals by creating character avatar identities in role-playing games, and participating in socially reinforcing activities from behind a mask of percieved anonymity.

“…who we choose to be in turn shapes how we behave. While avatars are usually construed as something of our own choosing – a one-way process – the fact is that our avatars come to change how we behave.” (Yee & Bailenson, 2007)

The ‘I’ in Identity
Identity may reasonably be described as a set of traits reliably demonstrated by an individual to distinguish that individual from others. Such traits may include physical appearance, temper and temperament, intelligence, humour, tastes, and interests. However, individual identity also relies greatly upon perception (Yee & Bailenson, 2007), both by the individual themselves, and by others interacting with the individual. What the individual sees of their identity may not align with how others perceive their identity. Additionally, what the individual perceives of their identity may not align with their desired identity, a condition Higgins (1990) calls self-discrepancy.

Self-discrepancy describes the difference between an individual’s perceived ‘actual self’, and their desired ‘ideal self’, a discrepancy that varies between individuals and depends on the degree of their self-esteem. Accordingly, individuals with depression and low self esteem will have greater self-discrepancy.

The ideal self is the self identity an individual aspires to be; possessing identity traits perceived to be superior to the actual self. The ideal self may be more attractive, intelligent, or articulate than the perceived actual self, and the greater the difference between the actual and ideal selves perceived by the individual, according to self-discrepancy theory, the lower the individual’s self esteem.

But what happens when the individual has the chance to recreate themselves in the image of their ideal self? An opportunity afforded by avatar creation in many games released today.

Avatar: The power of recreation
Once a character oriented game is installed, the player’s first task is to create a character to represent them in the new game world. Whether it is an MMO or an offline PC or console game, the player needs an avatar to provide the conduit that will project them into the game environment. Though the avatar is essentially the focal point of a game’s interface (Blinka, 2008), the ability to modify and design its appearance is the player’s first opportunity to creatively craft the identity they want to take with them into the game. The player becomes the anonymous wizard behind the curtain, pulling the strings that move the character avatar, around which their new identity is formed.

Turkle (1994, 1995) suggests that character creation is a player’s chance to safely, and anonymously, explore and experiment with their identity, but the rules of games like MMOs are such that characters are limited by mechanics and physics rather than the player’s imagination. Avatars must be chosen from a selection of races (such as humans, elves, or dwarves) which restricts players to game-created templates of avatar dimensions and abilities. Most games permit some latitude in customising these templates, allowing changes in hair style and colour, skin tone, and frequently the shape of their features via a series of slider-bars with pre-designed options to mix and match. The result is an avatar near to the actual appearance of the player, or resembling the ideal appearance of the player’s ideal self, depending on their level of self-discrepancy (Bessiere, 2007).

Players are also often required to select character traits, (such as warrior, rogue, hunter, or healer), providing the avatar with additional qualities and skills as well as giving the player the opportunity to determine their character’s personality type. They can identify with a warrior class and perceive themselves through their avatar to be strong, brave, and heroic. Alternatively, they can identify with the rogue class, generally expected to be underhanded, light-fingered, sly, and not to be trusted. Each trait possesses useful skills for playing the game, but the myths culturally imbued into character traits influence player perception (Adams n.d.). A warrior character is as much a collection of 3D animations as the healer character, but players are socially predisposed to viewing each as possessing a nature, or an identity, ascribed to their traits (Adams n.d.).

Players disposed to playing warriors may not consider their actual self as being heroic, but players whose ideal selves are perceived as being primarily heroic in nature have the opportunity to create that identity, essentially becoming the heroic warrior through computer mediated space. Creating alternate characters with different class traits enables players to explore different aspects of their self; their shadow self, their heroic self, their good or bad self. Ultimately, the player will settle on a primary character avatar they are most comfortable playing, the character whose identity best reflects the self they most want to project. Enduring characters are imbued with more identity value.

The freedom Turkle associates with character creation in MUDs is necessarily restricted by game physics, but there still exists the opportunity to build a character within such mechanics to produce an identity for the player. Beginning with character appearance, players can create, within the scope of the game, a verisimilitude of their actual self, or their ideal self; a decision based on the self-esteem of the player, according to Bessiere, Seay, and Kiesler (2007). Players who identify their actual self as being plain or ugly, short or overweight, may create a character to suit their ideal dimensions and characteristics, becoming tall, slim, attractive, and athletic.

