Character creation in digital role-playing games allows players to construct roles and express motivational orientations. Drawing on Motive Disposition Theory, this study examines whether different construals of explicit power are reflected in character creation priorities. We distinguish between dominance-oriented (personalized), leadership-oriented (socialized), and prosocial-oriented (socialized) forms of power motivation, as well as overall power motivation, and examine their associations with appearance and ability choices in Baldur’s Gate 3 [5]. In a laboratory study (N = 109), participants completed explicit motive measures and created a character in-game. Dominance-oriented power was associated with greater emphasis on visual appearance and visually assertive traits, whereas leadership-oriented power predicted stronger prioritization of functional abilities and strategic configuration. Leadership motivation was reflected more strongly in self-reported character intentions than in concrete skill selections, while prosociality and overall power showed no significant associations. These results suggest that specific power orientations, rather than global power motivation, shape how players construct and position their characters, highlighting character creation as a site for motivational expression.

Failure is an integral element of most games, and while some players may benefit from external support, such as cheat codes, to prompt self-soothing, most games lack supportive elements. We asked participants (N=88) to play Anno 1404 in single-player mode, and presented a money-generating cheat code in a challenging situation, also measuring the personality trait of action-state orientation, which explains differences in self-regulation ability (i.e., self-soothing) in response to threats of failure. Individuals higher in state orientation were more likely to take the offer, and used the cheat code more frequently. The cheat code also acted as an external support, as differences in experienced pressure between action- and state-oriented participants vanished when it was used. We found no negative consequences of using external support in intrinsic motivation, needs satisfaction, flow, or performance. We argue that external support mechanisms can help state-oriented players to self-regulate in gaming, when faced with failure.

Games often allow players to customize their virtual representations, and players tend to restrict themselves to appearances that are considered socially acceptable. However, there are different ideas of what a desirable appearance is (e.g., strong versus cute) and different players have different preferences. Through two studies, we explore the link between self-reported motivations (i.e., explicit motives—affiliation, power, and achievement) and the desirability of various appearance attributes. The affiliation motive is associated with striving for approachable appearances, such as characters with friendly facial expressions. The power motive predicts the goal to create strong, mighty, and less approachable appearances, and achievement-motivated individuals are more likely to seek out unremarkable appearances. Affiliation-motivation positively predicted time spent in character customization and creating characters in line with beauty standards (i.e., thin characters). We further observe that certain players are influenced by character appearance when making playstyle decisions. The results indicate that appearance preferences are diverse but not random and that players are more likely to pick avatars and playstyles that communicate their social motivations to other players. Theoretical explanations from the perspective of Motive-Disposition-Theory are discussed.

As many games are centered around challenges, the gaming community is often considered to be a meritocracy where everyone is judged based on performance; however, research has challenged this assumption for players with marginalized identities, such as women. We discuss literature on gender stereotypes in gaming and present a study examining whether the same game footage (Tekken 6) is judged equally by participants when the player has a feminine or a masculine voice. 240 participants watched one of four videos (feminine/winning; masculine/winning; feminine/losing; or masculine/losing) and rated the player along several dimensions. Our results show that player ratings depended on voice and match outcome. The feminine voice was rated as less sympathetic when winning as compared to losing and rated as equally skilled in both outcome conditions. In contrast, the masculine voice was rated as equally sympathetic in both outcome conditions, but more skilled in the winning than losing condition.

Two social motives are distinguished by Motive Disposition Theory: affiliation and power. Motives orient, select and energize our behaviour, suggesting that the choices of power-motivated individuals should be guided by power cues, such as the appearance of strength in a game character or avatar. In study 1 we demonstrate that participants were more likely to pick strong-looking Pokémon for a fight and cute Pokémon as a companion. In addition, we show that even when considering these contexts, the power motive predicts preferences for a powerful appearance, whereas affiliation does not. In study 2 we replicate the study 1 findings and distinguish between two ways to enact the power motive (prosocial and dominant power). We demonstrate that the dominance, but not the prosociality, facet drives the preference for strong-looking Pokémon. Our findings suggest that the need to influence others—the power motive—drives the choice for battle companions who symbolize strength.

In Motive Disposition Theory, the affiliation motive describes our need to form mutually satisfying bonds, whereas the power motive is the wish to influence others. To understand how these social motives shape play experience, we explore their relationship to Self-Determination Theory and Flow Theory in League of Legends. We find that: higher intimacy motivation is associated with greater relatedness satisfaction, autonomy satisfaction, enjoyment, and the flow dimension of absorption; higher prosocial motivation with more effort invested and the flow dimension fluency of performance; and higher dominance motivation with lower relatedness satisfaction but higher competence satisfaction and increased flow in both dimensions. We demonstrate that in addition to being driven to satisfy universal needs, players also possess individualized needs that explain our underlying motives and ultimately shape our gaming preferences and experiences. Our results suggest that people do not merely gravitate towards need-supportive situations, but actively seek, change, and create situations based on their individualized motives.

The power motive describes our need to have an impact on others. Relevant in contexts such as sports, politics, and business, the power motive could help explain experiences and behaviours in digital games. We present four studies connecting the power motive to role and champion type choices in the MOBA game League of Legends (LoL). In Study1 we demonstrate that overall power motive does not predict role preferences. In Study2 we develop a 6-item-scale distinguishing between two facets of power in game settings: prosociality (empowering others) and dominance (overpowering others). In Study3 we show that prosociality and dominance uniquely predict role preferences for Support and Top Lane. In Study4 we demonstrate that champion type choice (tank, fighter, slayer, controller) is uniquely predicted by dominance and prosociality. We provide insight on how the wish for vertical interactions with other players-the power motive-can influence player interactions in multiplayer games.

We introduce explicit and implicit motives (i.e., achievement, affiliation, power, autonomy) into player experience research and situate them in existing theories of player motivation, personality, playstyle, and experience. Additionally, we conducted an experiment with 109 players in a social play situation and show that: 1. As expected, there are several correlations of playstyle, personality, and motivation with explicit motives, but few with implicit motives; 2. The implicit affiliation motive predicts in-game social behaviour; and 3. The implicit affiliation motive adds significant variance to explain regression models of in-game social behaviours even when we control for social aspects of personality, the explicit affiliation motive, self-esteem, and social player traits. Our results support that implicit motives explain additional variance because they access needs that are experienced affectively and pre-consciously, and not through cognitive interpretation necessary for explicit expression and communication, as is the case in any approaches that use self-report.

The social nature of multiplayer games provides compelling play experiences that are dynamic, unpredictable, and satisfying; however, playing digital games with others can result in feeling socially excluded. There are several known harmful effects of ostracism, including on cognition and the interpretation of social information. To investigate the effects of social exclusion in the context of a multiplayer game, we developed and validated a social exclusion paradigm that we embedded in an online game. Called Operator Challenge, our paradigm influenced feelings of social exclusion and access to hostile cognitions (measured through a word-completion task). In addition, the degree of experienced belonging predicted player enjoyment, effort, and the number of hostile words completed; however, the experience measures did not mediate the relationship between belonging and access to hostile cognitions. Our work facilitates understanding the causes and effects of exclusion, which is important for the study of player experience in multiplayer games.