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An avatar (abbreviations include av ,and avi and "avvie") is a computer user's representation of himself or herself, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games,[1] a two-dimensional icon (picture) used on Internet forums and other communities,[2][3] or a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. An, or message board, is a Bulletin board system in the form of a discussion site In computer gaming, a MUD ( Multi-User Dungeon, Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of It is an “object” representing the embodiment of the user. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user. Users in a Computing context refers to one who uses a computer system [4]

Contents

Origin

In English, the word has come to mean "an embodiment, a bodily manifestation of the Divine. " However, the Sanskrit word Avatara means "the descent of God" or simply "incarnation. " The term is used primarily in Hindu texts. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. For example, Krishna is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu the Preserver, whom many Hindus worship as God. Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific The Dasavatara are ten particular "great" incarnations of Vishnu. Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific

Computer games

As used for a computer representation of a user, the term dates at least as far back as 1985, when it was used as the name for the player character in the Ultima series of computer games. The Ultima games started out in 1981, but it was in Ultima IV (1985), that the term "Avatar" was introduced. Ultima IV Quest of the Avatar, first released in 1985 ( USCO # PA-317-504 for the Apple II, is the fourth in the series of Ultima To become the "Avatar" was the goal of Ultima IV. The later games assumed that you were the Avatar and "Avatar" was the player's visual on-screen in-game persona. The on-screen representation could be customized in appearance. Later, the term "avatar" was used by the designers of the pen and paper role-playing game Shadowrun (1989), as well as in the online role-playing game Habitat (1987). Paper and pencil games are Games that can be played solely with Paper and Pencil. Shadowrun is a pen-and-paper Role-playing game set in an imaginary future where huge corporations control the lives of their employees and the return of magic has Lucasfilm's Habitat was an early and technologically influential online role-playing game developed by Lucasfilm Games and made available as a Beta test [5]

Neal Stephenson

The use of Avatar to mean online virtual bodies was popularised by Neal Stephenson in his cyberpunk novel Snow Crash (1992). Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known primarily for his Science fiction works in the Postcyberpunk genre Cyberpunk is a Science fiction genre noted for its focus on " High tech and low life. Snow Crash is Neal Stephenson 's third Novel, published in 1992 [6] In Snow Crash, the term Avatar was used to describe the virtual simulation of the human form in the Metaverse, a virtual-reality version of the Internet. The Metaverse is a Virtual world, described in Neal Stephenson 's 1992 Science fiction novel Snow Crash, where humans as avatars The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks Social status within the Metaverse was often based on the quality of a user's avatar, as a highly detailed avatar showed that the user was a skilled hacker and programmer while the less talented would buy off-the-shelf models in the same manner a beginner would today. In Sociology or Anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in Society (one's Social position) A programmer is someone who writes Computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist Stephenson wrote in the "Acknowledgments" to Snow Crash:

The idea of a 'virtual reality' such as the Metaverse is by now widespread in the computer-graphics community and is being used in a number of different ways. The particular vision of the Metaverse as expressed in this novel originated from idle discussion between me and Jaime (Captain Bandwidth)Taffe. . . The words 'avatar' (in the sense used here) and 'Metaverse' are my inventions, which I came up with when I decided that existing words (such as 'virtual reality') were simply too awkward to use. . . after the first publication of 'Snow Crash' I learned that the term 'avatar' has actually been in use for a number of years as part of a virtual reality system called 'Habitat'. . . in addition to avatars, Habitat includes many of the basic features of the Metaverse as described in this book,[7]

On Internet forums

Example of an avatar as used on Internet forums. Notable features are the small (100x100px) size, text and a border.
Example of an avatar as used on Internet forums. An, or message board, is a Bulletin board system in the form of a discussion site Notable features are the small (100x100px) size, text and a border.

