The impact of online game character’s outward attractiveness and social status on interpersonal attraction

Abstract

Online games resemble miniature societies, in which social interactions occur within a virtual world. Previous studies have realized that the main motivation in playing games is to fulfill interpersonal needs. Players expect to own great interpersonal attraction to help them develop ideal interpersonal relationships. In the real world, individual outward appearance and social status are two important factors having influence on interpersonal attraction. In online games, the outward appearance of characters can be manipulated by changing the clothes and accessories used by those characters. This study proposes that difference in outward appearance, as in real society, affects player interpersonal attraction assessments. Additionally, when game experience and performance of players are accumulated, their grade in game would be raised. This study also proposes that the variation of role grade would influence its social status and the attitude of others. This study conducts experiments, and the results verify that a game character with high outward attractiveness and social status acquires higher online interpersonal attraction than one with low outward attractiveness and social status, and vice versa.

Introduction

Online games have been developing rapidly in recent years. Online games maturely exploit the visual and audio abilities of computers to entertain players. Online games also connect worldwide players to a virtual community via two Internet characteristics: real-time interaction and borderless environment. Citizens of online gaming worlds can play and interact with other players, and even engage in mutual transactions of virtual assets. Previous studies have realized that satisfying interpersonal needs is the most important motivation for online game players (Lo et al., 2005a, Lo et al., 2005b). Players desire to have strong interpersonal attraction for facilitating the building of ideal interpersonal relationship.

Researchers interested in interpersonal relationship within real-world societies understand that outward appearance influences individual interpersonal attraction. That is, persons with good looks and outward attractiveness would be more likely to foster higher interaction willingness among others and gain more friendship (Berscheid and Walster, 1974, Johnson, 1988, Korabik, 1981, Townsend and Levy, 1990a). In online games, each player executes game tasks via a character that represents itself. Although service providers give game characters an unmodifiable face, players can change the clothes and accessories acquired by their character during the game, and then the character would exhibit different outward feature. Some roles wear plain clothes and hold simple tools or accessories, while others have elaborate clothing, powerful weapons and valuable treasures. This study argues that these differences in outward appearances are the same as those in real societies, and influence the attitudes of other game members towards individual players. Additionally, the life experiences and research results from real society have considered that people prefer to familiarize with others who possess high social status or the ability to influence others. Actually, the “grading system” in the online game is an objective institution to reveal players’ gaming performance. Characters can increase their grading level by accumulating game experience and achieving good performance. Players with higher grading level would receive prominence and be respected by other gamers, and the gaming behavior and strategy of high-grade players would influence the gaming skill of low-grade players. Accordingly, this study believes that improving online grading of players will improve their status in the gaming world, and consequently other gamers would modify their assessments of their interpersonal attraction to the character.

This study performed an experimental design to manipulate the clothes, accessories and grade level of the online game character to verify whether players with high outward attractiveness and high-grade would have higher interpersonal attraction than low outward attractiveness and low-grade players. The results of this study not only successfully implemented real world interpersonal relationship theories into virtual societies, but also helped players realize that they can change their clothes and equipment and promote their grade level to increase interpersonal attraction and build great interpersonal relationships. Additionally, this study suggests that online game service providers can aim to improve clothes, equipment, and grading systems to satisfy the main motivations of gamers.