Reading 06

 

Screenshot of my highlighted themes

The theme of Relationship:

The most common following definition of relationship is said to be the way in which two people consider and behave towards each other especially in a romantic and sexual way but what is the specific term for the player and avatar relationship known as 'PAR' which is outside of this world. In the world of digital games, PAR is defined to be the approach the player has for their avatar in the game. The PAR can be identified as a parasocial and social relationship, in addition, it can be very meaningful or more basic as they can be both long-term or short-term. In most cases, it was discussed how a player has a strong PAR where the player develops feelings about the avatar and can almost feel for them almost like in a human relationship. Some papers argue how the PAR can almost be a social relationship yet others argue how it can't be as it is not in the real world. Banks, J. and Bowman, N.D. (2016) state that the PAR can be both social and parasocial as the avatar and player can have an effect on each other but at the same time, the avatar is only reacting to its scripted code to act on the player's decision. Throughout the gameplay, every player will experience different feelings and reactions which has an impact on how the player sees their relationship with the avatar.

The theme of Connection:

The term connection plays a very important role in the PAR and the findings point out the importance of how influential and necessary it is for the PAR and the overall game success to connect the player to the game and their avatar as much as possible. Overall in all of the resources, I have looked through the connection between the player and the avatar is a big and common topic. Narnia Worth (June 2015) study looks at the level of attachment or feelings that the player develops for their avatar and marks out that the two personalities have a lot of similarities. The point of view the player receives during the game impacts how much the player can connect to their avatar as it affects how the player sees their avatar and their story whether they play as the first person or the third person. It looks at how close the player connects with the avatar and what makes them connect to the game. It is discussed what there is about the avatar and the game design that draws the player in. It states how the ability to customize your avatar makes the person feel like they are connected to the avatar. Other things that connect the two are any similarities that they have like characteristics or storyline.

The theme of Two worlds:

There is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of being able to escape from the reality of problems and affairs that are present in our world. It is crucial to have some form of getaway or break out where you can enter a different world in which you have more control and can be the hero of the day. Gaming is therefore very suitable as the player escapes reality when gaming and enters a different world with different living organisms. Most games make the player forget the real world and gives them the ability to be something or someone that they can't in the real world. The games are even said to be a different world as they are called the game world where people can escape to and be whoever they want and have what they desire without worrying about their problems in the real world. There are a lot of restrictions in our world yet you can leave it and enter the game world where you are free and don't have any worries. The player responds and gets drawn into the overall game is how well the player gets introduce to the avatar and its characteristics which depends greatly on the strength and the type of PAR that will form. The connection between the player and the avatar can grow so much to the point when the person can forget or ignore the borderline that is there between the digital game world and the real world. Despite this, the whole PAR is still formed in a digital world that isn't linked to the player's actual world, the player is switching between the two worlds which suggests that the PAR is not present outside the game.

The theme of Identity:

This theme investigates the factors that determine the identity of the player, avatar and their relationship together.  The identity of the player and the identity of the avatar is greatly discussed and looked at in detail to find similarities. The avatar is usually identified to be a brave, and skillful type of character looking to save the world or gain revenge giving the player a great sense of victory and adventure. The avatar can match very closely the identification of the player with the ability to customize and develop your avatar in the game. It has been shown that many times the customized avatar had a lot of the player's identification. Throughout the gameplay, the player can get a strong feeling of identifying themselves as the avatar. When a player receives a chance to customize their avatar, it is often found that the avatar's identity relates to the identity of the player. PAMELA LIVINGSTONE (2015) explains how the character customizing allows the player to reflect their own individuality and how the player's and avatar's identity can be linked together. This can then lead to the avatar looking like the player or the player reflecting their avatar's identity.