"He Could Be a Bunny Rabbit for All I Care": Exploring Identification in Digital Games

Shaw's study examines whether players of digital games identify with on-screen characters, challenging the widely held assumption that identity-matching between player and character drives identification. Drawing on interviews with 27 players from marginalized identity groups, along with their partners, the research finds that identification is inconsistent and often absent in the emotional or intellectual sense. Instead, interactivity tends to make players self-reflexive, drawing their attention to their own actions, bodies, and social contexts rather than to the perspective of the character they control.

Identification proved to be shaped by several factors: narrative depth, the ludic and interactive properties of a game, the type of game being played, and the social or physical context of play. Interviewees were split roughly evenly on whether they connected with their characters. Abstract avatars and weak narratives limited identification, while strong storytelling could draw players into even non-humanoid characters. Embodied involvement did not correlate with stronger identification, and in online settings, where avatars serve as persistent self-representations, attention shifts toward social relationships rather than the character itself.

The research also finds that demographic similarity is a weak predictor of identification. Players frequently treated characters as puppets or strategic tools, and shallow characters tended to heighten self-awareness rather than foster connection. Character creation and player motivation mattered more than shared identity. Accordingly, the authors conclude that greater diversity in character options does not guarantee identification or meaningful social representation, and that critics should examine how players actually engage with such portrayals rather than assume their effects. The work draws on scholarship concerning gender, avatars, and play, situating identity performance through game characters within broader game studies debates.