Avatars as Motivational Factor in Simulation Games

User motivation and engagement while playing serious games remains challenging. Advances location-based technology has brought new opportunities for game-based, context-regulated experiences. Much effort has been made to model and manage the user context data, devices, and pervasive spaces, in order to enhance user experience. Research indicates that avatars have potential beyond representing the player on screen and interacting with the digital world. The interaction between an avatar and a player contributes to higher user engagement and a more pervasive experience. This article will look at how Simulation Games used for educational purposes can profit from avatars. The article is outlined as followed: it first analyses the potential avatars have on increasing player motivation and game enjoyment as well as on the player behaviour within different game genres. In a second step, we analyse and identify different types of simulation games, which mostly do not integrate an avatar. Based upon the outcome of the first part, we transfer the gained knowledge about avatars in avatar-focused games to simulation-based games with an educational focus on engineering, in order to increase player engagement towards learning games. Final draft