Students’ Design Decisions in Avatar Creation and Customization

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Students Design Decisions in Avatar Creation and Customization

A dissertation submitted to

The University of Manchester

For the degree of

Master of Arts in Digital Technologies, Communication and

Education

In the Faculty of Humanities

2009

THEODORA ST. CLAIR

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents . 1

List of Tables ......... 4

List of Figures ........ 5

Abstract .. 6

Declaration ...................................................................... 8

Copyright Statement ....................................................... 8

Acknowledgement ............... 9

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT ... 10

Introduction ... 10

Purpose ....................... 11

Rationale ............................ 11

Research Question ............................................. 14

Structure of the Study .. 15

Chapter Two

LITERATURE REVIEW .. 16

Introduction .. 16

Characteristics of Second Life 17

Benefits of Second Life ..................... 18

Concerns about Second Life . 20

Importance of Avatars. 21

Creation and Customization Process of Avatars 22

Issues in Avatar Design.. 26

Representation ........ 27


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Chapter Four

RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................................. 53

Introduction ......................................................... 53

Interviews and Focus Groups .............................. 54

Avatar Photographs ........................................... 63

Conclusion .......................................................... 67

Chapter Five

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS ............. 69

Introduction ......................................................... 69

Data Analysis and Discussion .. 69

Suggestions for Future Research. 77

Conclusion .......................................................... 78

Chapter Six

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ........................................... 79

REFERENCES ... 82

APPENDICES . 88

Appendix A: Focus Group and Interview Guide 89

Appendix B: Participant Information Sheet ........ 91

Appendix C: Participant Consent Form .............. 92


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Appendix D: Photographs of Avatars ................. 93

Word count: 16585


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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Demographics of participants ............................ 42

Table 2: Participants gender and age in comparison with that of

their avatars ..................................................................... 64

Table 3: Participants ethnicity and complexion in comparison

with that of their avatars ................................................... 65

Table 4: Participants hair, body frame and size in comparison

with that of their avatars ................................................. 66


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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Second Life interface ....................................... 24

Figure 2: Appearance editor of Second Life ................... 25

Figure 3: Example of human avatars created in Second Life 25

Figure 4: Example of non-human avatars created in Second Life 26

Figure 5: Images of non-customized avatars ................... 73

Figure 6: Images of customized avatars .......................... 74


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ABSTRACT

The use of virtual worlds has become a favourite place for online

interaction, socialization and learning. An avatar, which is a three

dimensional digital body is the users representation in the virtual world.

Therefore avatars seem to be of extreme significance to the users of

virtual worlds since they not only represent the users but they enable them

to have different experiences in-world and to present themselves to the

other users of the virtual world.

Surprisingly, considering the increasing use of, and interest in virtual

worlds by teachers, students, and the general public, little research has

been done about how and why the users of virtual worlds, particularly

students, create and customize their avatars. This study involved a group

of students pursuing the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies,

Communication and Education at the University of Manchester, who are

residents of the virtual world, Second Life. Thus the study explored and

reports on the choices in avatar creation and customization, and the

rationale given by the students for customizing their avatars in a particular

way, as well as the relationship between the students physical

characteristics and those of their avatars.

In virtual worlds such as Second Life, the users are allowed to choose

their avatars and to customize them in whatever form, human or non-


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human, at any time, depending on the features of the virtual world and the

desires of the user. The users of these virtual worlds can customize their

avatars so that they reflect little, complete or no resemblance of the

physical selves of the users. Therefore the reasons given by the users of

virtual worlds for the ways in which they customize their avatars, as well

as the relationship between avatars and their users, vary.


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DECLARATION

I declare that no portion of the work referred to in the dissertation has

been submitted in support of an application for another degree or

qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

i. Copyright in text of this dissertation rests with the author. Copies

(by any process) either in full, or of extracts, may be made only in

accordance with instructions given by the author. Details may be

obtained from the appropriate Graduate Office. This page must

form part of any such copies made. Further copies (by any process)

of copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be

made without the permission (in writing) of the author.

ii. The ownership of any intellectual property rights which may be

described in this dissertation is vested in the University of

Manchester, subject to any prior agreement to the contrary, and

may not be made available for use by third parties without the

written permission of the University, which will prescribe the terms

and conditions of any such agreement.

iii. Further information on the conditions under which disclosures and

exploitation may take place is available from the Head of the School

of Education.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful completion of this dissertation was dependent on the

efforts of a number of individuals. I would therefore like to acknowledge

and express my sincere gratitude and thanks to all who contributed effort,

support, assistance and time towards this achievement.

First of all I must graciously thank the Almighty God for his blessings,

guidance and inspiration throughout this trying endeavour.

My deepest gratitude and thanks is extended to my supervisor, Dr. George

Veletsianos, for his support, expert advice, patience and guidance

throughout this study.

I must thank particularly the MA-DTCE students who willingly participated

in this research.

My sincere appreciation and gratitude is extended to my sister, Frances

Fowell, the rest of my family, and my friends who were always willing and

ready to provide support and encouragement during this trying endeavour.

To all who were not mentioned by name but whose contribution in

whatever way was significant in this research, I express sincere thanks.

Finally to the University of Manchester, I extend special thanks for making

this endeavour possible.


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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Technology has provided people with a variety of ways in which they can

represent themselves and interact with each other. A favourite venue for

such representation and interaction is three dimensional virtual worlds,

and a very popular and interesting way of doing this is through a three-

dimensional avatar, the digital representation of the user. Therefore the

avatar, its creation and customization seem to be important features of

virtual worlds, and Second Life in particular. Boberg, Piippo & Ollila

(2008:232) emphasize that avatars are currently a central part of digital

environments because they define how the users can act and express

themselves. In digital worlds such as Second Life, people can create and

alter their appearances with ease, in a variety of graphic ways that are

impossible in the real world. This striking feature of Second Life has

attracted people to participate in its activities where everyone has an equal

opportunity to be, participate in or create whatever he/she can imagine.

As an emerging technology, three dimensional virtual worlds seem to be

having a great impact on education and some virtual worlds such as

Second Life now host virtual campuses or act as classrooms for a number

of universities and colleges (Graves, 2008 cited in Messinger, Ge,

Stroulia, Lyons, Smirnov, & Bone, 2008). These virtual worlds present

many possibilities for education, especially for experiential learning.

Therefore with their widespread use by teachers and students teaching


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and learning can be done in more constructivist ways and in more life-like

situations that may not be possible in physical classrooms (Kelton, 2007;

Berge, 2008; Silva, 2008).

Purpose

This study was motivated by the interest and concern of the researcher in

the design of avatars, particularly in relation to the process involved in

creating and customizing them. Thus the aim of this study was to

understand and describe the thought processes engaged in by the

students pursuing the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies,

Communication and Education (MA-DTCE) degree at the University of

Manchester in the creation and customization of their avatars in Second

Life, and the factors that contributed to the type of avatar they created.

The study also examined and compared the physical appearance of these

students and their avatars in order to determine whether any similarities

and/or differences existed between the real and digital selves of the

students.

