Ethnicity Representation in Edutainment Games Robin Armstead Boise State Graduate Student AECT Graduate Gamification Panel Discussion

October 15, 2012

Online gaming is no longer just a leisurely activity. Over the last five years, education has begun repurposing many online games and virtual world environments to actively engage students with a new delivery method to accomplish learning goals and objectives. Unequal representation of ethnicity in gaming puts minority players at a disadvantage in terms of making a psychological connection with their virtual self, thereby greatly diminishing game play. The purpose of this research is to explore the options available to users to represent themselves in terms of skin, eye, and hair color. The default options one chooses in an attempt to get as close as possible to ones own representation will also be investigated. If a bias does exist in gaming platforms that are highly targeted by educators, then it is important that the gaming community is made aware of the impact it has on minority users and their gaming experience and reasonable solutions are offered. The use of avatars in gaming extends the bounds of immersion to a level of realistic representation. When one sees himself or herself as a character interacting with the environment using chat features, movement, and object manipulation, the experience becomes much more personal. A psychological relationship develops between the user and the avatar (McCreery, Kathleen, Schrader, & Boone, 2012). The player uses this virtual identity for months, sometimes years existing through the eyes of this virtual body. The avatar becomes a virtual extension of the user. The foundation of this relationship begins with choosing the characteristics. Most online gaming offers users the opportunity to choose a name and a physical representation of themselves using a series of features. When users are choosing humanoid characters, they often have the ability to choose skin, hair, and eye color. Options to change the mouth, nose, and body

shape may also be available. The characteristics that one chooses culminate into a digital rendering of themselves into the virtual world (McCreery, Kathleen, Schrader, & Boone, 2012). The visual image not only defines a part of the character but also how it will be viewed and interacted with by others. Research into minority representation in online gaming environment is scarce. In a study conducted by Williams, Martins, Consalvo, and Ivory, (2009) the authors found a systematic over-representation of males, whites, and adults (p. 815). Tanner (2009) concluded that online games such as the World of Warcraft and EverQuest default selection for ethnic representation are white while alterations to skin is an exotic deviation (p. 3). Further supporting evidence of this is in MapleStory, where users must use the games currency called Karma Koins that has to be purchased with real U.S. currency in order to change their skin color to darker shades. Kafai, Cook, and Fields (2010) conducted a study of an interactive role playing virtual world called Whyville. The authors found that there was a lack of darker skin feature selections. Players that did attempt to change their face to a darker color could not find matching body parts when changing other things about themselves like their clothing that only came with light skin features for the attached arms or legs. These two toned players were made fun of and some were subject to racial jokes and slurs. Being that physical avatar representation has a psychological connection to how players identify with themselves in the game and its interactions, the availability of adequate selection of multiple shades of darker pigmented skin is essential to the games immersive quality. Online gaming is a valuable tool for educators and instructional designers to actively engage students. When applied in a meaningful way, it can harness the power and creativity of

students minds, increase knowledge transfer, and cement the learning objectives and goals through the learning experience. The social and psychological aspects of this environment cannot afford to be ignored by educators since many lessons taught in the traditional and virtual classroom are an extension of life itself. Educators and instructional designers must be mindful of this, especially when working with K-12 students who often go through periods of identity searching and sometimes crises that can adversely affect learning. Without proper minority selection choices, the gaming community is forced to ask itself, what is it saying about the importance of different groups of players experience? The internet provides a space for Earths ethnically rich and diverse users access connect across the barriers of geography, language, and culture to meet in online games. When asking someone to represent him or herself in a game, it is an attempt to make a connection with the user and create an enhanced gaming experience. Maximizing this connection by having an adequate amount of characters or traits supports the goals of using an avatar and creating the best possible experience for the user.

References Higgin, T. (2009). Blackless fantasy. Games and Culture, 4(1), 3-26. McCreery, M. P., Kathleen, K. S., Schrader, P. G., & Boone, R. (2012). Defining the virtual self: Personality, behavior, and the psychology of embodiment. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(3), 976-983. Williams, D., Martins, N., Consalvo, M., & Ivory, J. (2009). The virtual census: representations of gender, race and age in video games. New Media & Society, 11(5), 815-834.