Performative Avatars

https://avachara.com/avatar/snapshot.php

Using Avachara, I am able to control a lot of things, including the shape and color of the face, eyes, nose, eyebrows, etc. However, I am unable to control the color of the mouth. I am also unable to choose two colors for the hair. The option for clothes is also limited. The body is standardized. There is no option for makeups and there is the limited option of accessory. This is a good cartoonish representation of me, however, it lacks a lot of details including the textures and shape of the body.

2. MakeHuman

MakeHuman can be used to generate 3d avatars with a focus on the racial, skin texture, the shape of the body. I am able to make the body shape as close as I can to my own body. However, there is limited control over the facials, including the shapes of the eyes, nose, and mouth. They are only differentiated by racial, the age. Therefore, they are predetermined by the software base on the huge data. Also, there are limited options for the hairstyle, hair color, as well as the clothes.

3. Difference

MakeHuman can generate avatars that seem to be much more realistic while Avachara generates in the cartoonish style. They focus on the changes in different things. The Avachara has a lot of options in changing the five senses, the hairstyle. It focuses mainly on the difference on the head. However, MakeHuman is mainly focused on the shape of the body. It realistic represent body height, weight. The Avachara can be used to generate the avatars for the online, cartoon style, small games while MakeHuman can be used to generate characters for 3d, realistic games.

Discussion Questions

1. When in the future, humans are able to experience more feelings (physical and mental) as avatars in the games, will humans need to be taking responsibility for the action of avatars in the games? Will avatars and humans become more into one integral?

2. Now we all have social media which project our online image. Will people feel a lot of difference of the person they know offline and the avatars the person created for themselves? Are people starting to make their observations of a person based more on their social avatars?