Research by Bessiere (2007) suggests that the creation of attractive avatars may have a positive influence on players with low self-esteem and high self-discrepancy.

Game Effect
Higgins’ self-discrepancy theory was incorporated into self-esteem research amongst gamers by Bessiere (2007), interested in determining the feedback influence of avatar characters on their physical players. Simply, did creating and playing an attractive avatar, representing the player’s ideal self, improve the player’s self-esteem and perceived actual self? Results from this research suggest that fulfilling identity ideals via an avatar can have a positive influence on actual self image and identity. Productive activity in game space promotes an emotional bond with, and through, the player’s character avatar (Blinka, 2008).

As mentioned previously, the avatar is essentially the focal point of the player’s game interface, but through the process of game play and immersion in the game environment, players experience a self-projection through ‘flow’ (Csikszentmihalyi cited in Cheng & Cairns, 2005), assisted by the mechanics of in-game camera angles, avatar movement, and response to mouse and keyboard commands. The player controls the avatar, whose presence in game space both exists because and relies upon the stimulus of the player, who possesses absolute control over the avatar. Without input from the player the avatar stands idle, but with the right input the avatar interacts with merchants, quests givers, monsters, and other avatars, with immersion coalescing the physical and game dimensions (Blinka, 2008) until the player stops considering their avatar as ‘my character’ and begins thinking of them as ‘me’ (Kimppa & Muukkonen, n.d.): ‘I am my character and my character is me’. The player, via their avatar, becomes an inhabitant of the game world.

As an inhabitant of the game world, the player and their character avatar experience game play through action, projection, and reflection (Schutz cited in Chee Vieta & Smith, 2006), whereby the player is at once engaged in their given task, as well as anticipating how that task will contribute to the greater whole of a much larger task, and reflecting upon the progress made to reach their current point. This multiplicity of self experience brings the player and character avatar together as a working and producing whole, oriented within the game narrative and environment.

In this context, with the character avatar identity belonging to the player, the player achieves a symbiosis with their avatar in which they share in, or own, the avatar’s success in the game. Every triumph for the avatar is a triumph for the player. Via their avatar, players negotiate their way through the game narrative, complete quests, hunt monsters, and form relationships with other avatars, whose cooperative players contribute to the feedback and reinforcement of player identity.

Approval Rating
A vital contributor to identity formation and the concepts of actual and ideal self is interaction with others; social reinforcement of actions, behaviours, and even approval for our appearance (Yee & Bailenson, 2007). Individuals whose self-esteem is low and self-discrepancy is high may have developed their conditions either through direct social enforcement, or perceived social enforcement. In either case, the perception others hold for the individual is integral to the perceptions of the individual for their self and their identity.

The same principles apply in game space, where the opinions of other players are integral to the perception of player character identity. Being considered powerful, skilful, and favoured by other players for group ventures, translates through the avatar to the player, whose self-esteem is bolstered by the sense of achievement and reputation gained from peer approval (Bessiere, 2007; Donath, 1996; Kimppa & Muukkonen, n.d.). The character’s ability to complete quests, accrue wealth, contribute to the group dynamic through filling a functional role, influences the opinions of other players, whose perception of the player’s identity relies solely on the player’s avatar (Ducheneaut, Moore, Nickell, & Kimppa & Muukkonen, n.d.; Yee, 2006). Real names may not be disclosed, and real selves never revealed, as the only identity important to the social sphere in the game environment, is the character avatar, their skills and capabilities.

The freedom of anonymity means individuals may recreate themselves within the image of an avatar, to act, interact, and talk with others as the identity they aspire to be rather than the identity they perceive of their actual self (Bessiere, 2007; Bargh, McKenna, Fitzsimons, 2002; Ducheneaut et al., 2006). By engaging with others in their chosen guise, feedback behaviour suggesting approval for the identity created, social acceptance by peers, commitment and obligation, the margin between actual and ideal self diminishes, resulting in less self-discrepancy and higher self-esteem.

Aspects of self not necessarily experienced or validated in ‘real life’ (Bargh, McKenna, Fitzsimons, 2002), are optimised and expressed socially through semi-asynchronous chatting with other inhabitants and action/mood animations, furthering the identity of the character avatar as their primary identity cue in the game. The player has an author’s control over their in-game self and their interactions within the game, but they are also subject to the normative and conforming pressures of expectations and stereotypes socially ascribed to their character.

