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Character Customization With Cosmetic Microtransactions in Games: Subjective Experience and Objective Performance.

Christian Böffel1, Sophie Würger1, Jochen Müsseler1

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cosmetic microtransactions in free games enhance player identification with avatars but do not improve objective performance. Avatar customization boosts perceived competence and fun, influencing self-estimated performance in competitive gaming.

Keywords:
avatarscustomizationesportsgameshuman-computer interactionidentificationmicrotransactionsperformance

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Game Studies

Background:

  • Free-to-play games often use cosmetic microtransactions to generate revenue.
  • These virtual items allow players to customize avatars, potentially enhancing the gaming experience.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To experimentally investigate the impact of cosmetic microtransactions on player experience in League of Legends.
  • To assess effects on objective and self-estimated performance, avatar identification, fun, and perceived competence.

Main Methods:

  • A novel laboratory-based experimental task was developed to objectively measure in-game performance.
  • Participants played League of Legends in two conditions: with a customized avatar and with a default avatar.

Main Results:

  • Cosmetic customization significantly increased subjective identification with the player character.
  • Objective performance metrics remained unaffected by avatar customization.
  • Player identification correlated positively with perceived competence, fun, and self-estimated performance.

Conclusions:

  • Cosmetic microtransactions enhance player-avatar connection and subjective experience, but not objective skill.
  • Findings suggest implications for designing microtransactions to influence player engagement and perceived ability in competitive games.