2021 is a year for hunters to rejoice. The new Monster Hunter games "Monster Hunter Rise" and "Monster Hunter Story 2 ~Wings of Destruction~" have been launched on the switch platform one after another. Most veteran hunters are not worried that insufficient functions will affect hunting. experience, but I am more worried that insufficient functions will affect "face pinching" (referring to customizing the appearance of the game character at the beginning of the game).
Pinching faces is a solemn and sacred activity. Players are like children with new toys, sharing the data of face pinching in a showy tone. Whats more, in order to get a handsome and beautiful face, some people spend 3-4 hours studying face-squeezing data, and regard face-squeezing as more important than grooming their own faces.
What is the reason why players are addicted to face-making, and even spend a lot of money (about 10 yuan to buy game props) to have "plastic surgery"?
Proteus Effect
The Proteus effect is a good explanation of this phenomenon. Proteus was originally an early sea god in Greek mythology. He had the ability to change his appearance. People often use the word "Proteus" to mean "ready to change form and personality at any time." The Proteus effect means that when given different role characteristics, individuals tend to behave in a manner consistent with these characteristics.
A study published in 1988 by Mark Frank and Thomas Gilovich can help us better understand this phenomenon. They found thatwearing black uniforms caused athletes to behave more aggressively during games because the color black is associated with competition and aggression. Even among the general sample, those wearing black uniforms were more likely to want to participate in more aggressive events than those wearing white uniforms.
Individual wearAfter wearing certain clothes, its like having a certain identity. These suggestive clues inspire individuals to display corresponding behavioral patterns. Then, repeated behavior patterns in specific situations further reinforce the phenomenon. Therefore, hunters can only hunt with peace of mind after choosing gorgeous clothing and weapons.
Yourself in the game - avatar
Avatar is an important concept in understanding the Proteus effect. It can be understood as the players self in the game. In "Monster Hunter World", avatar is called " Blue Star". 
In the movie "Avatar", the human body on Pandora is called "avatar", which represents the incarnation of human beings on Pandora | "Avatar"
In social life, individuals associate different physical characteristics with corresponding stereotypes. For example, we often think that people with thick eyebrows and big eyes are upright, while people with narrow eyes are cunning and cunning. Stylish hairstyles and bright clothes can easily be associated with sociability and a lively and cheerful personality; while dark clothes can easily be associated with a serious and cold personality.
These stereotypes are stored in our memory. Once the avatar has these characteristics, the stereotypes will be activated and naturally affect our cognition, behavior, etc. 
Use cognitive theory to understand the Proteus effect in Monster Hunt |
We regard the incarnation as equal to ourselves, project our good expectations for ourselves onto the incarnation, and imply that we must show the excellent qualities that match these good expectations. Beautiful avatar = good hunting skills in avatar = I am excellent. Therefore, players go to great lengths to customize their avatars in order to meet their expectations. 
How to define the beauty of the incarnation? It seems that many players have similar stereotypes about beauty, and the avatar features of most male players are quite similar. The most common facial feature is long white hair. White hair, the strongest on the surface! |
Proteus,
Reality will also affect interpersonal interaction
In games, players often use avatars to increaseown influence in interpersonal communication. Avatars can not only affect others' perceptions of themselves,it can also affect players' own social performance.
In 2007, research by Nick Yee and Jeremy N. Bailenson of Stanford University found that in a virtual environment, the attractiveness of avatars can improve subjects’ social confidence . For example, when subjects choose a more beautiful avatar, they will behave more friendly and enthusiastic in social behaviors.
Not only that, the Proteus effect still exists in the real environment, the influence of avatar will extend to real interpersonal activities. The degree of extension is related to the length of time an individual is immersed in the incarnated world. For monster hunting players, 1,000 hours of game time is simply a small case.
Therefore, there is reason to believe that those players who enthusiastically respond to other players' calls for help will generally have better-looking avatars and play for a longer period of time. They may also be warm-hearted people in real life. 
Game time is a factor influencing the persistence of the Proteus Effect |
Uh... As for those players who are dedicated to making weird faces, I won't go there Guessing their thoughts (manual dog head)
Final blessings to all hunter players:
May the blue star that guides the way shine for you.
