ArticlePDF Available

Avatar Creation and Video Game Enjoyment: Effects of Life-Satisfaction, Game Competitiveness, and Identification with the Avatar

January 2010
Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications 22(4):171-184

DOI:10.1027/1864-1105/a000022

Authors:

Sabine Trepte

University of Hohenheim

Leonard Reinecke

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Based on the model of complex entertainment experiences ( Vorderer, Klimmt, & Ritterfeld, 2004 ), the competitiveness of a computer game (media prerequisite) and the individual life satisfaction (user prerequisite) are hypothesized to influence game enjoyment. Avatar-player similarity was hypothesized to determine identification with the avatar, which in turn was suggested to enhance the enjoyment experience. In a quasi-experimental study, (N = 666) participants were asked to choose the personality features of an avatar for six different game scenarios. The results demonstrate that the games’ competitiveness as well as the participants’ life satisfaction influenced avatar choice and identification. In noncompetitive games, similar avatars were created, whereas in competitive games, dissimilar avatars were created. Participants who were well satisfied with their lives created avatars that resemble themselves in terms of personality factors, whereas dissatisfied users created dissimilar avatars. Player-avatar similarity was positively related to identification. This correlation was significantly stronger for noncompetitive games. Identification with the avatar was strongly related to game enjoyment. When controlling for the influence of identification on enjoyment, player-avatar similarity was negatively related to enjoyment, suggesting that identity play can be an independent source of enjoyment in computer games.

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The Pleasures of Success: Game-Related Efﬁcacy

Experiences as a Mediator Between Player

Performance and Game Enjoyment

Sabine Trepte, Ph.D., and Leonard Reinecke, Ph.D.

Abstract

In the present study, the interplay of player performance, game-related self-efﬁcacy experiences, and the re-

sulting effects on game enjoyment are investigated. We hypothesized that a player’s performance stimulates

enjoyment via its potential to stimulate game-related self-efﬁcacy experiences. In a laboratory setting, partici-

pants (N¼213) played a jump ’n’ run game. Their performance during game play was recorded by log-ﬁle

software, and efﬁcacy and enjoyment were assessed with questionnaires. As predicted, both player performance

and game-related self-efﬁcacy experience were signiﬁcant predictors of enjoyment. Furthermore, the results

demonstrate that game-related self-efﬁcacy experience signiﬁcantly mediates the relationship between player

performance and game enjoyment.

Introduction

The interactivity of video and computer games poses a

challenge for entertainment scholars, as new or extended

theoretical models of media enjoyment are needed to under-

stand the appeal of this genre. The aim of the present study is

to explore the function of player performance in the enjoy-

ment of video games and to identify the underlying psycho-

logical processes that transform objective performance into

subjective game enjoyment.

According to Bandura’s self-efﬁcacy theory,

1,2

an efﬁcacy

expectation is the subjective belief that one can successfully

execute the behavior required to produce certain outcomes.

Perceived self-efﬁcacy has a direct inﬂuence on the choice of

activities, the amount of effort people will expend, and how

long they will persist in the face of obstacles and aversive

experiences.

In most games, the course of events is unpredictable for the

player. The actions that have to be taken to master a certain

task are very often unclear in advance. Therefore, game-

related self-efﬁcacy is usually regarded as an ex-post experi-

ence that takes place during the course of in-game events.

Players evaluate their competence to master game challenges

after they have received performance feedback from the game

environment. The idea of game-related self-efﬁcacy experi-

ences is predominantly related to White’s ‘‘feeling of efﬁcacy.’’

White distinguished between effectance motivation and

feelings of efﬁcacy. Effectance motivation is deﬁned as the

motivation for exploratory and playful activities in the service

of competence, whereas efﬁcacy may be described as a pos-

itive experience produced by such exploratory and playful

behavior. Game-related self-efﬁcacy experience is thus

deﬁned as a player’s ex-post assessment of his/her ability to

master and to control the game.

The concept of self-efﬁcacy appears to be a promising

theoretical approach to explore the effects of player perfor-

mance on game enjoyment, when taking into account that

video games provide players with constant feedback on their

in-game performance

and that past accomplishments posi-

tively inﬂuence subjective feelings of self-efﬁcacy

and efﬁ-

cacy expectations.

1,2

The Effects of Player Performance

and Efﬁcacy Experiences on Game Enjoyment

A growing number of studies address aspects of the

gaming experience that are directly or indirectly linked to in-

game performance, mastery experience, and self-efﬁcacy. The

results of a survey by Sherry et al. on the gratiﬁcations of

playing video games suggest that challenge and competition

are key components of game enjoyment.