Group Effort
The desire to communicate and be social is a driving motivation for players to engage with online games and to connect with other players to achieve a common goal (Chee Vieta & Smith, 2006). Individuals lacking the means or social skills necessary to interact face to face in the physical world can find a satisfactory substitute society via the game environment. Game objectives provide a common foundation and purpose for interaction, and successfully attaining these objectives socially creates a unity of shared experiences between players who might otherwise have nothing else in common. Relationships and associations are established through trust building scenarios where survival depends upon group cooperation and every player fulfilling their given role (Chee et al, 2006).

Fostering a sense of belonging with the group and serving a vital role to fulfilling group objectives provides positive feedback to the player, reinforcing their sense of self and bolstering their self-esteem (Kimppa & Muukkonen, n.d.); thus reconditioning a socially anxious or awkward individual to seek physical world interactions with their new sense of identity. Playing a vital role that contributes to success for a social group, such as a guild or alliance, is empowering feedback through a player’s character avatar.

Skills and Achievements Unlocked
What is to be gained from creating avatars and playing characters in social games? It has already been mentioned that feedback from the game via the avatar can have a positive influence over a player’s perceived actual self, but how does this feedback manifest in a game? As the player projects identity into their avatar, creating a character for the otherwise empty ‘vessel’ that is nothing more than a series of points and collection of statistics, they are transported into the space the avatar occupies through their investment of self and subsequent immersion.

Creating an attractive avatar to animate a player’s character can influence the player’s demeanour when engaging with other player characters. Perceiving their avatar as being attractive makes players bold, assertive, decisive, and more eager to interact than when players perceive their character avatars as being plain, or even unattractive. Research (Yee & Bailenson, 2007) also suggests that adjusting height parameters for characters can also influence player behaviour, as taller avatars provide player confidence, even aggression, whereas shorter characters may be more reserved, passive, or shy.

Perceiving character avatars a certain way, as mentioned above regarding character traits, can influence a player to behave in a way culturally, or socially, appropriate to their appearance. Feedback occurs dually from response to the character avatar’s appearance, and the player’s demeanour, thereby reflecting (positively or negatively) on the player’s created identity.

Responsibility for the character’s in-game achievements can also bolster a player’s real world skill set, teaching through social and ludological endeavours leadership and tactical skills, management and coordination skills, and communication and team building skills (Adams, n.d.; Yee, 2006). Such skills are valuable in the physical world, and empowering for those who have newly discovered them through game play.

End Game Rewards
Players have been observed to create several character avatars where they have the opportunity to do so, but spend most of their time with one – the character whose identity they prefer. Other, alternate avatars may be character identities simply to fulfil necessary functions for social objectives, or, as Turkle suggests, provide opportunities for further exploration of self in new character identity contexts. But players invest most of their self, actual or ideal, in their primary character avatar.

This investment of time and resources, and the commitment to that character avatar’s success, reaps rewards for the player beyond the next achieved level or the next ‘epic drop’. Though progress through the game unlocks achievements enough for surface satisfaction, further investigation into the satisfaction inherent in game play reveals the relationship between player and their character avatar is that of mutual dependence and shared achievement.

Players project themselves into their game via their avatar, whose character is determined as much by game mechanics as by the identity imbued by the player. The avatar’s progress, successes and failures, are felt by the player as their own, though the avatar may be completing complex tasks, travelling vast distances, and casting intricate spells whilst their player guides them from behind a keyboard and mouse or game console. The player could not exist in game space without their avatar, and the avatar could not move through that space without the guidance of a player; they are inextricable intertwined from the outset.

The feedback through the symbiotic relationship from the game world bolsters self-esteem, bridges the distance between actual and ideal self, and teaches useful life skills, all through regular interaction with the game environment and relationships with other players working in that space.

By acknowledging a positive relationship between the player and avatar, the player must also acknowledge a positive relationship with their self.

Me, My Self, My Character, and I: Role-playing Identities in Ludic Space. by Amy Bear is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia License.
Based on a work at networkconference.netstudies.org.

References:
Adams, J. F. (n.d.). The Virtual Self: Online Role-Playing Implications for Self Discovery and Exploration. University of New Hampshire.

Bargh, J. A., McKenna, K. Y. A., Fitzsimons, G. M. (2002). Can You See the Real Me? Activation and Expression of the “True Self” on the Internet. Journal of Social Issues. 58. 33-48.