Rationale

As a student pursuing a programme involving digital technologies, I was

expected to participate in the virtual world, Second Life as one of the

programmes many activities involving emerging technologies. My first

reaction was, to question peoples participation in activities involving virtual

worlds, since my vision of Second Life was of weird characters getting

involved in out of this world make believe scientific dramas involving


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monsters and weirdoes. My views of virtual worlds changed when it

became necessary to discontinue the investigation of a previous topic and

my personal tutor recommended a number of topics, among which was

the idea for this present research how students choose to represent

themselves in virtual worlds. My interest peaked after engaging in

discussions relating to Second Life and reading about its uses, purpose

and benefits.

The claims made by writers further increased my interest in Second Life.

For example, Kelton, (2007) presents Second Life as a great teaching and

learning resource. In teaching students in this digital era being able to

understand how new technologies are used to enhance learning is

extremely important for ensuring that their educational needs are being

met (Silva, 2008). Since I, a digital immigrant, teach teenagers who are

digital natives (Prensky, 2001), I was interested in finding out how useful

this virtual environment could be in my teaching to enhance the learning of

my students.

Other claims such as the comment by Suler (2007) who stated that

Second Life is loved by many people and is a fascinating, cutting edge

virtual world with lots of features, places, activities, people, and

subcultures to explore; as well as the comment from Linden Lab (2009:6)

which stated that Second Life is the worlds leading three-dimensional

virtual environment also increased my interest in Second Life. Moreover,

my participation in Second Lifes activities, especially in the creation and


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customization of my avatar further increased my curiosity and I was keenly

interested in knowing the kind of experiences other students had in

creating and customizing their avatars in Second Life and the reasoning

they used in arriving at their choices.

Avatar design has been of interest to researchers for some time. Some

researchers have proposed considerations for designing avatars (Benford,

Bowers, Fahlen, Greenhalgh, & Snowdon, 1997; Boberg et al, 2008),

while others have proposed avatar design recommendations (Lee & Kwon,

2007). These studies focus on providing information for the designers of

virtual worlds to provide users with certain features that will enable them to

create their preferred avatars.

So far, while there is a large body of research which focus on avatars and

their use in virtual worlds, most of the studies on avatars have

concentrated on avatars in general, and not on the creation or

customization of avatars. Therefore, the process involved in creating and

later customizing avatars in Second Life has not been widely studied.

Earlier research on avatars has focused on their use in virtual worlds or

design issues and techniques that should be considered by designers of

virtual bodies in order for users to represent themselves adequately in a

virtual world (Benford, et al, 1997).

Recently, the avatars appearance, and in particular the reasoning

involved in the process of creating and customizing avatars has drawn


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much research attention. Some effort has been devoted to understanding

the relationship between a users body image and their avatar (Becerra &

Stutts, 2008), the relationship between avatars and the people they

represent in terms of physical appearance and behaviour (Messinger et al,

2008; McArthur, 2009; Vasalou, Joinson & Pitt, 2007), and the reasoning

involved in choosing how users create and later customize their avatars

(Kafai, Fields & Cook, 2007); Ducheneaut, Wen, Yee, & Wadley, 2009).

However while some of these studies have been conducted among

Second Life users most have been conducted among the users of other

virtual worlds. Of importance is the fact that these studies have been

about Second Life users in general but have not focused on any particular

group of Second Life users. It is hoped that by conducting this exploratory

study about how a particular group of Second Life users, postgraduate

students, make decisions in the creation and later customization of their

avatars, the researcher will be able to add to the limited research about

avatar creation and customization in virtual worlds and particularly

students participating in Second Life.

Research Questions

This study sought to answer the following research questions:

1. How do students design their avatars in Second Life and what

factors influence their decisions?

2. What relationships exist between students' appearance and the

physical characteristics of their avatars?


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Structure of the Study

At this stage it is significant to present an overview of the studys structure

which is in the form of six chapters. This research begins with Chapter

One, the introduction in which the issue, rationale and aims of the study

are presented. This is followed by Chapter Two, the literature review,

where the theoretical aspects of the research and the work of previous

studies on avatar creation and customization are discussed. Chapter

Three presents and discusses the research methodology and limitations of

the study. In Chapter Four the findings are presented and discussed while

in Chapter Five the findings are interpreted and suggestions for future

work are recommended. The research concludes with Chapter Six which

briefly summarises the research findings.


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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Peoples desires to interact with each other have given rise to various

forms of communication and socialization. A good example is online

interaction through virtual reality, which is being used extensively and

regularly by people of different ages, cultures, occupations and countries

(Berge, 2008; Silva, 2008) for a variety of reasons and purposes. This is

highlighted by Bennett (2008) cited in Becerra & Stutts (2008:2) who

report that an estimated fifty million people regularly participate in virtual

environments, and supported by statistical information from

SecondLife.com Economic Statistics of July 10, 2009 which indicate that

over one million users were logged on in Second Life during a thirty-day

period leading up to July 10.

This review focused on relevant literature and studies that are pertinent to

avatar creation and customization, as well as the relationship between the

physical appearance of avatars and their users, and the representation of

the user in virtual worlds and Second Life in particular. However, before

presenting these issues, it was necessary to briefly discuss the

significance and characteristics of Second Life. This was necessary since

the study was conducted among users of Second Life, and knowing about

Second Lifes features will facilitate better understanding of how users

created their avatars in this virtual world. Second Life was chosen to


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situate the issue for this research since the researcher knew students who

were participants of Second Life and it would be easier to meet with them.

Characteristics of Second Life

Second life is a three-dimensional online virtual world, created and owned

by the users, often called residents (Silva, 2008; Backe, 2006). Founded in

2003 by Philip Rosedale, CEO of San Fransisco-based Linden Lab,

Second Life has grown exceedingly and as of 2008, it had attracted over

10 million residents with 30 000 to 40 000 residents active in-world at any

one time (Berge, 2008). Although some people refer to Second Life as a

game, it is not a game since it has no qualities of games such as intrinsic

goal-driven rules or quests to fulfil (Berge, 2008), but like the real world

many kinds of games can be played in Second Life.

In Second Life residents are allowed to create everything that make up the

world including the inhabitants, experiences and environment. Residents

can socialise, build relationships, explore the environment, conduct

business, meet other real people, learn, and participate in a variety of

events (de Nood & Attema, 2006; Berge, 2008; SecondLife.com), which

are all user created.

It has been noted that Second Life simulates the real world in many

aspects such as the physical environment (de Nood & Attema, 2006) the


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activities that residents engage or participate in and the ways in which

participants interact with each other and socialize (Berge, 2008). For

example, in Second Life residents can send instant messages to each

other, and text or voice chat with each other. They can also meet with

friends or other people to play and explore, or visit different places

(Rymaszewski, Au, Wallace, Winters, Rosedale, Batstone-Cunningham &

Ondrejka, 2006).