The stream of

events within a game can be considered a ‘‘continuous

exchange between players and the game software.’’

3(p137)

The

player’s actions have immediate consequences within the

gaming environment. As a consequence of this steady feedback

from the game environment, the player’s accomplishments

Department of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

CYBERPSYCHOLOGY,BEHAVIOR,AND SOCIAL NETWORKING

Volume 14, Number 9, 2011

ªMary Ann Liebert, Inc.

DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2010.0358

555

represented by positive or appealing in-game events can be

expected to be highly salient to the player and thus are

likely to positively inﬂuence game enjoyment.

Accordingly,

Hypothesis 1 predicts that:

H1: Player performance will be positively related to game

enjoyment.

Based on the theoretical considerations of self-efﬁcacy

theory,

1,2,4

we furthermore suggest that player performance

has a positive inﬂuence on game-related self-efﬁcacy experi-

ences. According to Bandura and White, past performance

inﬂuences an individual’s efﬁcacy expectations.

1,2,4

As dis-

cussed above, all player actions are immediately followed by

consequences within the gaming environment.

Conse-

quently, the player is provided with a constant stream of

performance-related information. As most positive events

within the game are primarily attributable to the player’s

skills, better performance can be expected to lead to higher

levels of game-related efﬁcacy experiences. This assumption

is addressed in Hypothesis 2:

H2: Player performance will be positively related to game-

related self-efﬁcacy experiences.

A number of studies demonstrate that self-efﬁcacy or re-

lated concepts such as mastery and control play a crucial role

in the gaming experience.

The results presented by Tam-

borini et al. demonstrate that the satisfaction of the need for

competence, that is, the feeling that the personal skills match

the game’s requirements, and the need for autonomy, that is,

the feeling of being in control of the game, explain a signiﬁ-

cant amount of variance in game enjoyment.

Furthermore,

Klimmt et al. demonstrated in an online experiment that

under conditions of reduced effectance, players perceived a

game as being less enjoyable.

These ﬁndings support the

assumption that feelings of mastery and game-related self-

efﬁcacy experiences are crucial components of game enjoy-

ment. We therefore hypothesized that:

H3: Game-related self-efﬁcacy experiences are positively

related to game enjoyment.

Based on the assumption that player performance is posi-

tively related to game-related self-efﬁcacy (cf. H2) and on the

strong relationship between efﬁcacy experiences and enjoy-

ment found in previous research

(cf. H3), it appears rea-

sonable to assume that game-related self-efﬁcacy experiences

may be a psychological mechanism that transforms objective

player performance into subjective game enjoyment. In other

words, player performance leads to the experience of game-

related self-efﬁcacy, which, in turn, has a positive effect on

game enjoyment. Therefore, we propose that:

H4: The relationship between player performance and game

enjoyment is mediated by game-related self-efﬁcacy expe-

riences.

Methods

Participants

A total of 213 students participated in the experiment.

The sample comprised 159 women (74.6 percent). Ages

ranged between 18 and 43 years (M¼23.62 years, SD ¼4.26

years).

Stimulus material

We used the jump ’n’ run game Crazy Chicken: Heart of Tibet

(phenomedia publishing) as stimulus material. The game was

chosen owing to its simple controls that are easy to under-

stand even for players with little or no gaming experience.

The prequel of the main game Crazy Chicken: The Good, the Egg

and the Ugly (phenomedia publishing) was used for a training

session. Both games are identical in terms of game controls

and basic game mechanisms, but differ slightly in their nar-

rative and graphics.

Procedure

Upon arrival in the computer lab, participants were given

15 minutes to practice the training game. Afterward, partici-

pants played the main game for 30 minutes until the game

stopped automatically. Subsequently, participants responded

to a questionnaire.

Measures

Player performance. Log ﬁles were recorded to assess the

frequency of 20 game events for each participant, including

collecting items (e.g., coins and diamonds), defeating oppo-

nents, activating save points, and reaching new levels. The

frequency scores of all 20 events were standardized using

z-transformation and then averaged to form a single index of

player performance.

Game-related self-efﬁcacy experience. A scale devel-

oped by Klimmt et al. comprising 11 items (e.g., ‘‘I had the

impression that I could immediately affect things on the

screen’’) was used to assess game-related self-efﬁcacy expe-

riences.

Participants rated the items on a 5-point scale

ranging from 1, ‘‘does not apply at all,’’ to 5, ‘‘does fully ap-

ply’’ (Cronbach’s a¼0.891).

