The avatar represents the player’s character in a game. It is who they play or who they choose to play. In single player games, the avatar is the protagonist of the game, whether it be a character that the developers made or one that you created yourself. In multiplayer online games, the avatar is one that you choose from a variety of avatars or in MMORPGs, one that you made yourself to represent you. When it comes to character creation, most games lack the diverse choices seen in real life. One big issue is the lack in variety of body types for characters in MMORPGs. More often than not, body types in some of these games range from lean to muscular for males and petite to voluptuous for females and as a result, limits players from creating a character exactly to their visions. Not only does this cause many characters to look very similar in body type to each other, but it becomes harder for some players to be fully invested with their online avatars which might hinder their experience. 

Having more complex character creation systems is important for players because it lets them create the type of character they want to create and be more attached to said character. In Shaw’s He Could Be a Bunny Rabbit for All I Care!, she writes that “players put something of themselves into choices they make in games. Investment in the character was not, however, always synonymous with identification. In fact, sometimes identification named the relation between an interviewee and the game or between an interviewee and the type of objects or beings in a given game” (Shaw, 136). Players don’t necessarily have to identify with a character but avatar creation creates an investment in the avatar by the player. 

In this section of the chapter, Shaw talks about the different contexts that shapes the choices of the players during character creation. Some players choose to make their characters look themselves to be represented in the game, some players made avatars completely unlike them and based them off of other people or an idea. Personally, when I make a character to play games it varies based on what type of game it is. When I play MMORPGs with my friends, I like to create interesting characters from scratch that look nothing like me. I build a backstory and scenarios for my character based on the game’s settings and lore. However, when I play single player RPGs I found myself often making avatars that somewhat resembles what I would look like in that game’s universe. Usually when I do not have the option of creating a character that looks like me, I like to give the character glasses if the game allows it as it helps me identify with the character as a glasses wearer myself.