The Influence of Image and Text Comments, Valence, and Official Replies on Player Perception: A Psychological Perspective

Online reviews have become a crucial channel for consumers to obtain product information, especially in the gaming industry where players actively browse rating platforms, forums, and social media to gauge a game's reputation.

From a psychological standpoint, the dual‑process theory explains how players process comment information: the analytical system requires more cognitive resources and works slowly, while the experiential system processes information quickly and intuitively.

Image comments tend to trigger the experiential system because they are concrete and immediately understandable, making them more effective at influencing emotions for pleasure‑oriented games; text comments engage the analytical system, providing deeper, abstract information that is useful for utilitarian products.

Comment valence (positive, neutral, negative) follows an inverted‑U relationship: moderate reviews are trusted more than extreme ones, and players' personal regulatory orientation (promotion vs. prevention) determines whether positive or negative comments have greater impact.

Official developer replies also play a significant role: a timely, well‑crafted response signals good operational planning and can improve player trust, especially when the reply aligns with the game's persona and addresses the specific type of comment (emotional vs. attribute‑based).

Overall, understanding the form of comments, their valence, and the nature of official replies helps developers and researchers better interpret player sentiment and design more effective community engagement strategies.