An Influence of Game Avatar on Real World
Jae Won Choi
Jae Won Choi, College of Software, Chungang University, Heugseoglo 84, Dongjaggu, Seoul, Korea.
Manuscript received on September 11, 2019. | Revised Manuscript received on 24 September, 2019. | Manuscript published on October 10, 2019. | PP: 2935-2940 | Volume-8 Issue-12, October 2019. | Retrieval Number: K19060981119/2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.K1906.1081219
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine the influence of gamers’ avatar self-identification in massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) play on their real lives. By proposing the concepts of avatar self-identification, this study explores a model that develops the antecedents of avatar self-identification and the role in influencing gamers’ real lives. For empirical analysis, this study gathered data from 228 university students in South Korean by a survey method and analyzes the data with AMOS 24. The results show as follows. First, social interaction and social support that gamers perceive in MMORPGs increase their avatar self-identification. Second, the gamers’ avatar self-identification increases their social capital and self-esteem in real lives. Finally, social interaction that gamers perceive in MMORPGs increases their social capital in real lives through their avatar self-identification. And, social support that gamers perceive in MMORPGs increases their self-esteem in real lives through their avatar self-identification. The research contribution on game research is to pay scholarly attention to the positive effect of MMORPGs in the perspective of avatar self-identification.
Keywords: Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, Avatar Self-Identification, Social Interaction, Social Support, Social Capital, Self-Esteem
Scope of the Article: Game Playing