Despite the widespread use of avatars, it is unknown which Internet forums were the first to use them; the earliest forums did not include avatars as a default feature, and they were included in unofficial "hacks" before eventually being made standard. An, or message board, is a Bulletin board system in the form of a discussion site Avatars on Internet forums serve the purpose of representing users and their actions, personalizing their contributions to the forum, and may represent different parts of their persona, beliefs, interests or social status in the forum. A persona, in the word's everyday usage is a social Role or a character played by an Actor.

The traditional avatar system used on most Internet forums is a small (96x96 to 100x100 pixels, for example) square-shaped area close to the user's forum post, where the avatar is placed. In Digital imaging, a pixel ( pict ure el ement is the smallest piece of information in an image Some forums allow the user to upload an avatar image that may have been designed by the user or acquired from elsewhere. To download is to receive data from a remote or central system such as a Webserver, FTP server, mail server or other similar systems Other forums allow the user to select an avatar from a preset list or use an auto-discovery algorithm to extract one from the user's homepage.

Animated avatar.
Animated avatar.

Some avatars are animated, consisting of a sequence of multiple images played repeatedly (see image to the left). The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames In Mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects (or events In such animated avatars, the number of images as well as the time in which they are replayed vary considerably. [8]

Other avatar systems exist, such as on Gaia Online or Meez, where a pixelized representation of a person or creature is used, which can then be customized to the user's wishes. Gaia Online is an English-language, Anime -themed social networking and forums -based Website. Meez is a website that allows users to create their own animated avatars or "3D I

Forum avatars have been tested as a means of advertising. [9]

In Internet chat

Flat GIF based avatars were introduced by such programs as Virtual Places as early as 1994 along VOIP capabilities which were later abandoned for lack of bandwidth. Virtual Places Chat is software that uses the paradigm that any Web page on the Internet is a Chat room – a Virtual Place – if one or more people are

In 1995, KeepTalking, a product of UNET2 Corporation, was one of the first companies to implement an avatar system into their web chat software.

In 1995, Cybertown first introduced 3D (three dimensional) avatars to internet chat.

In 1996 Microsoft Comic Chat, an IRC client that used cartoon avatars for chatting, was released. Microsoft Comic Chat (later Microsoft Chat but not to be confused with Windows Chat or WinChat) is a graphical IRC client created by Microsoft

In instant-messaging programs

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was the first popular instant-messaging program to use avatars, picking up on the idea from PC games. Users of AIM commonly refer to avatars as buddy icons. Today, many other popular instant-messaging services support the use of avatars, including Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and services using the XMPP (Jabber) protocol such as Google Talk, LJ Talk, and Gizmo Project. Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger Yahoo! Messenger is an Advertisement -supported Instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!. Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol ( XMPP) is an open XML -inspired protocol originally aimed at near-real-time extensible Instant messaging Google Talk ( GTalk) is a Windows and web-based application for voice over internet protocol (VOIP and Instant messaging, offered by Google. LiveJournal (often abbreviated LJ) is a Virtual community where Internet users can keep a Blog, Journal or Diary. Gizmo5 (formerly known as Gizmo Project) is the name of a Peer-to-peer VoIP network and of a proprietary Freeware

Instant messaging avatars are usually very small. AIM icons are 48x48 pixels, although many icons can be found online that typically measure anywhere from 50x50 pixels to 100x100 pixels in size. A wide variety of these imaged avatars can be found on web sites and popular eGroups such as Yahoo! Groups. Yahoo! Groups operate as both electronic mailing lists and Internet forums Group messages can be posted and read by E-mail or on the Group homepage like a web

The latest use of avatars in instant messaging is dominated by dynamic avatars. The user chooses an avatar that represents him while chatting and, through the use of text to speech technology, enables the avatar to talk the text being used at the chat window. Another form of use for this kind of avatar is for video chats/calls. Some services, such as Skype (through some external plugins) allow users to use talking avatars during video calls, replacing the image from the user's camera with an animated, talking avatar. [10][11]

AIM buddy icons have been used as an experimental form of viral marketing by some advertising firms. Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to Marketing techniques that use pre-existing Social networks to produce increases in Brand awareness [12]

In blogs

Although blog comment pages can sometimes act like Internet forums, there is no single way to provide avatar support on blogs. One solution is to link to an image file controlled by the user. Another solution is to use a service like Gravatar and resolve the user avatar from his/her mail address.

