Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Amidst today’s game environment that is becoming increasingly fluid, there has been ongoing research on how to apply emotional expressions to game characters as an active response to the game environment. However, most studies have so far dealt with the subject matter of developing a model for artificial emotions, but from an engineering perspective only. To instill emotions in game characters, it is clear that an engineering-based model that enables a game character to express artificial emotions is required. At the same time, all actions taken by a user through his or her character must also be expressed by the character emotionally. In addition, emotional engineering technology can be applied to not only characters within a game, but also to topography, sound, costumes and interactions. This application can also help enhance the user’s engagement. However, compared to packaged/console games, emotional engineering is very rarely applied to characters in an online game. This study first compares and analyzes automated character customizing systems in use today. These systems allow for the application of emotions to characters in packaged/console and online games. Then it proposes a prototype of an automated character customizing system to which physiognomy is applied based on then users’ behavioral type within an online game. Finally, the need for the proposed system is validated through a survey.
Keywords: Characters, Customizing, Emotional Engineering, Physiognomy