Bessiere, K., Seay, F., Kiesler, S. (2007). The Ideal Elf: Identity Exploration in World of Warcraft. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 10. 530-535.

Blinka, L. (2008). The Relationship of Players to Their Avatars in MMORPGs: Differences between Adolescents, Emerging Adults and Adults. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace. Retrieved from http://www.cyberpsychology.eu/view.php?cisloclanku=2008060901.

Chee, F., Vieta, M., and Smith, R. (2006). “Online gaming and the interactional self:
Identity interplay in situated practice.” In J. P. Williams, S. Q. Hendricks & W. K. Winkler
(Eds.), Gaming as Culture: Essays on Reality, Identity, and Experience in Fantasy Games.
Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing. 154-174.

Cheng, K., & Cairns, P. (2005). Behaviour, realism and immersion in games. Proc CHI 2005. ACM Press. 1272-1275.

Donath, J. S. (1996). Identity and deception in the virtual community. Retrieved from http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Ducheneaut, N., Moore, R. J., Nickell, E., & Yee, N. (2006). “Alone together?”: Exploring the Social Dynamics of Massively Multiplayer Online Games. SIGCHI 2006 [Conference]. 10.1145/1031607.1031667.

Higgins, E. T., & Moretti, M. M. (1990). Relating Self-discrepancy to Self-Esteem: The Contribution of Discrepancy beyond Actual-Self Ratings. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 26. 108-123.

Kimppa, K. K., and Muukkonen, P. (n.d.). Do Online Computer Games Affect the Player’s Identity?. Retrieved from http://www.cs.kau.se/IFIP-summerschool/papers/S04_p3_Kai_Kimppa.pdf.

Turkle, S. (1994). Constructions and Reconstructions of Self in Virtual Reality: Playing in the MUDs. Mind, Culture, and Activity. 1(3). 158-167.

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the Internet. Simon and Schuster. New York.

Yee, N. (2006). The Psychology of MMORPGs: Emotional Investment, Motivations, Relationship Formation, and Problematic Usage. In R. Schroeder & A. Axelsson (Eds.), Avatars at Work and Play: Collaboration and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments. 187-207.

Yee, N. & Bailenson, J.N. (2007). The Proteus Effect: The Effect of Transformed Self-Representation on Behavior. Human Communication Research. 33. 271-290.

Identity in Communities and Networks actual self, avatars, character, ideal self, identity, MMORPG, relationships, Self, self discrepancy, self esteem

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Comments

Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

Well that doesn’t sound good! lol
Written by ted mitew about 2 years ago.

Hi Amy, this is a great paper. I particularly enjoy your subversive characterisation of the player-avatar relationship as symbiotic. The critical studies department at Curtin would be up in arms!

Cheers
Ted
Written by ted mitew about 2 years ago.

‘Trogdor the Burninator’ – LOL. I wish my experiences with techsupport were so humorous.
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

Thank you, Richie, that’s a point I’m really glad you caught, as I’m not sure I made the implication as effectively as I hoped – there is a need for more positive reinforcement in ‘real’ life, and many are seeking it online where it’s significantly absent in their physical environment and relationships. Perhaps that’s something to address as well – the reasons behind some individuals needing to go online to satisfy their needs when they’re not met otherwise. Thank you for bringing that up, it’s most definitely relevant to what I wanted to say.
Written by FransiscaMS about 2 years ago.

Hi we are having same ideas on how “Projecting identity into a character avatar has a direct influence on the identity of the player, both within the game and in their physical world”

Indeed it so true , by creating avatars they are able build strong image on their character like how this character could impress and attract attention from other people, just like you said. In your own opinions do you think it’s a bad or good idea when people recreating their identity?

For me its pretty much useful since you are unable to be someone else in reality, what is more you will experience different things from other people reactions since they are interacting with you while using different identities, it will works as entertainment and expand your social life, even though its only inside the virtual worlds, but you will experience how it feels interacts with different peoples from different time and space, which is totally fun : )
Written by Richie_M about 2 years ago.

Hi Amy, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your paper.
I agree with your views that players experiencing some form of self-discrepancy between their actual and ideal selves can improve their perception of actual self through interaction and positive reinforcement through game play.
I found it most interesting, the idea that through the multiplicity of self experience, bonds are reinforced and cemented between player and character avatar as a working and producing whole.
The positive findings of feedback through the symbiotic relationship from the game are very intriguing and accentuate the need for more positive reinforcement in actual life in order to bridge the distance between actual and ideal-self offline also.
Great paper.
Written by laurap about 2 years ago.

