A Study on the Antecedents and Effects of Game Players’ Attachment to Self-Character

Abstract

With the development of the metaverse platform, avatars as the core factor connecting users and virtual worlds have become a hot topic. But it is not the first time that avatars have appeared in people's field of vision. Avatars serve as the digital representation of users in the virtual world, and users rely on avatars to express themselves in the virtual environment. As early as in MMORPG video games, players have used avatars (self-characters) to perform activities in the game world. However, few existing studies address the reasons why players have an attachment to their characters, and it is not clear how the players' attachment toward characters is related to game behavior. This study uses attachment theory and self-expansion theory to connect players' emotional changes with their characters and game behaviors. This study proposes a model with the self-related antecedent variables (Customization, Perceived Resource Investment, Ideal Self-Congruity, and Self-Expression) of players' attachment to game characters with the influencing variables (Game Item Purchase Intention and Gameplay Intention) of this attachment. To verify the model, the researcher conducted an online survey of Chinese gamers. The model was tested, and the results showed that: (1) Customization, Perceived Resource Investment, Ideal Self-Congruity, and Self-Expression are positively correlated with Self-Character Attachment; (2) Self-Character Attachment is positively correlated with Game Item Purchase Intention and Gameplay Intention; (3) Self-Character Attachment has a partial mediating effect in the model.