Like the real world, Second Life offers certain affordances, thus some

things which are possible in Second Life are not possible in real life. For

example in Second Life one can fly or teleport instantly to another place,

and walk under water and through objects without being harmed. These

luxuries are not possible in real life, but where as in reality people are able

to physically touch other objects or each other, in Second Life residents

are unable to do these things. Laws in the form of terms of service as well

as community standards and rules serve as guides to residents for

conducting themselves in a reasonable manner, and to allow other

residents to have a peaceful experience while in-world (de Nood &

Attema, 2006; Rymaszewski et al, 2006).

Benefits of Second Life

From the accounts of many writers, Second Life seems significant to

individuals and groups worldwide for a variety of purposes - educational,


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social networking, entertainment and interaction. Second Life has been

recognised for its educational potential by many including educators and

researchers who find it a very useful resource for teaching and research

(Kay, 2007; Silva, 2008; Berge, 2008). Businesses, corporations,

individuals and educational institutions worldwide have recognised Second

Lifes use and benefits in educating and training people, developing

content, broadcasting information, and simulating activities or experiments

that could be hazardous or harmful and costly (Kay, 2007; Kelton, 2007;

Berge 2008). Therefore, a number of colleges and universities have made

use of the opportunities offered by Second Life, and built campuses,

learning exhibits or educational simulations in Second Life (Kelton, 2007;

Berge 2008).

It is claimed that many educational opportunities are offered by Second

Life to its users. For example, Second Life conducts educational

conferences in-world which residents can attend. Also it offers students a

number of educational opportunities such as being able to explore their

artistic skills, collaborate with peers or other people, interact with people

from other cultures and countries, role play or simulate real life situations

(Silva, 2008; Berge, 2008; Mc Arthur, 2009), and create objects or content

(Kay, 2007).

Because of these educational opportunities as well as being able to

encourage experiential learning (Silva, 2008), and presentations (Kay,


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2007), teachers also benefit from Second Life. They can use these

activities to enhance their teaching and the learning activities that students

engage in. For example, Silva (2008) has highlighted activities such as

communicating with native speakers, collaborating in another language to

create objects, participating in guided tours and role playing or simulating

real life situations in-world as some of the ways in which the language

classroom can make use of Second Life to benefit teaching and learning.

These positive reviews encourage people to use and participate fully in

virtual worlds and experience fulfilment in their activities and events.

Concerns about Second Life

In spite of all these benefits, some concerns associated with Second Life

have been expressed by researchers. Some writers such as Berge (2008)

and Bennett (2008) have expressed concern about the use of Second Life

to live out peoples fantasies and a second life. Other concerns include

Second Lifes constraints such the ability and ease in using the Second

Life interface by students and other users (Silva, 2008; Berge, 2008).

Another concern which can create a barrier and prevent access to Second

Life is the high technical system requirements and demands of the Second

Life software on users computers (Silva, 2008). If a persons computer

does not meet the necessary requirements this may hamper their ability to

participate fully in the virtual world.


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Being subjected to griefing (harassment or indecent behaviour in Second

Life) (Silva, 2008), pranks and spam (Berge, 2008), and how to deal with

these are concerns Second Life users, especially students, should be

made aware of, before they venture into Second Life. These concerns or

barriers can impede residents effective use and enjoyment of the world.

Residents full engagement and participation in the virtual world as well as

their desires and self expression can also be affected. Thus residents of

Second Life, as well as other people may have second thoughts about

participating in the activities of the virtual world.

Importance of Avatars

The presence of the user of a virtual world is achieved through an avatar,

which can be anything the user wishes, human or non-human (Lee &

Kwon, 2008; Kanaev, 2007). De Andrade (2009:13) describes an avatar

as a digital human representation, a projection of ones self in a virtual

world and a persistent extension of the correspondent user, whose

behaviours are executed in real time by a human being. A users avatar

can be simple or elaborate depending on the desires of the user.

In the virtual world, the user lives through the body of their avatar.

Therefore, avatars play an exceptionally important role in a virtual

environment. They enable their users to express themselves through their

attire, physical characteristics and actions (Boberg et al, 2008; de


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Andrade, 2009). Through their avatars, users can experiment without fear

and adopt whatever personality or identity; real or imaginary they like (Lee

& Kwon, 2008; Geser, 2007; Kanaev, 2007; McArthur, 2009) to present

themselves to the other users in the virtual world. Another important role of

avatars is to provide anonymity to the user of the virtual world, which

according to Lee & Kwon (2008) supported by Davis, Murphy, Khazanchi,

& Zigurs (2009) can be used by some users to express their real life

fantasies or to obtain privacy.

Avatars also enable their users to participate in different experiences in-

world (Taylor, 2002; de Nood & Attema, 2006). For example depending on

their interests, residents can attend a variety of educational and social

functions such as conferences or parties; build or create things; trade and

visit different countries or places of interest such as museums. Facilitating

the users full engagement and participation in real-time communication

and interaction with other users and the environment of the virtual world is

another prominent purpose of avatars (de Nood & Attema, 2006). Thus the

bodily physical characteristics as well as the attire of avatars play a major

part in their visual appearance.

Creation and Customization Process of Avatars

The design of avatars is very important (Lee & Kwon, 2008) to the users of

virtual worlds. A number of writers such as Silva (2008) and McArthur


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(2009) explain the procedures a user follows in the creation and

customization of their avatar. This process involves a series of steps,

which are quite simple and easy but depending on the avatar that the user

wishes to create it may become extremely complicated (Silva, 2008). A

brief description of the process follows.

When a user registers in Second Life, she or he must first choose a

default avatar or starting look as indicated by Second Lifes join-in page.

Users are presented with a number of default avatars of different

characteristics such as ethnic background, body stature, and gender from

which to choose their avatar (McAuthur, 2009). However, this choice does

not have to be permanent since users can modify and personalize their

avatars at any time or for any number of times they wish once they enter

the Second Life world (SecondLife.com). The next step is to create a first

name, which can be anything the user wishes and to select a last name

which must be chosen from a given list of names (Silva, 2008; Becerra &

Stutts, 2008; SecondLife.com). This name appears above the head of the

avatar in Second Life.

The customization of an avatar can involve changes in the avatars body,

face, hair, clothing, gender (Silva, 2008) and any other feature the user

desires by designing or buying the items needed by the user for

customizing his/her avatar, or by using the Second Life customization

tools (SecondLife.com). These tools include the users inventory, the


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appearance editor and the menus which are part of Second Lifes

interface, two of which are shown in Figure 1 (menus and users

inventory).

Figure 1: Second Life Interface (Source: Silva, 2008)

Once the user is in-world, he or she has two options to get the appearance

editor, shown in Figure 2, to customize his/her avatar the bar menu or

the avatar. After right-clicking on the users avatar and choosing

appearance from the pie-shaped menu, the appearance editor with basic

options and settings for changing different physical features of the avatars

appearance appears and the user can change any feature s/he desires

(SecondLife.com). These changes can reflect any shape human or non-

human which the user wishes at the time of customization. Figure 3 and 4

illustrate some examples of avatars created in Second Life, human and

non-human.