Hi Amy, I also found that there were some interesting psychological connections between online and offline identities and that the two were unavoidably connected. Great paper for sure, I find the concept of developing leadership and management skills online (in games etc) as quite a fascinating phenomenon. We read a little of this in NET12 but I was pleasantly reminded to investigate further by your paper.
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

I received an email signed ‘Trogdor the Burninator’ from Tech Support once.

There’s a lot of negativity floating through the media about the influence of gaming, I was glad for the opportunity to highlight some positive influences. Games have done wonders for my own self confidence and exposed a few useful life skills I might never have had the opportunity to explore. Individuals who thrive on achievement can benefit greatly from setting and achieving game goals.

Thank you so much for reading, and I’m very gratified that you enjoyed it!
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

Hi Jarrad!

You’ve asked a great question; one I think I saw coming even as I wrote the paper. Not everyone benefits from creating an ideal-self in a character avatar, whether it’s because they have no self-discrepancy issues or a high self-esteem, or perhaps they don’t consider the avatar as being anything more than an in-game ‘cursor’.

In Hammond’s case, and knowing him personally, I can say that he is the poster child of self-assurance, and it’s no surprise to me that he goes to (very) great lengths to reproduce his likeness in a game. With some success in games like Aion, where the character customisation is really robust, though not so much in games like WoW where racial traits and limited customisation may be part of why he’s never completely ‘bonded’ with the game.

Which returns to your question – where avatars themselves exacerbate self-discrepancy, by not looking or seeming to represent the self in any form (too flashy, too different, too [something]) to be ‘comfortable’, that must certainly interfere with the symbiosis of character development. I wouldn’t want to wear a pair of jeans that didn’t fit right, nevermind subscribe to them monthly.

To clarify, however, idealised characters in the context of my paper, are ideal-selves for the individual, rather than cultural myths of ideal forms and appearance. An example I’ll give is straight from my own stable of character currently breeding in Dragon Age: Origins (not an MMO, obviously, but my latest gaming fetish). I like to play wily, petite female characters, pale skin and dark hair, either grey/silver eyes or dark brown. I enjoy rogue-like characters, hunters, assassins. These characters represent my ideal self, but not necessarily a generalised, culturally ascribed ‘ideal’. I am a shortie, but I wouldn’t consider myself petite. I’d like to be, and in my games I can be. I’m a natural blonde, and would sell a distant relative for dark features, but in my games I don’t have to. I have plain grey eyes, but my avatars get glossy, shiny peepers. My favourite roles in games (remember capture the flag style games?) was always the sneak and surprise. I could sit still for half an hour in the grass, crawl on my belly and steal a flag without anyone knowing I was there. My assassin type rogues make better use of my natural affinity, and with less grass seeds in my hair.

Have I answered what you’re asking? I think I may have taken a tangent with my example there.
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

I do, certainly, believe that. The avatar is, essentially, a tool, a part of the game interface. Like a car, it can be customised to a degree, personalised within the limits of mechanics, physics, and the rules, but ultimately an avatar is just a tool used by a player to interact with other players. I’m sure people judge drivers by their vehicles (consciously or otherwise) in much the same way as players judge each other on the appearance and function of their avatars. Crafting an avatar to influence response, from the self as well as others, seems par for the course, don’t you think?

What you consider manipulation, can also be considered experimentation. A player wanting to test the limits of their identity would manipulate, or pull the strings of their avatar to elicit a response, positively or negatively reinforcing their intentions through how they’re perceived. ‘Manipulation’ has deceitful connotations, but I agree; online, in social contexts, we have the power to manipulate perceptions of self and identity by others.

In the case of my paper, players do so to resolve self-discrepancy issues, by creating an identity they aspire to be, and feeling rewarded by the response to that character – certainly a type of manipulation!

Thank you for reading! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Written by Barnes about 2 years ago.

A fantasic read Amy! I found your paper well put together and very easy and enjoyable to read.

I was also able to relate to how the sucess of the avatar can boost real life self-esteem. in one MMORPG I played for a long time, I was one of the leaders in our group and I found the confidence this gave me from the leadership role in the game carried over to make me become more confident in my workplace leadership roles. The downside was I spent that much time in the game I had to be careful to sign off work emails with my real name instead of my avatars name!
Written by Jarrad Long about 2 years ago.