In artificial intelligence

Avatars are also used by organisations as a way of interacting with consumers. Some of these avatars are commonly known as "bots" and are powered by Natural Language Processing. Natural language processing ( NLP) is a subfield of Artificial intelligence and Computational linguistics. Famous examples include Ikea's Anna, an avatar designed to guide you around the Ikea website. IKEA is a privately-held international home products retailer that sells flat pack Furniture, accessories bathrooms and kitchens at retail stores around the world

Such Avatars can also be powered by a Digital conversation which provides a little more structure than those using NLP, offering the user options and clearly defined paths to an outcome. A Digital Conversation is a scripted dialogue (in other words it is dialogue written by a human just like the script of a movie which takes place between a person and a computer via any This kind of Avatar is known as a Structured Language Processing or SLP Avatar.

Both types of Avatar provide a cost effective and efficient way of engaging with consumers.

In games

Avatars in video games are essentially the player's physical representation in the game world. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. In most games, the player's representation is fixed, however increasingly games offer a basic character model, or template, and then allow customization of the physical features as the player sees fit. For example, Carl Johnson, the avatar from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, can be dressed in a wide range of clothing, can be given tattoos and haircuts, and can even body build or become obese depending upon player actions. Carl "CJ" Johnson is a Fictional character in the Grand Theft Auto Video game series serving as the Protagonist, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is a sandbox-style action-adventure computer and Video game developed by Rockstar North A tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of Skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons Haircut redirects here For the financial term see Haircut (finance. Bodybuilding is the process of maximizing Muscle hypertrophy. Obesity is a condition in which excess Body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected [13]

Aside from an avatar's physical appearance, its dialogue, particularly in cut scenes, may also reveal something of its character. A cut scene is a sequence in a Video game over which the player has little or no control often breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot present A good example is the crude, action hero stereotype, Duke Nukem. Action movies are a Film genre where action sequences such as fights, Shootouts Stunts Car chases or explosions either take precedence A stereotype (from Greek: stereo + týpos = "solid impression" is a generalized perception of first impressions behaviors presumed by a group Duke Nukem is an action hero created by computer game developers Todd Replogle, George Broussard, Allen Blum and Scott Miller of [14] Other avatars, such as Gordon Freeman from Half-Life, who never speaks at all, reveal very little of themselves (in fact the original game never showed the player what he looked like). Dr Gordon Freeman is the silent Protagonist of the ''Half-Life'' series of First-person shooter Video games developed by Valve Software

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are the source of the most varied and sophisticated avatars. A massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) is a genre of Computer role-playing games (CRPGs in which a large number of players interact with Customization levels differ between games; For example in EVE Online, players construct a wholly customized portrait, using a software that allows for several changes to facial structure as well as preset hairstyles, skin tones, etc. [15]. However, these portraits appear only in in-game chats and static information view of other players. Usually, all players appear in gigantic spacecraft that give no view of their pilot, unlike in most other RPGs.

Alternatively, City of Heroes offers one of the most detailed and comprehensive in-game avatar creation processes, allowing players to construct anything from traditional superheroes to aliens, medieval knights, monsters, robots and many more. City of Heroes (CoH is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the Superhero Comic book Genre, developed by

Lately, efforts are being made to try to provide the functionality of Universal Avatars or Global Avatars. This means that as much of the general characteristics of an avatar as possible can be shared between virtual worlds. Your appearance, sex, age,. . . from your avatar in Second Life could then be used in EVE Online for example. If you change your hair colour in EVE Online, it would also change in Second Life. The main goal would be to create a virtual representation of yourself that can travel from one world to another. [16]