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Figure 2: Appearance Editor of Second Life

(Source: Postcard from Second Life SecondLife.com)


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(Source: Postcards from Second Life Secondlife.com)

Figure 3: Examples of human avatars created in Second Life

(Source: http://second-life-millionaire.blogspot.com/2007/10/non-human-avatar-contest-picture-are.html; and http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&um=1&q=second+life+animal+avatar+pictures&sa=N&start=18&ndsp=18)

Figure 4: Examples of non-human avatars created in Second Life

Issues in Avatar Design

Research on how and why participants choose to design their avatars as

they do is very limited. Some researchers have presented

recommendations or design issues that should be considered when

designing features of avatars based on background studies or research

carried out with participants of virtual environments (Boberg, et al, 2008;


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Benford et al, 1997). Other research has focused on avatar customization

or design in game worlds and social worlds. Some research are based on

the design choices and rationale of virtual world users or residents for

designing their avatars in a particular way, while others are based on

avatar appearance or the usefulness and usability of avatar system

features (Ducheneaut et al, 2009; Kafai et al, 2007; McArthur 2009).

These studies stress the importance of users perception of the

appearance of their digital selves and the features afforded by the virtual

world as major factors in user representation in a virtual environment. The

findings of these studies will be highlighted and discussed in the sections

which follow.

Representation in Second Life

The users digital body or avatar, as stated before is the representation of

the user in the virtual world. According to Taylor (1999) people have at

least two bodies the moment they enter a virtual world, a corporeal body

and a digital body. These two bodies work together to create and live the

users experiences in the virtual world. Therefore avatars need to have the

appropriate body image to enable users to effectively represent

themselves (Benford et al, 1997) and to present themselves to others in

the virtual world.

Body Image


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Body image is the way a person feels about their physical appearance

(Lyness, 2009) and is based on what the society they live in consider as

normal physical appearance (Ingenious/NMSI, 2003). According to

Becerra & Stutts (2008:5) body image is as important in the virtual world

as it is in the real world because virtual worlds are social networking

places and, thus social acceptance is desired.

Peoples bodies are used to express their desires and convey meaning

and desirable images to others (Vicdan & Ulusoy, 2008). In real life,

peoples corporeal bodies are the means by which they communicate

information about different aspects of their lives such as their feelings,

location, identity, status, availability and activities; their participation in

different activities and their interaction with other people (Benford et al,

1997; Taylor, 1999). Like the human body, the digital body enables its

user to communicate information in cyberspace (Taylor, 1999). Therefore

the self-image presented by individuals is reflected in the avatar which

they create to represent them in the virtual world (Messinger et al, 2008).

Taylor (2002:41) emphasises this in noting that in virtual worlds, avatars

prove to be the material out of which relationshipsand interactions are embodied: much as in offline lifewith its corporeal bodies, digital bodies are used in avariety of ways to greet, to play, to signal groupaffiliation, to convey opinions or feelings, and tocreate closeness. ...bodies ...make us present toourselves and to others.

Therefore, it is important for users of virtual worlds to have avatars that

portray the images they desire.


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Self Presentation

Johnson (2000:64) defines self presentation as the process by which we

try to shape what others think of us and what we think of ourselves.

Johnson explains that when people present themselves to others they

have two motives: namely, strategic self-presentation and self-verification.

Of interest in this present research is self-verification, which according to

Johnson (2000:65) is the desire to have others perceive us as we

genuinely perceive ourselves.

In real life most people are concerned and conscious of the way they look

in the eyes of others or the society (Fox, 1997; Ingenious, 2003) as this

determines their acceptance by others (Johnson, 2000). Therefore they

aim to present images representing how they think of themselves so

others will have certain desired impressions of them (Johnson, 2000). It

seems that self presentation is also a major concern in virtual worlds, and

like in the real world, users of virtual worlds need to create desired

impressions of themselves to other users (Boberg et al, 2008). Therefore

users of virtual worlds instil qualities in their avatars that they think will

portray certain images and foster interaction with others. This is supported

by Lee & Kwon (2008:462-463) who indicate that self-disclosure, a

concept related to self presentation is the basic activity in building a self in

cyberspace... and an important occasion that triggers interaction with

other people in cyberspace.


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Therefore in presenting themselves to others in virtual worlds users

present desired images of themselves by modifying their avatars (Becerra

& Stutts, 2008). However, although it may be somewhat difficult and/or

expensive to change some physical aspects of ones appearance that one

is not happy with in the real world, in the virtual world it is quite easy.

Therefore, a person can change any aspect of their physical appearance

to present themselves as they desire to other users of the virtual world.


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Avatar Design

In their investigations of avatar design, Boberg, et al. (2008) explored

aspects in designing avatars that are important to users and provided a list

of considerations that designers can use in avatar design. Their

considerations included how avatars look, what avatars can do, avatars in

context, number of avatars that can be created, avatar moderation, who

owns the avatar and planning avatar designs. They believe that the

design choices available to users for the customization of their avatars are

important in order for users to choose how to express themselves to

reveal their own or imagined identity in the virtual environment. They also

concentrated on how avatar creation tools can be designed and what kind

of tools should be provided to enhance the experience of users in virtual

worlds.

Although their research provides useful information for avatar and virtual

world designers, these considerations may not all apply to all virtual worlds

since some virtual worlds such as Second Life, do not restrict their users

in the avatars they create. Also some virtual worlds have a range of tools

that users can use for designing their avatars. For example in Second Life,

in spite of the difficulties one may experience, users can create the items

they need for designing their avatars if they are not able to obtain them

from in-world shops or their inventory.


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Other researchers such as Ducheneaut et al (2009) have also focused on

the use of the customization tools of virtual worlds. One of the issues

evaluated in their research of three virtual worlds (World of Warcraft,

Maple Story and Second Life) was the character creation and

customization interface of these worlds. They report that the ease in the

use of the interface and the features provided by the virtual world are

significant since they enable the users to create and customize their

avatars. Consequently, the designers of a virtual world should ensure that

the necessary tools and features needed for avatar customization are

available and easily accessible to users since this determines the users

ability to present and express themselves satisfactorily to themselves and

others in-world (Boberg et al, 2008).

Reasons for Creating Avatars

Research in avatar customization in Second Life and other virtual worlds

indicate that people customize or personalize their avatars because of

various reasons. Among these are the interests or personalities the user

wishes to portray to the rest of the world, enhancing the appearance and

characteristics of users or including features that they do not have in real

life but would like to have (Becerra & Stutts, 2008; Lee & Kwon, 2008;

Geser, 2007). Other reasons cited for avatar customization include the

usefulness or functionality of avatars in the virtual world (Backe, 2006;

Kafai et al, 2007; Lee & Kwon, 2008). For example, avatars can be

customized to create disguise or anonymity by choosing fantasy


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When users customize their avatars in Second Life they can give them

certain unique attributes (Taylor, 1999) and attire (Davis et al, 2009)

created either by the user using the available tools in Second Life,

purchased from in-world shops or other users, or received as gifts from

other avatars (Hemp, 2006). These attributes help to distinguish one

avatar from the other. For example avatars may have different colour hair,

simple or sophisticated attires, or different body styles (tall, short, thin)

(Becerra & Stutts, 2008).