Hi Amy

Great read – I think you’ve struck a really good balance between readability and scholarship.

I’m with Hammond below, in that I always make my avatar resemble my real self as much as possible. I don’t know if that means I’m comfortable and confident – I’ll take it – but I think my subconscious reasoning is that I can have a closer relationship with my avatar, and therefore derive more enjoyment from the achievements I earn, if my avatar is “me”. I think it’s this line of thinking that has inspired an increasing number of games (especially console games) that allow gamers to apply a photo of their face to their avatar, for the ultimate real self/avatar similarity.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I find that having a highly idealised avatar takes the shine off my in-game achievements a bit, because it highlights the falseness of the game world, throwing that “symbiotic relationship” I might otherwise have with my avatar into doubt. Does that make sense? What do you think?
Written by Josh v about 2 years ago.

Hi Amy,

I really enjoyed reading your paper; it’s very well written with great references supporting your arguments.

I agree that a user’s online interactions can deeply affect their offline selves; whatever the platform (gaming/SNS/forums etc) and in both positive and negative ways. It’s a testimony to the fusion of realities we now experience when socializing across the internet.

In my paper I looked into our development of multiple identities as a way of navigating the different social situations we encounter online. ‘Identity becomes malleable as we interact with our personalized networks where “self and social identity are not static characteristics of participants but are negotiated through interactive discourse.” (Talamo, A., Ligorio, M.B. 2000)’ (From my paper – Cut and Paste Identities). I discuss similar ideas of online social interactions having the capacity to influence our ‘true’ identity.

I like the points you make regarding our avatars being a ‘conduit’ into the online world. I feel that avatars can also be seen as tools for exploring, utilizing or participating in an online social space… Also, your point on the ‘symbiotic relationship’ between avatar and user made me think of the relationship between car and driver… The car is a collection of systems that is controlled or guided by the driver in the same way that the user must control or guide the avatar. : )

Do you think that when users successfully employ avatars to close a gap of ‘self discrepancy’, they may only really be learning to use tools to influence how other participants perceive them? I feel that while our social experiences make up who we are, we also learn to manipulate how we are perceived…

Thanks Amy, this is a great paper and was really interesting to read.

Josh
: )
Written by Michael N about 2 years ago.

Thanks Amy, noted re it is less about deception.
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

In the game environment – not just MMOs, but they’re a dominant trend and I think we naturally think of them when we consider creating avatars – the avatar is the conduit through which the player accesses the world, and other players/characters access the individual. Creating the avatar in these cases is a necessary process, but it’s up to the individual as to whether or not they deceive other players.

Also consider that the game itself is the instrument of communication, it has a purpose beyond social interaction, unlike social networking sites where users may deceive for more nefarious reasons that the game mechanics aren’t capable of. The individual identity may be less dominant than the game objective in a social context, and there is more to be gained from cooperation than deception.

However, to be clear, my discussion is less about deceiving that it is about identifying and reinforcing the ideal self, to minimise incongruence with the actual self. In this case, the player would ultimately be deceiving themselves, and it’s up to them to reconcile the difference.
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

I feel games differ from social networks where identity is concerned. You are actually encouraged to have multiple characters – else they wouldn’t offer such an interesting array of playable races and classes – and where the option is available, players don’t have to mingle with the same characters or players. In a way, game worlds like WoW (as a good example in this case) operate as you’ve discussed in your own paper, affording people the opportunity to manage different identities in the same community, without great risk of accidentally merging or bleeding across networks. In this way, players can explore different aspects of themselves in different social contexts – joining a guild reserved only for female players with one character, joining another for players in a certain age group with another character, and yet another character joining a guild of players for a certain location.

By the way, I enjoyed what you had to say about identity management. Still trying to compose my thoughts to discuss it further on your page.

As far as having multiple characters are concerned, yes, I did mean multiple characters in the same game, as much for the reasons I mentioned above, as because personal identity development may require a few ‘false starts’, or ‘time out’ characters, something ‘different’ to bring to light important qualities in another character, something ‘challenging’ to personal identification.

