Kawaii Game Vocalics: A Preliminary Model

TL;DR

This paper develops a preliminary model of kawaii vocalics in game characters, based on perceptions of Japanese game voices, highlighting gender and age nuances, and suggesting directions for future research.

Contribution

It introduces the first model of kawaii vocalics in game characters, mapping voice perceptions to gender and age features through empirical study.

Findings

Nuanced gender and age perceptions in kawaii voices

Replication of results with computer-generated voices

Initial model of kawaii vocalics proposed

Abstract

Kawaii is the Japanese concept of cute++, a global export with local characteristics. Recent work has explored kawaii as a feature of user experience (UX) with social robots, virtual characters, and voice assistants, i.e., kawaii vocalics. Games have a long history of incorporating characters that use voice as a means of expressing kawaii. Nevertheless, no work to date has evaluated kawaii game voices or mapped out a model of kawaii game vocalics. In this work, we explored whether and how a model of kawaii vocalics maps onto game character voices. We conducted an online perceptions study (N=157) using 18 voices from kawaii characters in Japanese games. We replicated the results for computer voice and discovered nuanced relationships between gender and age, especially youthfulness, agelessness, gender ambiguity, and gender neutrality. We provide our initial model and advocate for future work on character visuals and within play contexts.