Emotional Attachment in Gaming
Affective computation and The Effects of Avatars on humans
The gaming industry has witnessed a huge evolution within the last decade. It developed so quickly, earning itself the title “E-sports” which represents the professional aspect where organizations are investing time and money in return for long term revenues. However, what really paved the path for this huge success was the original player based community or who are known as “Gamers”. Those who enjoy playing games for leisure rather than a pure professional goal made the industry what is it today and gave E-sports the crowd it needed to prove itself as a serious sport among fierce competition.
The biggest notion that raises the question is how does E-sports manage to collect such a huge and supportive crowd in a world where dynamic athletes have been taking over the scene for as long as sports existed. The simple answer would be availability anywhere and anytime, gamers find comfort in engaging something fun and adrenaline rushing at a click of a button, but what really makes it excel is how players tend to find themselves emotionally connected to a game and mainly their game avatars. This idea of emotional connection to a game character opens up the human psych to infinite possibilities such as personality development and attachment.
Several multiplayer games nowadays offer players the option of selecting specific in-game characters as their avatars.Over a period of time one finds himself truly connected to this character and starts behaving in a similar manner which creates a unique bond leading to a change in personality. Many players even get emotionally tethered over their avatar’s background stories that might prove to be very similar to theirs. A great example would be myself, starting by a game called “League of Legends “, a MOBA ,Multiplayer online battle arena in which each player controls a single character as part of a team competing against another team of players. I found myself enjoying the diverse champion selection offered until one specific champion called Camille caught my attention for I have related to her struggles, her wit and ability to maneuver larger and stronger opponents to get to her goal. As a result, I subconsciously kept playing over and over until developing a clear anchor to that character.
“Precision is the difference between a butcher and a surgeon”- Camille
Many E-sports enthusiasts are in a similar spot, finding comfort in a certain game and a certain avatar that reflects their experiences and helps them feel relevant and powerful to take on real life obstacles. During its current state, E-sports has come a long way as a professional career and as a psychologically soothing experience for casual players. A recent 2018 study revealed that video gamers spend an average of 5.96 hours each week playing games. 20.1 percent play for an hour or less each week. 36.2 percent play between one and four hours each week. 26.8 percent play seven or more hours. Hence with all this time spent, it is only natural and intuitive to develop as sense of need and attachment to a game and more specifically its content. This idea of human to game interaction targets the future of gaming and how it can impact reality in a positive and a negative aspect where people are only accustomed to dealing with avatars and holograms.
Empathic Labs finds itself dedicated to the concept where machines empathize with humans in a technologically advanced medium. They believe that machines will eventually catch up to the human emotional state and understand the basic notion of seamless interaction and provide the necessary empathy people tend to look for. With that in mind, gaming offers a natural platform where emotional connection has already formed and the introduction of empathic computer avatars is the field of study.
Finally, if 2-D gaming is able to have such an immense impact and find its way through the human emotional state, one can’t cease but wonder what would be the scale on which Virtual Reality gaming will step on. Since players have already developed a strong bond through just controlling their favorite avatar (champions), what would be the impact when they literally unite as one?
Further reading
If you would like to know more about Empathic Labs check out Jacky Casas and his introductory article here.
Check our latest project press here.
