Introduction to avatars and player characters in video games

1. AVATARS & PLAYER CHARACTERS
An Introduction

2. GAMES &
IMAGINARY
BEINGS
Avatars, characters, and NPCs

3. CHARACTERS VS. AVATARS
➤ “character is a function of an unfolding
narrative, whereas an avatar is a virtual
representation of the individual
interacting with the game” (Harrison
Gish 40).
➤ Avatar definition:
➤ Avatars are “discernible, modifiable
figures that players control” (36);
avatars denote any figure the player
controls
➤ “Avatars are surrogates for players
in a virtual world, which reflect the
players back to themselves, creating
a feedback loop that declares
players’ presence within and
influence on the game” (Gish 37)

4. AFFORDANCES OF AVATARS
➤ “dynamic incorporation of the
player within the game world”
(Gish 36)
➤ Diverse forms of agency
➤ Figurative and figural nexus
between various components
and issues in games
➤ Rule-bound system; avatars
place constraints on play
➤ Players play with and
through different avatars

5. HISTORY/MEANING OF “AVATAR”
➤ Derives from Sanskrit; earthly projection of a deity in
Hinduism
➤ Term entered pop culture through Neal Stephenson’s
cyberpunk epic Snow Crash (1992)

6. TRON (1982) - ENTER THE GAME GRID
Video Clip
Enter the Game Grid

7. MAZE WAR (1973-1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoEpgfTtUYg&list=WL&index=1

8. EVOLUTION OF THE AVATAR

9. TWO
APPROACHES
TO AVATARS
Feelings and Emotions (Isbister)
Agencies and Effects (Gish)

10. AVATARS: EMOTION & FEELINGS (KATHERINE ISBISTER)
➤ How do avatars connect to/with players?
➤ What do they offer players emotionally and psychologically?
➤ Avatars tether the player at various levels
➤ Physical/kinesthetic - provide prosthetic between game
world and player
➤ Emotional - create different emotional connections
➤ Cognitive - provide vehicle for solving problems
➤ Social - serve as proxy for different relationships
➤ Fantasy - a form of wish fulfillment

11. AVATARS: AGENCIES AND EFFECTS (HARRISON GISH)
➤ How do avatars create forms of interaction and agency?
➤ In what areas can avatars be modified and understood?
➤ Aesthetics – alter how they appear on screen
➤ Aesthetic effects: character customization and
modification
➤ Functionality – alter how the player interacts with game world
➤ Functional effects: change how players interact with
abilities; variable skills, possibilities to level up, etc.
➤ Narrative – alter how narrative unfolds
➤ Narrative effects: can be used to change perspective or
order of the narrative

12. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM GTA 5 AVATARS?

13. NPC (NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS)
➤ What kinds of NPCs are there in games today?
➤ What is the evolution of NPCs?
➤ What are the functionalities of NPCs?
➤ What makes for a successful NPC?

14. SOURCES
➤ Harrison Gish, “Grand Theft Auto V: Avatars,” How to Play Video
Games, ed. Matthew Thomas Payne and Nine B. Huntemann
➤ Katherine Isbister, “Character,” Debugging Game History: A
Critical Lexicon, ed. Henry Lowood and Raiford Guins