Player-avatar sex congruity and game enjoyment

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of player-avatar sex congruity (PASC) on player's enjoyment of a video game. A model was proposed that explained how PASC affected players' identification with their avatar and sense of presence within the game which in turn affected their feelings of enjoyment. An experiment was performed using a sample of male and female undergraduates from a large eastern university to test the proposed model. Participants were randomly assigned to play as either a male or female avatar and then played a game for fifteen minutes. After the fifteen minutes of gameplay participants completed an online survey measuring a number of variables including their enjoyment, identification with their avatar, and sense of presence. PASC was found to have no significant effect on any of the measured variables. However, the proposed model did receive partial support. Results suggest that although some variables are related in the proposed manner PASC does not have any significant impact on players' enjoyment of a video game.