| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 多媒體工程研究所 === 101 === As online games growing popular, avatar related issues such as how avatar usage affects self-identity and self-presentation have drawn many research attention. In this thesis, we first study how game design features may affect the player-avatar relation. For example, if the avatar can be customized more freely, will players feel more attached to their avatar? Secondly, we study how the player-avatar relation may affect consumption of virtual decorative items. Intuitively, when players perceive their avatar in different ways, they will have different consumption behavior since decorative virtual items are put on avatars.
We analyzed more 376 questionnaires filled by mainstream online game players with both statistical analysis and artificial neural networks. The findings indicate that the game design features are correlated to player-avatar relation and players' consumption behavior. When it comes to game design features, if death punishment is light and the pet system exists, the players tend to have more emotional connection with his/her avatar. In this case, the players are more willing to decorate the avatars, and the consumption of decorative virtual items is increased. Furthermore, this study also found when a player spends more time in the game world, the player has more emotional feeling for the avatar, and it might help the player construct a deeper player-avatar relation. Thence, the player will increase the consumption in the game store.
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