The Influence of Game Character Appearance on Empathy and Immersion: Virtual Non-Robotic Versus Robotic Animals

Rátiva, Alexandra Sierra; Postma, Marie; Zaanen, Menno van

doi:10.1177/1046878120926694

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 66 publications

(97 reference statements)

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“…worms, beavers, insects, spiders, etc.). 31,32 Future studies should concentrate on testing the uncanny valley effect on other species and their virtual visualizations.…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The uncanny valley of a virtual animal

Rátiva

Postma

Zaanen

2022

Computer Animation & Virtual

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Virtual robots, including virtual animals, are expected to play a major role within affective and aesthetic interfaces, serious games, video instruction, and the personalization of educational instruction. Their actual impact, however, will very much depend on user perception of virtual characters as the uncanny valley hypothesis has shown that the design of virtual characters determines user experiences. In this article, we investigated whether the uncanny valley effect, which has already been found for the human‐like appearance of virtual characters, can also be found for animal‐like appearances. We conducted an online study (N = 163) in which six different animal designs were evaluated in terms of the following properties: familiarity, commonality, naturalness, attractiveness, interestingness, and animateness. The study participants differed in age (under 10–60 years) and origin (Europe, Asia, North America, and South America). For the evaluation of the results, we ranked the animal‐likeness of the character using both expert opinion and participant judgments. Next to that, we investigated the effect of movement and morbidity. The results confirm the existence of the uncanny valley effect for virtual animals, especially with respect to familiarity and commonality, for both still and moving images. The effect was particularly pronounced for morbid images. For naturalness and attractiveness, the effect was only present in the expert‐based ranking, but not in the participant‐based ranking. No uncanny valley effect was detected for interestingness and animateness. This investigation revealed that the appearance of virtual animals directly affects user perception and thus, presumably, impacts user experience when used in applied settings.

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“…worms, beavers, insects, spiders, etc.). 31,32 Future studies should concentrate on testing the uncanny valley effect on other species and their virtual visualizations.…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The uncanny valley of a virtual animal

Rátiva

Postma

Zaanen

2022

Computer Animation & Virtual

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…Character identi cation is a strategy used to create immersive experiences in digital video games and massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) (Burgess & Jones, 2020a;Sierra Rativa et al, 2020). Just as one can develop one's character by imitating the characteristics of people that one identi es with, one can also imagine themselves as "becoming" media characters by temporarily giving up consciousness of their own identities (Cohen, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning to design through character identification using a gamification learning app: Effects of learning quests on students’ design behaviours and performance

Pek

Koh

2021

Preprint

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Character identification occurs when game players adopt the identities of game characters to different degrees. Character identification can enhance identity development and learning of young adolescents but how higher education students in professional programs develop character identification using a gamification learning mobile app and use it to support their learning of professional skills and development of professional identities have not been examined. This study describes the design of a character-based gamified learning quest to support the learning of design skills. Through 13 learning quests, 4 3 tertiary design and media students used the professional media roles and ‘power’ attributes of their chosen characters towards the design of an innovative media product. The study investigates the developed character identification for their professional. Content analysis of students’ video blog reflections indicated that more than half of them were able to establish deep identification with their chosen characters. Students who had deep identification enacted their character by actively ideating, prototyping and testing design ideas whereas those who had shallow or no identification largely focused on ideation. Regression analysis showed that deep character identification during design conceptualization predicted students’ design project scores. How the study findings can inform the practical applications of character-based gamification in higher education professional learning programs are discussed.

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“…The designers play a crucial role during this stage since they are responsible for "the world's visual setting." Their part is to make ideas visible, tangible, and inform, considering that the game's virtual characters' appearance strongly influences user experience [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It implies defining the cartoon character's formal representation animated with visual and physical aspects, including facial expressions and movements, vital to these interactions that make an attractive identity for young learners [10]. Animated characters can improve children's experience, increase concentration, bring motivation, and accomplish more effective outcomes related to the use of the game [7], [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluations of Software Developed as Research Tools to Analyze Trends of Educational Videogames Characters

Alcivar¹,

Quijije²,

Gallego³

2021

Int. J. Adv. Sci. Eng. Inf. Technol.

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Children's use of educational videogames is a growing at-home trend and has become a relevant classroom supporting tool in the teaching-learning process. The increased attachment to video games has hastened the creation of "learning through play" applications. The development of these applications requires the creative production of content using characters (avatars) playing distinct roles to engage people with the game. Evaluation tools need to be designed to understand and improve this engagement. This study aims to explain the design and development structure of research tools such as online personalized questionnaires and dashboard platforms used to populate data in a cloud for evaluating games' usability and avatars' preferences. The paper revises the applicability of three research tools tested to analyze five different graphic lines games series and the archetype of their designed avatars. The MIDI-AM educational videogames series for mobile applications is the case study examined. The need to evaluate the avatar preferences before or after playing the games to find correlations with the usability trends is present. Comparative results between the three designed research tools will help solve issues about different viewpoints between designers and producers concerning graphic lines used in educational games production and the correlation with game use preferences. The research is relevant for graphic designers, producers, and creative experts to develop well-informed styles and avatars for children's digital games. Also, the practicality of using the proposed research tools to analyze videogame and characters' preferences is confirmed.

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The Influence of Game Character Appearance on Empathy and Immersion: Virtual Non-Robotic Versus Robotic Animals

Cited by 19 publications

References 66 publications

The uncanny valley of a virtual animal

The uncanny valley of a virtual animal

Learning to design through character identification using a gamification learning app: Effects of learning quests on students’ design behaviours and performance

Evaluations of Software Developed as Research Tools to Analyze Trends of Educational Videogames Characters

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