In non-gaming universes

Avatars in non-gaming universes are used as two-dimensional or three-dimensional human or fantastic representations of a person's self. In mathematics the dimension of a Space is roughly defined as the minimum number of Coordinates needed to specify every point within it Fantastic is a literary term that describes a quality of other literary genres and in some cases is used as a genre in and of itself although in this case it is often conflated with the Representations is an interdisciplinary journal in the humanities and social sciences published by the University of California Press, in Berkeley California Such representations can explore the virtual universe they are in using their avatar, add to it, or conduct conversations with other users, and can be customized by the user. Usually, the purpose and appeal of such universes is to provide a large enhancement to common online conversation capabilities, and to allow the user to peacefully develop a portion of a non-gaming universe without being forced to strive towards a pre-defined goal. [17]

In non-gaming universes, the criteria avatars have to fulfill in order to become useful can depend to a great extent on the age of potential users. Research suggests that younger users of virtual communities put great emphasis on fun and entertainment aspects of avatars and their practical functionalities (such as whispering). A virtual community, e-community or online community is a group of people that primarily interact via communication media such as Newsletters They are also interested in the simple ease of use of avatars, and their ability to retain the user’s anonymity. Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ανωνυμία, meaning "without a Name " or "namelessness" Meanwhile, older users pay great importance to an avatar’s ability to reflect their own appearance, identity and personality. An online identity is a online Social identity that Internet users establish in Online communities and Websites. Most older users also want to be able to use an avatar’s expressive functionalities (such as showing emotions), and are prepared to learn new ways of navigation to do it. Social scientists at Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab[18] examine the implications, possibilities and transformed social interaction that occur when people interact via avatars. Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University or simply Stanford, is a private Research university located in Overview Virtual reality allows one to break normal rules of physical interaction because users do not actually have to share the same "reality"

Avatar-based non-gaming universes are usually populated by age groups whose requirements concerning avatars are fulfilled. For example, most users of Habbo Hotel, Ty Girlz and Webkinz are aged 10 to 15 years, while users of Gaia Online are 13 to 18. Habbo, formerly Habbo Hotel, is a Social networking Website owned and operated by Sulake Corporation. Ty Girlz, also known as TyGirlz and T-Y Girlz, are girl dolls manufactured by Ty Inc Kinds of Webkinz See also List of Webkinz stuffed animals There are many types of Webkinz Gaia Online is an English-language, Anime -themed social networking and forums -based Website. The reason may well be the properties and functionalities of the avatars of these virtual communities. In contrast, There (internet service) and Kaneva Game Platform target users aged 22 to 49 and their avatars allow for a wide range of social interactions, including the expression of emotions: laughing, waving, blowing kisses and rude gestures. There is a 3D online Virtual world created by Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella The Kaneva Game Platform ( KGP) is a game development solution geared towards end-to-end MMO games of the First-person shooter and RPG The Palace (computer program), most of whose users seem to be older, allows users to use their own images as avatars. The Palace is a software program used to access graphical Chat rooms called palaces in which users may interact with one another using graphical avatars overlaid This turns the avatar into a direct reflection of users' real-life appearance, as desired by older users.

Some researchers have suggested that customizable avatars in non-gaming worlds tend to be biased towards lighter skin colors and against darker skin colors, especially in those of the male gender. [19] These observations are less true of Second Life, where avatars range from lifelike humans to more fanciful robots, animals, and mythical creatures, with avatars created by players. Second Life ( abbreviated as SL) and its sister site Teen Second Life are Internet-based 3D Virtual The main Second Life grid is open only to adults, and participation is driven by social, artistic and commercial motivations. [20][21]