It is important for users to create and later customize their avatars to their

perceived form of representation in the digital world since the users

appearance determines who will communicate or associate with them, as

well as how they will be treated in-world. For example, keeping the default

avatar without making any changes to it will make residents of the virtual

world think that you are a newcomer to the world and some residents may

treat you as a newbie. According to Dutcheneaut et al, (2009:1) the

choices users make when creating and later when customizing their

avatars will have repercussions on their interactions with other users.

Thus the design decisions made by users when creating and customizing

their avatars can influence how they express themselves and interact with

other in-world users. Lee and Kwon (2008:462), note that successful

avatar design depends on the well organised integration of avatar props to

improve the users self image and satisfaction.


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Research has indicated that the relationship between the appearance of a

users digital and corporeal self varies depending on the users purposes

for creating the avatar or participating in the virtual world. In their research

Ducheneaut et al (2009) evaluated the relationship between the

characteristics of the users digital and corporal self using users from three

virtual worlds including Second Life. The results of the research indicated

that avatars were customized based on not only the options and features

offered in the interface of the virtual world but also on the users

preferences of how they envisaged the appearance of their avatars.

In virtual worlds, many users tend to create avatars that have some

resemblance to their physical appearance, although sometimes some

features may vary slightly. In the study conducted by de Nood and Attema

(2006) the results indicated that people tend to create avatars with

characteristics, such as stature, clothing and behaviour that are very

similar to theirs. They note that this was particularly prevalent among

reputable individuals of higher status.

Likewise, Messinger et al, (2008) report that the results of a survey of

Second Life residents indicated that most residents customize their

avatars with similar physical features as their real selves but with some

improvements on their real-life appearance. Similarly, the results of the

first part of an investigation carried out by Vasalou et al (2007) concerning

self awareness of users in social computing environments, indicated that


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users were more likely to customize their avatars to bear close

resemblance to their physical appearance. Although these findings are

similar to that of other writers, the results could have been more

convincing and valid if all raters in the study had used the same criteria or

cues to assess the similarities between the photographs and profiles of the

participants.

However, it should be noted that not all users want their avatars to look

exactly like them. Since users of virtual worlds have the freedom to create

their avatars in whatever form they want some users use this opportunity

to explore different body images (Geser, 2006). Thus while some avatars

look similar to their users, others can look totally different. For instance, in

the study by Kafai et al (2007) on how teens in Whyville design their

avatars most of the teens revealed that the avatars which they created to

represent them were not like them. Likewise Ducheneaut et al (2009),

reported that in their study, although some participants created their

avatars with similar traits as theirs, several participants created avatars

that looked different to them.

Conclusions

For most of these studies the authors relied on self reports of the

participants and small sample sizes for the collection of data. However,

their conclusions indicate participants preferences in using the


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1. How do students design their avatars in Second Life and what

factors influence their decisions?

2. What relationships exist between students' appearance and the

physical characteristics of their avatars?


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in order to understand it (Yin, 2009). Robson (2002:178) describes a case

study as:

a strategy for doing research which involves anempirical investigation of a particular contemporaryphenomenon within its real life context using multiplesources of evidence.

It has been stressed by a number of researchers that case study, although

it can be used as a method, is a research methodology involving multiple

research methods such as observations, questionnaires, interviews,

artefacts and documentary evidence and is endowed with a number of

strengths (Yin, 2009; Stake, 1995; Willig, 2001). In comparison with other

methodologies, the great strength of case study is that it enables the

researcher to deal with a variety of evidence from different sources for the

in-depth study of a particular case in its natural setting (Bell, 2005; Yin,

2004; Willig, 2001). Therefore a holistic approach was taken in studying

this case to obtain the most possible comprehensive understanding of the

case (Punch, 2005) through a process known as thick description which

according to Creswell (2009), facilitates validity since detailed descriptions

of the site, results and processes engaged in during the study are

provided.

The use of a variety of methods also facilitated triangulation which is using

a number of techniques and sources for data collection and analysis,

thereby enhancing credibility (Robson, 2002; Maxwell, 2005) and


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addressing issues of construct validity (Yin, 2009). In this research the use

of a variety of data collection methods enabled the researcher to validate

the evidence obtained from one method, for example focus group, with

details from another method such as documents (avatar photographs).

According to Willig (2001:71), triangulation enriches case study research

because the researcher can study the case from different perspectives

thus, creating a greater awareness of the importance of the natural setting

of the case and its various aspects. In support is Yin (2009) who explains

that data triangulation enables the researcher to show that the same issue

is being assessed in different ways and the findings of the study is

supported by evidence from different sources.

Although some critics of case study have categorised it as being good only

as an exploratory strategy, to be used as a first step in research, Yin

(2009:6) argues that some of the best and most famous case studies

have been explanatory and there are also famous descriptive case

studies ...in major disciplines such as sociology and political science.

Since case studies encourage in-depth study of the case, they are useful

for exploring, describing and explaining issues or problems affecting

individuals as well as groups. Unlike quantitative methodologies of

research such as surveys which focus on obtaining answers for how

much or how many questions, case studies seek to obtain descriptive

and explanatory information about a case, by finding answers to how or

why events or issues occur (Yin, 2009). The use of the case study

strategy enabled the researcher to explore and describe the MA-DTCE


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students experiences in Second Life in the creation and customization of

their avatars in a particular way.

One of the major criticisms of case study research and the greatest

concern of case study researchers is that in spite of case studies being a

type of empirical inquiry they do not have the same precedence as

experiments and surveys since they lack rigor (Yin, 2009; Robson, 2002).

This, Yin (2009) explains may be due to case study researchers

inconsistencies and slackness in conducting research and the lack of

methodological texts providing guidance, and specific procedures or

standards to follow in conducting case study research. Therefore to

ensure that a rigorous case study was conducted the researcher ensured

that close attention was paid to aspects of design, data collection,

analysis, interpretation; and reporting (Robson, 2002:177).

Another major concern to qualitative researchers is the notion that case

studies cannot be used as a basis for scientific inferences since it is

claimed that a single case is not enough evidence for making

generalisations. However, Stake (1995), like Punch (2005) and Yin (2009)

argue that generalisations can be made in case study research depending

on the case. Stake (1995) distinguishes between petite and grand

generalisations and stresses that in studying a case the researchers aim

is to get to know and understand the case. He stresses that case study

research is about particularization and that in studying a case


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TABLE 1: Demographics of Participants

PARTICIPANT GENDER AGE

1 M 40

2 M 28

3 M 28

4 M 27

5 F 39

6 F 32

7 F 29

8 F 26

9 F 26

10 F 26

11 F 26

12 F 23

Data Collection Methods

The collection of data, an integral part of case study research can be done

using either qualitative or quantitative, methods or a combination of both

(Willig, 2001). The methods selected are determined by the nature of the

information needed for answering the studys research questions (Yin,

2004). Therefore since the studys aim was to obtain information about

students experiences in and reasons for the creation and customization of

their avatars individual interviews, focus groups and photographs were

employed for data collection, thus only qualitative data was obtained.


