Role-playing games allow players to explore a digital world through a character's eyes. For minority groups, such as queer players, representation is not a given when playing popular role-playing games. We surveyed a diverse sample of 464 queer and non-queer players and followed up with 31 in-depth interviews. We asked players about their perspectives on their characters' gender and sexual orientation. The quantitative results showed that cisgender men were the least likely group to find gender representation important and heterosexual players were least likely to consider the representation of sexual orientation as important. However, following up with a thematic analysis, we note many nuances and within-group differences. We identify four themes of how players of all identities view character creation - the character as a shield, a guide, a portrayal, and a creation - and discuss how digital games can improve character design and character creation options.

Gender representation still frequently falls short in video games, with titles often portraying stereotypical roles, under-representing female characters, or lacking diverse gender identities. The present research explored diversity in facial expressions based on the gender of game characters and players across League of Legends, Dota 2, Overwatch, and Valorant. We recruited a total of 99 participants for an online study. We presented approximately 20 game characters to each participant and asked them to discern the predominant emotional expression (neutral, happiness, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, surprise, alluring, or determined). They further rated the emotional intensity, followed by indicating their familiarity with the presented game characters. We found that the emotional expressions of the game characters portray gender stereotypes in the design such as anger mainly being expressed by male characters, while female characters are more likely to be presented as alluring. Greater familiarity was associated with more specific readings, whereas less familiarity results in ascribing more stereotypical emotions. Our findings are discussed with implications for game designers and the gaming industry in mind.

Commendation systems in online multiplayer games are designed to recognize positive in-game behaviors. Examples include the Honor system (League of Legends) and the Endorsement system (Overwatch). However, we do not know how players use and perceive them. Our mixed-methods study (n = 511) explores how players interact with commendation systems and how they view their usefulness and appeal. Through thematic analysis, we identified four key themes: using commendation systems 1) to reward performance, 2) to reward friendly behavior, 3) without intent or understanding, and 4) distilling preferences for specific versions or features within these systems. We further provide exploratory insights of play-related factors that correlate with high commendation levels, and attitudes towards the systems. We infer that the purpose of commendation systems is not clear to users. We outline aspects in which players need more guidance, and conclude that designers should be more transparent about their intentions and expectations.

Discriminatory behaviours like harassment and bullying are widely normalized in competitive gaming communities, such as League of Legends (LoL). Negativity is often seen as inevitable, which hinders efforts to address online toxicity. These behaviours affect all players, reduce well-being, and cause financial losses in the gaming industry. Our mixed-methods study investigates pathways to de-normalizing harmful behaviour by capturing responses to what is considered normal communication by many players (such as unsolicited advice). Through four conditions, we explore players’ views on resisting or giving in to unproductive demands of other players and their perspectives on bystander support. We provide insights on the prevalence of diverging player viewpoints, and further, propose strategies to improve communication based on player suggestions for creating more positive gaming environments. We highlight the importance of clarifying codes of conduct because there is little agreement between players as to what is or is not acceptable behaviour in games.

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.

Hypersexualization of women video game characters through unrealistic body proportions and revealing clothes is common. Previous work suggested that overexposure to sexualized women characters can harm players, through increased self-objectification and higher rape myth acceptance; however, there have been inconsistencies across studies that we suggest may stem from variations in the study design and other visual characteristics of the characters, such as relying heavily on stereotypes reinforced by colour schemes (e.g., blonde princess). To address this, we designed a text-based game prototype and four identical women characters who varied only in their colour scheme (gold/red or purple/black) and amount of sexualization (through bikini armour and exaggerating body proportions). We measure attributes assigned to the avatar, avatar appeal, rape myth acceptance and self-objectification. 82 participants participated in our online-study in 2021. Most participants found the non-sexualized character versions more appealing than the sexualized characters and were more likely to assign ‘manipulativeness’ to the sexualized character. When presented with the sexualized characters, participants demonstrated higher rape myth acceptance, and more self-objectification.

Many videogames require players to perform under pressure; however, not all players respond equivalently to pressure: why are some players more likely to tilt (lose control during play) or choke (perform poorly relative to their ability) whereas others seem to thrive under pressure? Given the importance of both emotion regulation in tilting and optimal arousal in achieving optimal performance, we propose that individual differences in ability to down-regulate negative affect under stress--known as failure-related action-state orientation (fASO)--could explain propensity to choke under pressure. We conducted an online between-subjects experiment (N=144) in which we measured baseline performance in Super Hexagon (day 1), then exposed participants to a stress induction (i.e., PASAT-C) or had them play a low-intensity bubble-popping game before playing again (day 2). Under stress, players higher in fASO performed better relative to their baseline in terms of average time alive and stalled progress; whereas, without stress, players lower in fASO performed better on both measures. Traits reflective of proposed explanations for choking (i.e., reinvestment, attentional control) did not influence performance under pressure. The ability to down-regulate negative affect and overcome setbacks is a useful theoretical lens to explore why some players choke under pressure, whereas others thrive.

Tabletop role-playing games are experiencing a peak in popularity and prior work shows that role-playing can be beneficial for mental health. While little research effort has been invested into this area, most studies point towards positive outcomes of playing tabletop role-playing games. This work explores the potential for the acceptance of flaws through role-playing by comparing how novice and expert players approach character creation. The results of this exploratory study show that experienced role-players are more likely to report that they want to play a character with weaknesses and less likely to be interested in playing a flawless character. Additional findings and implications are discussed in the paper.

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.

Toxicity in multiplayer gaming is an ongoing problem that threatens the well-being of players, gaming communities, and game developers. Meanwhile, interventions that promote positive interactions and proactively create positive gaming spaces are still in their infancy; little is known about how players respond to positivity. In our study, 959 League of Legends players were presented with either 10 positive chat logs or 10 negative chat logs, and asked to reflect on the content and how representative such communication is of their own gaming experiences. We thematically coded participants' free-form answers (identifying the themes normalize, acknowledge, downplay, cope, blame, and make personal), and compared the positive and negative conditions in terms of theme prevalence. Our findings show that participants were more likely to normalize and acknowledge toxic negativity than positivity. Furthermore, the dominant response to positivity consisted of downplaying messages as not representative and rare, and even expressing suspicion that messages must have been fabricated or intended as sarcasm. Participants overwhelmingly cope by muting chat, protecting them from toxic interactions, but leaving them unexposed to positive communication and other beneficial social interactions within play.

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.

Socializing is an important part of why people choose to play games and is at the core of many game mechanics. Anxiety and fear about social interactions can lead to withdrawal from socializing in the physical world, yet players with social anxiety preferentially choose MMORPGs — a highly social genre — raising questions of whether social anxiety expresses differently during in-game interactions. In the present study (N=181), we explore whether and how social anxiety translates into MMORPGs. By developing a measure of in-game social anxiety, we find that although fear and apprehension of socializing in the physical and game worlds are related, they differently affect preferences, behaviours, and experiences. Social anxiety in the physical world drives reasons for playing, whereas in-game anxiety affects behaviours, reducing participation in activities related to socializing and difficult in-game challenges. Our findings can inform the design of social games and the links between social anxiety and social gaming.

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.