"Utilitarian and Self-Representational: Player-to-Player Character Rela" by Zu Er Guan

Date of Award

12-29-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Game Design

Department

Game Design

First Advisor

Jeremiah Ratican

Second Advisor

Geremy Carnes

Third Advisor

Ben Fulcher

Abstract

This thesis studies the relationships between video game players and their player characters, the characters that they control, through the lens of player purpose and intent by conducting research using an online survey developed and analyzed using an interdisciplinary methodology based on existing studies in the field regarding avatar identification, player psychology, and queer and feminist theory. This thesis posits that are two types of player relationships with their player characters based on player intent—player characters as the personal avatar and representation of the self, and player characters as a tool for the execution of player control and gameplay experience. This persists even in games where players are incentivized to view their player characters as avatars of the self rather than for utility alone such as Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games (MMORPGs) that often feature deep character customization and frame the player's character as central to the story or experience. This study was conducted on players of the game Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) by Square Enix, chosen for both its status as one of the most popular and active MMORPGs in the market and its game design philosophy that focuses on providing a good standalone RPG experience, thus especially centralizing the player character in both story and gameplay experience compared to most MMORPGs. The aim of this thesis is to study what factors influence player preferences or choices towards utilitarian and self-representational player-to-player character types of relationships within an environment such as an MMORPG in which players are heavily incentivized towards self-representation. Furthermore, this thesis aims to establish the utilitarian and self-representational type distinction based on player purpose towards player characters to further the field of study on player-to-player character relationships by providing the language and determination method for this previously unexplored angle of study on player values in their relationships with their player characters in MMORPGs.

Included in

Game Design Commons

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