Game enjoyment. Five items were used to measure game

enjoyment (e.g., ‘‘Playing the game was fun’’ or ‘‘I liked

playing the game’’). Participants rated the items on a 6-point

scale ranging from 1, ‘‘does not apply at all,’’ to 6, ‘‘does fully

apply’’ (Cronbach’s a¼0.919).

Results

Hypotheses 1 to 4 were tested using structural equation

modeling. Game enjoyment and game-related self-efﬁcacy

experience were modeled as latent variables, whereas player

performance was entered as an observed variable. With a

comparative ﬁt index (CFI) of 0.927 and an root mean square

error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.075, the model ex-

hibited an acceptable ﬁt.

As predicted in H1, player performance had a signiﬁcant

and positive total effect on game enjoyment (b¼0.221,

p<0.001). Furthermore, conﬁrming H2, the data revealed

that player performance was a signiﬁcant predictor of game-

related self-efﬁcacy (b¼0.416, p<0.001). As predicted in H3,

game-related self-efﬁcacy signiﬁcantly predicted game en-

joyment (b¼0.367, p<0.001).

When controlling for the inﬂuence of game-related self-

efﬁcacy, the previously signiﬁcant effect of player perfor-

mance on enjoyment (cf. H1) was no longer signiﬁcant

556 TREPTE AND REINECKE

(b¼0.068, p¼0.354). A Sobel test yielded a signiﬁcant

mediation effect of self-efﬁcacy (z¼3.55, p<0.001). The in-

direct effect of player performance on enjoyment through

game-related self-efﬁcacy was bootstrapped with 5,000

bootstrap samples with replacement. The point estimate of

the indirect effect was 0.153 with a standard error of 0.042

and a 95 percent bias-corrected conﬁdence interval from 0.082

to 0.253. Hypothesis 4 was therefore supported. The ﬁnal

model is presented in Figure 1.

Discussion

This study explored the relationship between player per-

formance, game-related self-efﬁcacy experience, and media

enjoyment. We argued that self-efﬁcacy is interrelated with

enjoyment and that the relationship between game perfor-

mance and enjoyment is mediated by efﬁcacy experiences.

The results supported our hypotheses, indicating that game-

related self-efﬁcacy experiences seem to be a crucial variable

in understanding game enjoyment. Thus, not only the mere

objective performance but also the user’s subjective experi-

ence of accomplishment, competence, and control over the

gaming environment constitute game enjoyment.

The results of this study may underlie methodological

limitations. All in-game events that were logged to assess

performance were positive events; consequently, the perfor-

mance measure used in this study is solely an indicator of

game success. Although the measure does provide informa-

tion on the absence of positive game events, it does not in-

clude any indicators of player failure. However, success and

failure may have differential effects on game enjoyment. Fu-

ture studies should therefore assess both positive and nega-

tive in-game events.

The implications of this study go beyond research on game

enjoyment. In the health domain, educational games aim at

strengthening the player’s feelings of health-related self-

efﬁcacy.

However, it remains a task for future research to

explore the factors that determine whether and how efﬁcacy

experiences produced by video games are transferred into

real-life experiences and behavior. Overall, the present study

demonstrates that self-efﬁcacy is a promising concept for

future research that may help to broaden our understanding

of the use of games for entertainment and educational pur-

poses alike.

Disclosure Statement

No competing ﬁnancial interests exist.

References

1. Bandura A. (1997) Self-efﬁcacy: The exercise of control. New

York: Freeman.

2. Bandura A. Self-efﬁcacy: Toward a unifying theory of be-

havioral change. Psychological Review 1977; 84:191–215.

3. Klimmt C, Hartmann T. (2006) Effectance, self-efﬁcacy, and

the motivation to play video games. In Vorderer P, Bryant J,

eds. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences.

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 133–145.

4. White RW. Motivation reconsidered: The concept of compe-

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5. Sherry J, Lucas K, Greenberg BS, et al. (2006) Video game uses

and gratiﬁcations as predictors of use and game preference.

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Address correspondence to:

Dr. Sabine Trepte

Department of Psychology

University of Hamburg

Von-Melle-Park 5

20146 Hamburg

Germany

E-mail: sabine.trepte@uni-hamburg.de

FIG. 1. Structural equation model of the tested hypotheses. CFI ¼0.927, RMSEA ¼0.075. Standardized betas are signiﬁcant

with p<0.001. CFI, comparative ﬁt index; RMSEA, root mean square error of approximation.

EFFICACY EXPERIENCES AND GAME ENJOYMENT 557

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