Building Connections Through Micro-Expressions and Body Motion Has an Impact in XR Social Environments: Case Studies of Star Citizen and VRChat

Hanyang Tao

doi:10.54254/2755-2721/2025.LD30074

Applied and Computational EngineeringOpen access

Building Connections Through Micro-Expressions and Body Motion Has an Impact in XR Social Environments: Case Studies of Star Citizen and VRChat

Research Article

Open Access

Building Connections Through Micro-Expressions and Body Motion Has an Impact in XR Social Environments: Case Studies of Star Citizen and VRChat

Hanyang Tao ^1*

¹ Media and Information, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, United States

^*Corresponding author: taohanya@msu.edu

Published on 26 November 2025

ACE Vol.210

ISSN (Print): 2755-273X

ISSN (Online): 2755-2721

ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-567-7

ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-568-4

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Abstract

The paper examines complex of Micro-expressions and Body Movement in XR social environments. It can help people find a balance between avatar precision and expression. Players, especially in Extended Reality (XR) games, may form more empathy connections but also face more conflicts due to their in-game actions. Those in -game actions often require intense social interaction. Therefore, this study will choose Star citizen and VRchat as the Example of the role play game. It focuses on facial and motion capture systems which can detect how players deal with emotional connection, and potential misunderstandings. This research addresses following key questions: In XR environment, whether lacking expressive cues weakens emotional bonds, if Player avatars with richer emotional detail in presence, whether there is a threshold for empathy, and if overly subtle expressions can cause confusion or conflict. With some role play game will Imitate the complex environment of real-world social interactions, this study will add uncertain interactions and multiple virtual identities. At the same time, trust-weighted algorithms and multi-modal expression mapping are very important method to capture realistic player feedback. The paper tells us that expressive avatars can improve empathy and immersion. However, there is a need to balance precision. Too many facial and motion details may cause players to feel confused. Therefore, in the XR environment, the technology designed to connect may also cause division and misunderstandings. The emotional connection depends not only on technology capturing micro expression and motion, but also on the balance between avatar precision and expression.

Keywords:

Extended Reality, Games, Human Computer Interaction

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References

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References

[1]. Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1975). Unmasking the face: A guide to recognizing emotions from facial clues. Prentice-Hall.

[6]. Li, P. F., & Wang, X. (2024). Influence of avatar identification on the attraction of virtual spaces. JMIR Formative Research, 8, e56704. https: //doi.org/10.2196/56704

[7]. Rizzolatti, G., & Craighero, L. (2004). The mirror-neuron system. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27, 169–192. https: //doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144230

[8]. Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1993). Emotional contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2(3), 96–100. https: //doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep10770953

[10]. Picard, R. W. (1997). Affective computing. MIT Press.

Cite this article

Tao,H. (2025). Building Connections Through Micro-Expressions and Body Motion Has an Impact in XR Social Environments: Case Studies of Star Citizen and VRChat. Applied and Computational Engineering,210,23-27.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of CONF-MLA 2025 Symposium: Intelligent Systems and Automation: AI Models, IoT, and Robotic Algorithms

ISBN: 978-1-80590-567-7(Print) / 978-1-80590-568-4(Online)

Editor: Hisham AbouGrad

Conference website: https://www.confmla.org/london.html

Conference date: 12 November 2025

Series: Applied and Computational Engineering

Volume number: Vol.210

ISSN: 2755-2721(Print) / 2755-273X(Online)

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