References

  1. ^ Lessig, Lawrence. Lawrence Lessig (born June 3 1961) is an American academic and political activist Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Basic Books, 2000. ISBN 0-465-03913-8
  2. ^ Fink, Jeri. Cyberseduction: Reality in the Age of Psychotechnology. Prometheus Books, 1999. ISBN 1-57392-743-0
  3. ^ Blackwood, Kevin. Casino Gambling For Dummies. For Dummies, 2006. p. 284. ISBN 0-471-75286-X
  4. ^ Jordan, Tim. Cyberpower: The Culture and Politics of Cyberspace and the Internet. Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0-415-17078-8
  5. ^ Morabito, Margaret. "Enter the Online World of LucasFilm. " Run Aug. 1986: 24-28
  6. ^ A Beginner's Web Glossary
  7. ^ Stephenson, Neal. Snow Crash. New York: Bantam, 2003 (reissue). pp. 469-70.
  8. ^ Designing Isometric Avatars
  9. ^ Marketing Through Avatars
  10. ^ Skype Extras
  11. ^ Skype Extras
  12. ^ Coldplay's US Tour: The Results Are In
  13. ^ IGN: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  14. ^ Duke Nukem 3D
  15. ^ Designing Isometric Avatars
  16. ^ BBC NEWS | Technology | Universal avatars bestride worlds
  17. ^ Damer, Bruce. Avatars: Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet. Peachpit Press, 1997. ISBN 0-201-68840-9
  18. ^ VHIL: Virtual Human Interaction Lab - Stanford University
  19. ^ Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. Routledge, 2002. ISBN 0-415-93836-8
  20. ^ http://www.realtimearts.net/article/80/8662 Dance Film: Spiritual Odyssey, RealTime 80, August-September 2007.
  21. ^ http://www.slnn.com/article/thursdays-fictions/ Experience the next life at Thursday's Fictions, Second Life News Network.

Academic Research/Work on Avatars

Wood, Natalie T, Michael R. Solomon and Basil G. Englis (2005) “Personalization of Online Avatars: Is the Messenger as Important as the Message?” International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2 (1/2), 143-161.

See also

Active Worlds (AW is a 3D Virtual reality platform The "Active Worlds Browser" runs on Windows. Entropia Universe is a massively multiplayer online virtual universe designed by Swedish software company MindArk, based in Gothenburg Forterra Systems Inc is a 3D graphics software company headquartered in San Mateo California that produces private and secure MMO virtual worlds Gaia Online is an English-language, Anime -themed social networking and forums -based Website. Gravatar (an abbreviation for globally recognized avatar) is a concept for globally-unique avatars which was invented by Tom Werner A hackergotchi is a picture of a writer used as an avatar to identify the author of a given RSS feed in blog aggregators Origin IMVU is a graphical Instant messaging client with over 20 million registered users and over 600000 active monthly users as of June 6th 2008 Kaneva Inc is a privately owned Atlanta-based company founded in 2004 by Christopher Klaus and Greg Frame Meez is a website that allows users to create their own animated avatars or "3D I A Mii (ˈmiː me) is a digital avatar created by Nintendo for the Wii 's Mii Channel. In the context of Second Life, the term Resident is applied A signature block (often abbreviated as signature, sig block, sig file,. Simulated reality is the proposition that Reality could be simulated—perhaps by Computer simulation —to a degree indistinguishable from "true" Reality SitePal is a speaking avatar platform for small and medium sized businesses developed by Oddcast There is a 3D online Virtual world created by Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella A virtual artifact ( VA) is an immaterial object that exists in the human Mind or in a digital environment for example the Internet, Intranet A Virtual Model, in the general sense is a model of a physical object be it a person a room a house a city or a planet Vismon was the Bell Labs system which displayed authors' faces on one of their internal E-mail systems A WeeMee is an animated avatar for Skype (since December 2005 Windows Live Messenger, and AOL Instant Messenger. An X-Face is a small Bitmap (48 × 48 pixels black and white image which is added to a Usenet posting or e-mail message typically showing a picture of the author's Yahoo! Avatars is a public Yahoo! Inc service to display personalized character images called " avatars. Zwinkies are customizable social avatars that are part of the MyWeb Searchbar on computers running Windows.
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