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Photographs

Photographs are considered primary documents and are precise records

of real events, places or people. They provide specific information with

qualifying and contextual relationships (Collier & Collier, 1986:10). They

can be used as a data source or as a tool in semi-structured interviews to

generate data (Flick, 2006). When used in interviews, they provide a

means of refreshing peoples memories or create a neutral environment

during the interviewing process. In a group photographs stimulate and

encourage people to talk about the photographs and to each other,

exchange ideas and ask questions (Flick, 2006; Banks, 2001). According

to Creswell (2009), the use of photographs can be both advantageous and

disadvantageous.

Although photographs have the ability to capture the attention of people

and create the means for participants to directly share their life stories

visually to provide a wealth of data for the researcher, they are difficult to

interpret. Also they may not be easily accessible and may be manipulated

or influenced by the researcher or participant. Flick (2006) warns that this

can raise questions of bias in this data collection and analysis method.

However, the researcher can engage in self reflection to clarify any biases

in order to ensure validity or dependability of the research (Creswell,

2009).


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Each respondent was requested to email a photograph of their avatar to

the researcher. These photographs were printed and used as a tool in the

interviews and focus groups. They were introduced at an opportune time

to stimulate and encourage participants to discuss the photographs and

their experiences in creating and customizing their avatars. They were

also used as a source of data to assist in the verification of data from the

focus groups and interviews.

Focus Groups

According to Barbour & Kitzinger (1999:4), focus groups are group

discussions exploring a specific set of issues. They vary from informal to

structured, and can be used alone or in combination with other methods

(Kitzinger, 1995). Participants are engaged in discussion generated by

specific activities such as, a set of questions or pictures. Focus groups

were selected as a data collection method since it was more suitable to

obtain in-depth information concerning students thoughts about the

creation/customization of their avatars in Second Life their reasoning

about how and why things were done in a certain way (Bell, 2005).

Focus groups have a number of advantages. Their main advantage over

individual or group interviews is the interaction of participants in the group

which helps in the generation of data (Vanderstoep & Johnson, 2009).


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Participants are encouraged to ask questions of each other as well as

comment on the contribution or experiences of each other and the

discussion topic (Babour, & Kitzinger, 1999) to generate rich data. An

interesting point noted by Cohen, Manion, & Morrison (2007) is that

although focus groups produce a large amount of data in a short period of

time, compared to individual interviews with the same number of

participants, the amount of data they produce is less. In spite of their

advantages, there are limitations which include problems in group

communication such as having outspoken people with contrary views who

can limit the contributions of others or silence less assertive members

(Bell, 2005). However, the onus is on the moderator to ensure that

everyone can contribute to the discussion.

In order to formulate the focus groups students were invited to indicate

their availability. Based on the information obtained students were placed

into two equal groups of five and the remaining students would be

interviewed individually. However, because of time constraints and

unforeseen commitments some participants were unable to participate in

their assigned groups. Therefore one focus group had six participants

while the other had three. The groups consisted of both male and female

students but the proportion of male to female students is not reflective of

the population being studied. The focus groups were conducted in

classrooms at the University of Manchester at different times. The

researcher guided and recorded the discussions. The first focus group


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lasted for fifty-eight (58) minutes while the second lasted sixty-five (65)

minutes.

Interviews

The interview is described as a conversation between two people devised

to obtain information about peoples experiences, thoughts, ideas and

opinions (Robson, 2002; Radnor, 2001). Having many advantages and

being one of the most commonly used techniques for data collection

interviews provide participants with an avenue to discuss their

interpretations and express their views of their lived experiences (Robson,

2002). Another advantage is that interviews can handle more difficult and

open-ended questions better than questionnaires and is a very flexible

method of data collection. A significant aspect according to Bell (2005) is

the fact that data produced is of a detail and richness difficult to obtain in

any other way.

However, Robson (2002), supported by Bell (2005) warns that interviewing

requires careful preparation, much patience and considerable practise in

order to be rewarding and worthwhile. Among the major disadvantages

are being prone to bias and subjectivity on the part of the interviewer; and

problems in the analyses of responses being time consuming, which

makes it difficult to interview a large research sample (Bell, 2005).


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There are different kinds of interviews ranging from structured to

unstructured. Since this was a limited-time research (Bell, 2005), a semi-

structured interview was used. It gave the researcher the opportunity to

modify the questions, change their order or give explanations, and add or

remove questions during the interview (Robson, 2002). Another reason for

their use was their ability to elicit rich information about students

experiences, thoughts, ideas and opinions relating to the issue being

investigated (Radnor, 2001).

Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with four participants,

each at different dates and times. The interviews were conducted by the

researcher in a classroom at the university and the three lasted for

eighteen (18), twenty-one (21) and twenty-five (25) minutes respectively.

Questions from the interview guide along with probes were asked of

participants, and depending on their answers some questions were

omitted.

The same guide was used for the focus groups and individual interviews.

The assistance of four students was solicited for piloting the guide to

ensure clarity of questions (Bell, 2005). This was done informally in two

stages. After the first pilot the suggested changes were made and the

guide was again piloted. The guide contained ten open-ended questions

about avatar design and appearance which gave participants the freedom

to express their views at length about each question (Bell, 2005)

concerning their experiences in the customization of their avatars in


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Second Life. Also the guide enabled the researcher to have some control

of the interviews. A sample of the guide along with possible probes is

shown in Appendix A.

Before data collection started participants were fully informed about the

purpose, features and use of the results of the study, and their permission

to participate was sought through a presentation and letters via e-mail.

Before the interviews or focus group sessions began participants were

reminded of their rights, assured of confidentiality and their permission

was sought to record the sessions. Participants were also presented with

an information sheet and the consent form. The information sheet

contained information about the area to be researched and offered the

participant confidentiality and anonymity, and an option to participate in

the study, which are important ethical considerations in conducting

research (Bell, 2005). They were allowed time to read the information

presented and to consider the implications of participating in the study

before signing the consent forms to show agreement. A sample of the

information sheet and consent form is included in Appendix B and C

respectively.

Data Analysis Methods

Thematic and content analysis were used for analysing data in this

research. According to Boyatzis (1998:4) thematic analysis is a process


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for coding qualitative information into themes to help researchers interpret

the data. It provided a means for the researcher to use different types of

information to help her understand and interpret the experiences of

students and to communicate these findings to others (Coffey & Atkinson,

1996; Boyatzis, 1998). Although it is advocated by many, researchers

should be aware of threats such as the researchers projection, sampling,

and mood and style (Boyatzis, 1998) and try to ensure that the themes

identified truly reflect the views of the participants. In order to do this and

also to ensure accuracy of the findings, the researcher used member

checking, where participants were presented with the analysis of the data

and the conclusions drawn, and asked to provide feedback on their

accuracy (Creswell, 2009; Maxwell, 2005).

