EXPERIMENT DESIGN

Why would players flatter an NPC?

Even if the NPC is “useless” within the game context.

“NPC can live up the atmosphere in the game by means of intense interaction with players with various functions.

NPC can impact on the game experience, which is more immersive than the game being played.”
— Hasani et al. (2021)

We like people because they are...

We like people because they are...

  • physically attractive (look good)

  • socially attractive (friendly)

  • task attractive (useful)

Linus does not match any of the characteristics, so what makes him one of the most popular characters in Stardew Valley?

Theory Framework

Narrative Structure & Player Experience also play important roles

EXPERIMENT DESIGN

——3 x 2 x 2 conditions of IVs

IV_1

Impression on NPC

What is the player’s impression on that NPC?

  • Positive

  • Neutral

  • Negative

IV_2

Richness of Dialogue

Is there’s additional information provided within the dialogue?

  • Rich

  • Poor

IV_3

Impression on NPC

Can player make use of their knowledge, advice or help?

  • Useful

  • Useless

X

DV_1

Investment on NPC

Overall grade based on the time and virtual currency spent on that NPC.

  • Ratio

  • Overall Grade

  • Time + Visual Currency

DV_2

Presence in Game

Modified Self-Presence Questionnaire (SPQ)

  • Ratio

  • Questionnaire

Discussion

& Further study

Limitation

  • No existing questionnaire can be adopted to this study to measure the identity in self- presence.

Application

  • Prototype for NPCs that could attract players to spend more time/money unconsciously. - Procedural content generation (PCG) for video games.

  • Can be applied to generate various game characters in RPGs.

  • Can be used to represent agents and avatars of real-time animation.

Want more details?

Explore the full versions of the slides, or get to know more from the research proposal for this project.

Delving into the details is always a pleasure.