Playing for Love in a Romantic Video Game: Avatar Identification, Parasocial Relationships, and Chinese Women's Romantic Beliefs

Previous studies have identified relationships between romantic media consumption and users' romantic beliefs, but romantic video games (RVGs; i.e., games in which players attempt to foster a romantic relationship with a chosen game character, also called dating games or dating simulators) remain understudied. Using a cultivation framework, we conducted an online survey of female Chinese players to determine their consumption of the RVG genre, identification with their avatars, and parasocial relationships with the romantic targets they pursue in the game, as well as their beliefs about romantic relationships. Although the amount of time spent playing RVGs did not directly predict idealized beliefs about romantic relationships, the hypothesized mediation model revealed that it indirectly predicted romantic beliefs through identification with avatars and parasocial relationships with video game characters. We discuss the implications for studying romantic media, dating simulations, interactive narratives, and other video game genres.