Regrettably, I didn’t have the opportunity to discuss it, but as my argument was focused on primary avatars rather than secondary or periphery avatars, I think the discussion still stands – I hope it does, anyway! In the cases of people, like myself, with self-esteem issues and the resulting self-discrepancy, I do spend most of my time on my primary character, the one most comfortable to play, most like my ideal self in principle as well as appearance (if I happened to be a fantasy creature in an alternate universe), but I also have other characters with far less significance and investment in time or constructed identity. These avatars are my ‘tools’ for achieving things for my primary character – crafting things, for example, that will ultimately benefit my primary character – as well as the occasional foray into a ‘shadow’, or contrasting identity that further highlights aspects of my primary character, and enforces my ideal self – which then reinforces and bolsters my actual self.

I hope that makes the sense it’s supposed to, and answers your question.
Written by Michael N about 2 years ago.

You have presented an excellent arguement that positivity can be the result of having an avatar in game environments. I agree that presentation of self as an avatar can certainly enhance one’s interactions with others. It seems that it is not really deception as such, on the surface it seems to be if the avatar is, and will obviously be, totally different to the physical body. Yet the benefits of such deception seem to be positive; that is what I draw from your paper. Well done.
Written by ESutton about 2 years ago.

Amy, I really enjoyed your paper and found that it linked in really well with my own paper.

I agree with you, it’s so hard to cover everything you want to mention, but I am glad I found your paper because this was something I really wanted to talk more about. This is sort of what I envisioned my paper to be like when I first came up with the topic, only I wanted to discuss more about the establishment and spread of identity across multiple sites for users with stigmatised self-aspects. You talk about users having more than one avatar do you mean within one game or across multiple games? Because I think it would be a self-defeating prophecy to have more than one character in the same game in regards to achieving growth towards an ideal self, as users relate to and react to the social environment around them. It would be better if they wanted to achieve some sort of social objective to do so by exploring other communities of users and having the freedom to establish a new identity elsewhere.

My paper is on using multiple identities to further a users growth within games, but also within situations like IRC where it comes down to nicknames rather than avatars as a representation of self. I tried to take the angle that users would use the anonymity you’ve discussed to explore their repressed self-aspects and provide an outlet for the recognition of their self-complexity.
My paper is here: http://networkconference.netstudies.org/2010/04/multifaceted-identities/

Many thanks for the pleasure of reading your paper
Written by TessaG about 2 years ago.

Thanks for your comments on my paper Amy – much appreciated

I only just realised that you can comment on an actual post within a thread…so sorry that I have haphazardly placed comments above posts in your thread!

Regarding character traits, I actually don’t think I touched on them at all…oops…because I was really just trying to hammer in the fact that identity can only be fully developed within a social context.

Having just typed the latter part of that sentence, I’m thinking I should have made that point more explicit in my paper. Oh well.

I did get the point you made about how online gaming environments can reinforce character traits and I think that’s a great observation. I suppose it’s a little like the process children go through when they are experimenting with different things, but for an adult it is a much finer process. For people who may be unsettled in their offline lives, it’s a great way to try on alternative character traits (was that Turkle?).

Thanks again – I think I’m finally enjoying the process of writing papers for a conference now that my paper has finally been written
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

Hammond is perhaps the most comfortable-with-himself person I know. Well spotted, Tessa!
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

Hammond, my friend, you are the last person on this earth I’d ever imagine with the sort of low self-esteem that would result in self-discrepancy. You’re very comfortable with your self, confident in your abilities and social circles, so in a way you’re actually a perfect example of someone whose actual and ideal self are perfectly aligned. You slip into your self in game space as well as any other space, because you like yourself! Though I’m aware you still wish you had wings. At least in Aion, you can have them!

People who’d opt for ugly characters – as far as Bessiere et al would have us believe – are much like yourself, very comfortable with their actual-self and have no need to form the sort of symbiotic relationship I discussed. Conversely, and not covered in my paper (word limit didn’t leave a great deal of room), people with dismal perceptions of actual-self may be in a self-perpetuating cycle of reinforcing their perceptions.

In my own case, I made a whiskery, crotchety dwarf because I loved the archetype and wanted to ‘dabble’ – my main characters are almost always constructions of my ideal-self. I’ll admit to some discrepancy between my actual and ideal self.
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

I’m about to leap into your paper for a good read ( \o/ ) but I just wanted to say thank you for your comments! I also touched, briefly, on how social interaction can reinforce character traits in this environment, but I didn’t have the space to go into in the depth it probably warrants – so I’m looking forward to reading what you have to say! I have my cup of tea all prepared to enjoy it, too.
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

Another RP friend read through the paper and found a few points that resonates with her and her RP character relationships (what would [this character] do when faced with [this uncomfortable scenario]?), finding some self-bolstering actions in a character she’s created or written with (me), but the paper was definitely directed to the MMO/RPG player. Specifically those who use character creation and interaction in game space to overcome self discrepancy.

