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Does your character's actions say something about your personality?
Scientists believe the results of playing Fallout 3 yields similar results to a personality quiz. 36 participants not familiar with Fallout 3 tried out the introductory stages of the game, and showed similar data found in a personality test.
PhD student Giel van Lankveld believed there was a connection with in-game experiences and personality tests since 2011. Lankveld compared in-game actions performed by players in Neverwinter Nights with data found in personality tests lined up prominently with each other. The results, when repeated, were consistent among gamers and non-gamers alike.
Lankveld performed a similar test with new participants in Fallout 3. Each participant were required to play through the introduction of the game, and then take a NEO-FFI (Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Five Factor Inventory) personality test. The test checks for five personality traits with each person: Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism.
The results from the data from Fallout 3 and NEO-FFI weren't so prominent, but they still yielded some significance. Players with a high Extraversion chose to be more friendly with Non-Playable Characters. High agreeableness players followed the instructions in the game rigidly and spoke only to authority figures.
Lankveld's study did acknowledge that some problems in a game skewed results. Video games like Fallout 3 rely a lot on random values like chance of persuasion or stealing objects, so the results from a future test might not be the same as this one.
But in theory, this study shows that our fantasy character says a lot of who we are. In my case I can definitely see myself wanting to explore every location in Torchlight II or La-Mulana. The extraversion part might be difficult with games that have morale choices, like in the Fable games. I consider myself a nice guy, but I do enjoy being a tyrant that hurls fireballs around towns in Fable: The Lost Chapters.
[Source: AAI]