Abstract
The Player and Avatar attachment help to motivate a student to strengthen their engagement in gameplay. The different types of avatar designs deployed in a game have an impact on students' engagements. The avatars are designed with different roles, wherein each role offers varying motivational effects on students' engagement. Several research in human and computer interaction have assessed user engagement and user attention in a computer or system application as well as in gameplay. Among the usual approaches to assess user engagement are using questionnaire and eye-tracking. Investigating the possible use of these approaches in determining the player and avatar attachment, particularly the attachment that associated with the various avatar designs and their effect on students' engagement are inconclusive and remains untapped. Essentially, studying students' engagement and attention perception while learning enriches one's comprehension about engagement in the education segment. As such, this study proposes a new model of player and avatar attachment based on the students' engagement and focus attention on the gameplay of digital educational games (DEGs). The model is developed follows a stepwise approach consisting component identification, relationship of the components, model development, and model validation. Several components were scrutinized, summarized, and developed into the model proposed in this study. A significant attachment can determine the avatar design that may influence a student's engagement in gameplay. Hence, this study offers several constructive recommendations for future avatars in game design for education purpose, which may validate the user's engagement based on his or her focus attention.
Highlights
The player-avatar attachment (PLAVA) in gameplay refers to the relationship developed between a player and his or her in-game virtual representation, which is the representation known as an avatar [1, 2]
To extend the study of the player attachment and in-game engagement, engaging this research with an eye-tracker can contribute to visual attention perception while learning Digital Educational Games (DEGs)
We developed the model to demonstrate how the player, which is a student, and avatar attachment can affect the way they engage based on visual attention in a game
Summary
The player-avatar attachment (PLAVA) in gameplay refers to the relationship developed between a player (student) and his or her in-game virtual representation, which is the representation known as an avatar [1, 2]. Research conducted by Kim et al [3] shows that the degree of attachment is one of the predictors that identifies a positive relationship that brings identification between a player and the in-game character (avatar) Such positive relationship motivates players in sustaining their engagement in gameplay. Several studies had researched the effects of player and avatar attachment, relationship, and user engagement in gameplay and in learning in an educational game Among the studies, the approach to synchronize the different types of avatar designs and their effect on student's engagement in learning was not explored extensively Another study classified the avatar designs into several characters, including lifelike, human cartoon, medium human-like, hybrid, and abstract characters [6] These classifications of anthropomorphic characters enable designers to develop more significant interactions for individuals in promoting a long-term relationship. This study investigated the various types of avatar designs that affected the players' engagement in gameplay
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