This research is an attempt to break free of all traditional cultural assumptions that come with video games, and to see the medium for what it really is. This entails going back to its first steps, as well as reaching deep into its core. In the body of this thesis, I discuss what games do best, namely simulation, and why this is the reason they do not always involve interesting or even acceptable representation, examining the relationship between the two.
This is necessary in order to establish if and how self-reflection and the affect on the player's identity are established. I chose to do this in the context of dress and fashion, as my background assumes a relative expertise in this field, and this is the interdisciplinary view I can best offer to the medium. But more importantly, I chose to examine the dress of the game characters because they are the imaginary, symbolic, and pragmatic connection of the player with the game world, and as such, any affect on the player will likely occur through them. As their dress, or rather their polygonal body, is there to do two things, the first being to establish the pragmatic simulational connection and interaction of the character with the game environment, the second being to visually position the character in the imaginary and symbolic context of the game, it is there that we may find how identity is affected. The avatar's clothing is the interface between the game world and the avatar, which in turn is the interface between the player and the game. Therefore, after I enquire whether video games affect the player's identity in any way, I then question how the player's identity is affected by what the avatar is wearing.
The main question this research poses is: How does avatarial dress affect the identity of the player while playing a video game?
The practical outcome of this research is a study in designing and producing a game that utilises dress as its exclusive gameplay factor. I call this artefact DressCode: The Fashion Game. In this game, play progresses through choice of dress and dialogue, and it combines a graphical user interface, text, and three-dimensional graphics. This prototype was created in order to establish how the identity of the player is affected through dress choices for the
avatar.