Customization of avatars

Avatar customization is the act of adjusting qualities of an avatar to represent a user, often used in video games and instant messaging.

History

Early examples of highly customizable avatars include the various multi-user systems, including MUDs^[1] and MUCKs, in which only lines of text represent a virtual identity in a virtual, text-based world. It is from these systems that graphical representations of online identity emerged. Examples include the graphical avatars on forums as well as the virtual dress-up dolls found on sites such as Gaia Online or Neopets. Video games have also changed greatly in how they represent the player in an online setting, starting with Stormfront Studios' Neverwinter Nights, the first graphical MMORPG (massively multi-player online role playing game). Later, games such as Ultima Online and Everquest diversified choices, allowing a truly customized appearance with clothing, race, class, and physical details all chosen by the player. Since then, options have increased dramatically. One example is the entirely custom experience found in Second Life', where a player may create nearly anything that can be imagined.

Usage in social media

The highly customizable avatar is a staple of online social interaction as a means of presenting a personal identity. Most forums use a small JPEG (joint photographics experts group) file, portable network graphics (PNG) file, or a GIF (graphics interchange format) file to display a small image next to the posts made by the user. Other forums have highly customizable avatars, such as those found on Gaia Online, where users can piece together thousands of virtual items to dress up their avatars in various fashions.^[2] Gaia Online's economy is based upon distribution of “special” items (for real-world money), which the company also uses to advertise their sponsors.

This is somewhat like IMVU messenger, a hybrid instant messenger program and video game in which users may customize such things as their avatar and their living space. While visually appearing much like Second Life or other video games, IMVU is at its core a messaging program and has more in common with AOL Messenger than it does with fiction-focused video games. IMVU, much like Gaia Online, runs on an economy of virtual items. Users may earn “credits” via sponsored surveys or complete certain tasks to purchase new items and upgrades to better customize their appearance.^[3]

In a similar vein, Linden Lab's Second Life creates a virtual world in which not only avatars, but homes, decorations, buildings and even land are for sale.^[4] Everything about Second Life is customizable, and its rapidly growing economy is based around user creations. Unlike users with experience in IMVU or Gaia Online, a user with experience in modeling or animating is able to sell his virtual products for real-world dollars and numerous people run real-world businesses based in the virtual world of Second Life.

Role-playing games

The term "avatar" is often synonymous with a role-playing game (RPG) and is thought to have gained a widespread usage due to the Ultima series of role-playing games referring to the player's character as an avatar. Modern RPGs have continued to use this model of customizable characters.

Social status

The appearance of an avatar often inadvertently affects how the user is perceived by other players. Stronger and more powerful items are usually designed to appear considerably better than common items, and in this way, an experienced player can be spotted in a group of new characters even before in-game stats are viewed.^[1]

In social role-playing games such as Furcadia or the social server phenomenon of MMORPGs found on games such as Neverwinter Nights, a custom avatar often indicates a player's hard work or social connections within the game world. This unique, crafted appearance is often considered a signal of a more invested player.

Self-expression

Often avatars are used to express ideals and desires that users are hesitant to show outside of virtual space. Sherry Turkle described, for instance, a case of a middle aged man who played an aggressive and confrontational female character in his online communities, displaying many personality traits that he felt too embarrassed to let show in the offline world.^[5]

Self-idealization

Many avatars represent an ideal vision of oneself. However, research by Nick Yee of the Daedelus project has shown that this is less common than what many assume, and differs heavily based upon gender.^[6] Female players seem to have a drastically higher desire to play “perfect” characters who are graceful, lean, athletic and beautiful while the majority of male players prefer to play characters of average attractiveness. Males are much more likely than females to play old, ugly or unpleasant characters while females have a higher desire to play cute and lithe characters. Most players will make an avatar that is (proportionately) equal to their height or slightly taller.^[6]

Therapy

Sherry Turkle has observed that many players seek an emotional connection that they are unable to establish in the real world. She described a case in which a man with a serious heart condition that prevented him from socializing via normal means found acceptance, friendship and relationship through his online identity.^[5] Others have pointed out similar findings in relation to those with mental disorders that make social interaction difficult, such as those with autism or similar mental difficulties.^[7]

References