Stimulating Psychological Attachments in Narrative Games: Engaging Players With Game Characters

Aim. This article aims to help game creators discover ways to make players feel involved, and engage with game characters. It outlines how players can have rich playing experiences with multi-faceted, dynamic, and interactive characters. Background. We consider two kinds of relationships: the first between the player and their avatar and the second between the player (as represented by their avatar) and non-player characters. More broadly, the article will provide information on the reasons why players engage with game characters and factors that enhance such engagement. Method. We synthesize findings as assessment criteria, for formative evaluation of an emerging game design. The research focuses on players' experiences and opinions about the factors that make games an enjoyable experience for them, or, conversely, do not. We asked two groups of first-year Irish undergraduate games students to select and play two games and record in diary style their reactions, impressions, feelings, and reflections. We then analyzed what seemed to be generating positive and negative reactions. We used content analysis to analyze the players' diaries of their experiences and self-analysis. Conclusion. This article thus examines the issues significant to players in relation to factors that engage them in narrative games, focusing on what makes dynamic, engaging, and interactive characterization. We envisage that this study will assist game creators in developing more responsive characters and overall engaging games.