Analysis of Interviews and Focus Groups

The recordings of the interviews and focus groups were transcribed

verbatim. According to Cohen et al (2007:365) transcribing is an important

part of interview analysis but there is potential for massive data loss,

distortion and the reduction of complexity. They further state that all forms

of data are important when transcribing since the words of participants are

not as forceful in the transcripts as they were during the interview.

Therefore the researcher ensured that everything which occurred during

the interview including the participants verbal and non-verbal gestures

and actions, were indicated in the transcripts.


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Limitations

In this study there are several limitations which should be taken into

consideration. First the researcher, being part of the group under

investigation could incur biasness through her presence during the

interviews or focus groups and also influence the results of the study

because of her familiarity with the participants. Secondly, the researcher

depended on the availability of students and their willingness to participate

in the research, which resulted in differences in the focus groups and a

much smaller sample being interviewed than planned. Thirdly, the

participants of this research had been residents of Second Life for a very

short period of time and were hardly in-world. Also of major importance is

the fact that this study was based on a small sample of students and does

not generalise to any population other than the one which was studied but

merely explored the issue in question.

Ethical Issues

In conducting research ethical issues arise because of the rights and

responsibilities that link participants and researchers and also because of

their interaction (Kvale, 2007) and they must be taken into consideration.

Ethical issues were considered and applied throughout all stages of this

research process, from the initial planning through data collection to the

presentation of the research report. They include:


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a commitment from participants in order for the researcher to

conduct the study by signing a participant consent form;

accepting responsibility by the researcher to maintain confidentiality

and the right to privacy throughout the data collection process;

the honest explanation of what the research involves and its

purpose to avoid deception or enforcing participation;

the assurance of anonymity by disguising the identity of participants

and refraining from using their names;

possession of a certain degree of professionalism by the

researcher;

obtaining the voluntary, informed consent of participants;

respecting the rights of participants and the research site;

ensuring that no harm comes to respondents as a result of their

participation in the study; and

providing an accurate account of the information presented after

analysis and interpretation of data. (Creswell, 2009; Robson, 2002;

Flick, 2006).

The findings of this research are presented and discussed in the following

chapter.


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CHAPTER FOUR

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to understand and describe students

decisions in the creation and customization of their avatars in Second Life

and to examine and compare the physical characteristics of these

students with that of their avatars in order to determine whether any

similarities and/or differences existed between the real and digital selves

of the students. In this chapter the findings of the research will be

presented and discussed.

As stated earlier, data was collected from the MA-DTCE students of the

University of Manchester using semi-structured interviews, focus groups,

and photographs of their avatars. The findings from the interviews and

focus groups are presented below, and are discussed under the following

themes:

Representation

Resources

However, the findings from the photographs of participants avatars are

presented and discussed according to their visual and implied contents in

relation to the appearance of the avatar.


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Interviews and Focus groups

Theme 1: Representation

This theme expresses how the MA-DTCE students of the University of

Manchester chose to participate in the activities of Second Life and why a

particular avatar was chosen. The theme comprises the following

categories and sub-categories:

Category 1: Choice of Avatar Image

This category was chosen based on the reasons why avatars were

created and customized to look a particular way, and why specific

names were chosen. The thought processes of students while

creating and customizing their avatars are highlighted in this

category. It illustrates participants reasons for their choice of a

particular image based on their beliefs, values, feelings, interests

and preferences.

Category 2: Appearance of Avatar

The appearance of the avatar focused on how participants wanted

their avatars to look based on the physical characteristics such as

colour of hair, eyes, and skin; body size or figure; and age as well

as overall look such as the avatars attractiveness and attire.

Based on the comments made during the focus group discussions and

interviews, having a particular look that conveyed their status, identity or

interests seemed to be of importance to participants. The majority of


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participants explained that they tried to create avatars that resembled

them in some way. From the discussions in both the focus groups and

individual interviews, it seemed that participants had a certain perception

of how they should be represented in the virtual world, and therefore

having an avatar with some characteristics that were similar to their real

selves was important to them. For example one participant stated that:

I was choosing deliberately because I wanted some feature that looked

like me. Yes, because I wanted to identify, not to be attached, but to

identify at least with someone that resembles me.

This indicated that having an avatar with a similar image to him was a very

important aspect in the customization of his representation in Second Life.

He also indicated that the looks of his avatar would signify a particular

image in the virtual world by saying:

I wanted to look respectable so that I represent someone who is sound in

character, sharp in appearance and presentable in general.

Another participant explained why she believed in having an avatar with

similar characteristics to her by saying:

I tried to put from the beginning some features of me. Yeah, and in the

end I can say... yes... somethings related to me! I was just thinking that if I

can find a way to make myavatar quite similar to me... maybe in that way

I could identify myself better in my avatar and the experiences that I could

try would be more engaging for me, more involving... My aim was to


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create a sort of extension of myself, which could communicate something

about me to the people I was going to meet. I didn't want to have an

avatar completely different from me, rather the opposite. I wanted to make

it at least a bit similar to me, since I consider it as my representative in the

Second Life world.

Similar sentiments were expressed by five (5) other participants but one

participant expressed her intentions and beliefs further by saying:

I wanted... to make my avatar look like I look in real life...for me its

important to have a representative of me that looks like me because some

people identify me with the avatar. When people would see me in this

Second Life environment they would think that Im like this so I dont want

to be different.

In expressing their reasons why they designed their avatars in a particular

way some participants indicated their feelings about being new comers in

Second Life. One participant expressed her concerns by saying:

I read somewhere that mostly all new avatars when they join Second Life

for the first time they choose specific dress thats why I wanted to avoid

choosing the already made dress, because the other avatars would feel

like its the first time Im going there.

This indicated clearly that she did not want to be recognised as a newbie

in the virtual world.


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Among the other reasons given by participants for the choice of their

avatars image include being able to do things in Second Life that they did

not do in their real life; being unique, honest, simple and anonymous;

portraying a particular status, age or ethnicity; and cultural or personal

values. These reasons all reflect the participants wish to portray aspects

of their real selves in their avatars. One participant expressed her desire to

be different from other people by stating:

My aim was to look unique... I didnt want to be in Second Life and see

somebody else looking like me. No, I want to look unique and just to be

satisfied with my look....to look more... attractive like I would always love

to be in real life, first impression really matters.

The choice of their avatars name seemed to be an important aspect of

participants representation in Second Life based on their comments and

the methods used in the selection of their avatars names. Some

participants expressed concern about the method in which last names

were chosen for their avatars. For example, one participant explained that:

The second name was by force. We had to select the second name so I

had to select a first name that matches the second one... It was very

difficult for me but I had no other option.

This concern was also expressed by other participants with one participant

expressing strong feelings about the restrictions imposed by Second Life

for choosing users names by saying:


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In fact, I was upset... when I couldnt choose the last name... cause I was

saying I want to choose what surname I have... I was concerned about

that.

Although participants choice of names varied, most participants seemed

to favour names that they could remember or pronounce easily. Also of

importance to participants was the combination of the first and last names

of their avatars. It seemed that for most participants having first and last

names that matched was very important. One participant showed the

reasoning used in their choice of names by saying:

I wanted an easy name that everyone could understand... so I chose

something very simple and very easy to say and matched it with the

second.... Whatever was matching better I chose it.