I only wish the word limit wasn’t so restrictive! Condensing it all down to ~2,500 words was HRAD WERK!
Written by Amy Bear about 2 years ago.

I agree, and that would have been a really interesting discussion topic in and of itself, given that it relates to more than just MMOs and definitely falls within the Identity stream of the conference. I did include the security of anonymity as far as it was relevant to what I wanted to discuss – the relationship between players and avatars specifically – but it wasn’t a driving point for my paper.

I’m sure someone else will have discussed it exhaustively somewhere in the conference, though, if you’re interested – though I’m curious to find anonymity isn’t in any of the tags. You might find this paper interesting (http://networkconference.netstudies.org/2010/04/the-less-you-see-the-more-i-will-show-you-anonymity-as-an-enhancement-of-the-re/), though I haven’t read it fully myself. It appears to be about how anonymity strengthens relationships online, which may relate to what you’re saying. There are certainly a lot of papers discussing identity and multiplicity, though.. have at!
Written by Tiferet about 2 years ago.

Well, one thing that makes me very sad is that on Poupee Girl, if your avatar looks like an ethnic Japanese you can’t even remotely hope to win Poupee beauty contests–the winners nearly all have light brown/dishwater blonde hair (a few have actual blonde or dark brown hair) and all have the palest skin tone they allow.
Written by Tiferet about 2 years ago.

Well, Azz, think about games like WoW, as opposed to games like Lightning War, though. The culture of WoW IS a lot closer to the culture of /b/ (but not lol_meme, which is a far more female and queer-friendly space than /b/ because it is largely run by the mostly female crowd that runs Fandom Wank, and as much as I hate FW, they have consistent politics and norms) because it is full of guys and nobody knows who they really are unless they say so. And people who aren’t straight and male have a lot of the same sorts of problems in WoW (and in many MU** environments–we had a lot of problems in early LW with people coming from MU** environments) that they have in /b/ and other unmoderated places. I may be wrong but I think your RP online experience is mostly in journal-based games, where most of the time people do know who the players are (and in LW we know each other’s real-world identities, even).

The upper tier of journal-based games require applications and they want to know what your real journal is and they make you do a writing sample. LW and Milliways don’t tend to admit people the players don’t know at least well enough to have a good guess as to whether they’ll fit in. Anyone with the money can get into WoW or multiplayer videogames, and until they reveal their identity/establish a consistent pseud/join guilds, they’re as anonymous as they care to be.

I wonder about games like Echo Bazaar. And Poupee Girl, which is all about the avatar–and showing off your stuff, of course.
Written by Azz about 2 years ago.

The only nitpick I have is The freedom of anonymity — this is really a pseudonymous environment; the freedom of anonymity generates cultures more like /b/ and lol_meme, rather than a coherent alternate identity (or five).
Written by TessaG about 2 years ago.

That’s an interesting thought Hammond – from Amy’s paper, it appears that if your actual self and ideal self are close in appearance, you must be very settled as an individual and have a great sense of self-acceptance
Written by Hammond about 2 years ago.

A great insight. I know that I am guilty of making all my characters look as similar to me as possible, but that’s how I get the most out of the game when it’s easiest to imagine that it is “me”. I hadn’t really thought of it as that’s how people want to project themselves to other people, rather than just an appearance they found appealing to themselves.

I wonder what this says about those that go for what society deems to “ugly” in appearance and actions as their main characters?
Written by TessaG about 2 years ago.

Hi Amy – your paper is fascinating to read

I enjoyed reading about the symbiotic relationship between a game avatar and the person who created it.
The issue of perceived self and ideal self also gave me another unique insight.
Your definitions of identity were also very comprehensive…I’m not sure I went into that much depth.
My paper is also on identity
http://networkconference.netstudies.org/2010/04/look-at-me-not-my-chair-unmasking-ability-and-identity-online/
but focuses more on how a fulfilling identity is reliant upon social interaction. For a person who is unable to negotiate traditional social settings regularly due to physical disability, online communities can become a lifeline.

I have taken away some new ideas about identity now that I have read your paper. Thanks