"It's a Me, Mario!": Costumed Gaming's Effects on Character Identification

This exploratory study examines "costumed gaming," in which players dress as the characters they control, and how wearing costumes shapes character identification, self-perception, and social interaction during play. Drawing on theories of clothing and identity, including enclothed cognition, theater practices such as outside-in transformation and mask work, and fan cosplay scholarship, the research asks how costumes affect players' relationship to game characters, their self-perception, and how costumed players engage with one another.

The method was a small qualitative study with ten pairs of University of California, Irvine students. Each dyad played Super Mario 3D World (dressed as Mario and Princess Peach) or Hyrule Warriors (dressed as Link and Princess Zelda) for 30 to 60 minutes both out of costume and in costume, followed by a dyad interview. Preliminary findings indicate that players used more first-person plural and singular pronouns ("I" and "we") to refer to their characters while in costume, and reported consciously adjusting their verbal and body language to match their characters. These shifts suggest a stronger identification with the character and avatar.

Cross-gendered costuming also emerged as a notable theme. Male players assigned to female characters often anticipated and embraced the role, and players of all genders reported noticing female characters' strength and versatility more after playing them, along with frustration that major franchises rarely offer female counterparts to male protagonists as playable options. The authors note that a full analysis of language use, interaction, and reactions to costumes is forthcoming.