Another participant further explained the motive for choosing particular

names by stating that:

For the first name I choose my pet name because I am used to it and I

can remember it and for the last name I choose one I can read and easy

to say and remember.

Other participants shared similar views relating to the ease of

pronouncing, remembering and the matching of their avatars first and last

names.


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A few participants mentioned information relating to humour, associations

with other people or things, interests, habitual practices or their beliefs as

reasons for the choice of their avatars names indicating that the name

chosen for their avatar mattered a great deal to them. For example, one

participant shared the origin of her name in stating:

I wanted to be funny, so I chose a name of a food which was very funny

to me... When anybody hears the name I want them to laugh....for my

surname I chose something I thought that matched with my first name.

Another participant felt that it was important for his avatar to have his

name because of the avatars purpose by saying:

I used my name for my avatar... my first name... it should represent me

exactly so I used my name.....for the last name it gave me some options

so I chose one, the one I choose was the easiest to remember.

However, another participant followed her habitual practices because she

felt that using ones name was important to identify with ones avatar. She

indicated that:

Usually in the digital world... I always use my real name,... the first name

it is my name. I chose my first name because I always do like that.

It was noted that in discussing their efforts to create attractive looking

avatars, participants concentrated on customizing certain physical


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changed to the black hair because I felt I was more like myself with black

hair.

The motivation to create attractive looking avatars was expressed by the

majority of the participants. Having an attractive avatar seemed to be

important to most participants based on their comments and the time

spent in customizing their avatars. For example one participant said:

Originally I tried to make my avatar look more like me but after I saw so

many hot girls dancing in a pub I decided to change my avatars

appearance to look hot, so I changed the outer look of my avatar.I spent

most of my time when I was in Second Life in changing my avatars looks.

I only wanted to make my avatar look good. That was my only purpose,

just to make her look good and to wear the clothes that Im not

accustomed to wearing in my real life.

Another participant expressed her concerns about her avatars looks by

saying:

Something Id love to do in Second Life is to look in a particular way. I

would have loved to look more skimpy, more sexy, but I look more

formal... I would have loved to look like somebody going to a disco party.

Because I designed this avatar for an assignment, when I was doing this

time was a very important factor. Time did not allow me to design it the

way I wanted to design it.


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Theme 2: Resources

This theme involved the use of resources available in the virtual world, as

well as participants real life resources which would enable them to

customize their avatars as they wished. This was categorized as

Skills and knowledge which involved participants use of the

available tools and interface of Second Life, the ease and their

ability in using these facilities as well as the difficulties encountered.

Participants knowledge of and/or ability in the creation and

customization of avatars, as well as information about where and

how to obtain items needed for avatar customization were also

highlighted in this category.

Availability of resources for customizing the avatar. This included

items such as money (Real money and Linden dollars), clothing

and body features (hair, skin colour, types of lips), needed for the

customization of the avatar, and the time available for creating and

customizing the avatar.

In describing their experiences concerning the creation and customization

of their avatars, most participants expressed concerns about the use of

the Second Life tools and interface. Participants comments highlighted

the difficulties they experienced and the amount of time spent in

customizing their avatars. For example one participant said:

I dont know how to make it look like the appearance I want... because I

wasnt sure how to customize it. I didnt know how to change the clothes. I


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found two clothes, changed these two clothes and I couldnt do anything. I

found it hard. I was asking myself, how people change to these beautiful

clothes? How could I do that too? But I didnt know how to do it. I played

and used the tool (inventory) to find the clothes but I couldnt change from

trouser to skirt and I couldnt find another one. I just found one and if I

needed more I couldnt find it. Its a bit complicated.

It appears that this was of major concern to six other participants who

were of the opinion that, being able to use the tools had a great impact on

the type of avatar they had. One participant said:

I wanted to change the clothes, but I couldnt. I didnt want the tie and

thing that it had on but I couldnt change it. I was also trying to put hair on

but it was not working so I gave up on that... After trying to change up stuff

and it was not working I just had to accept it.

This illustrated his frustrations and failure in trying to customize his avatar

as he wanted.

More importantly the comments made by participants in the discussions

indicate that a considerable number of participants seem to think that

technical knowledge and skills, and/or experience in the creation and

customization of avatars are an important asset that would enable one to

create the type of avatars they wanted. For example one participants

comments were:


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How good you are with technical things... if you have done it before, and

if you have experience, you would know what choices you have, you

would want to change more, but if you are not familiar with it you will say

its ok.

Another participant supported this sentiment and expressed her views

concerning her frustrations in the customization of her avatar by saying:

I tried to customize my look but that was very difficult for me. I tried to

change my clothes and everything but I was still getting similar type of

clothes. I kept having similar image that was quite frustrating. I had a

picture in my mind of the way I wanted to look but I could not get to look

that way... Im not sure. It may be due to technical knowhow or I was not

well informed.

Avatar Photographs

The avatar photographs, which were presented by the participants, were

used along with participants demographic data to make comparisons

between the participants and their avatars. The avatar photographs of

participants are presented in Appendix D, except for two photographs

which were unsuitable or unavailable. Analysis of the avatar photographs

indicated that most of them portray images as described by participants in

the focus groups and individual interviews. Table 2, 3 and 4 show the


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results of the comparisons of some physical characteristics of participants

real selves and their avatars.

Table 2: Participants Gender and Age in Comparisonwith that of their Avatars

PARTICIPANT AVATAR

No GENDER AGE GENDER AGE

1 MALE 40 MALE Younger than participant

2 MALE 28 MALE About participants age

3 MALE 28 MALE About participants age

4 MALE 27 MALE Younger than participant

5 FEMALE 39 FEMALE About participants age


7 FEMALE 29 FEMALE Did not present picture




11 FEMALE 26 FEMALE Did not present picture


Table 2 shows the gender and age distribution of avatars in comparison to

that of the participants. The results indicate that all participants created

avatars of their own gender. From the discussions during the focus groups

and individual interviews no participant indicated that they tried to create

avatars of the opposite gender. Although virtual worlds allow their users to

experiment with any physical characteristics, including gender, the findings

of this study indicate that participants were not interested in experimenting

with gender swapping or creating avatars of the opposite sex to theirs.


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The table also indicate that most participants created avatars that looked

about their age. This was more evident with the younger participants.

There was no mention of trying to create older looking avatars during the

discussions in the focus groups or individual interviews. Thus the results

indicate that the avatars created by participants reflected the

characteristics of idealized body images.

Table 3: Participants Ethnicity and Complexion inComparison with that of their Avatars

No. PARTICIPANT AVATAR

ETHNICITY COMPLEXION COMPLEXION1 Black Dark brown Same as participant2 Black Light brown White/Fair 3 White Fair/light brown Same as participant4 Asian Light brown Same as participant5 White Light brown Dark brown6 Black Dark brown White/fai

Students’ Design Decisions in Avatar Creation and Customization

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