Derek T Young asked:




Many online games feature virtual avatars , a simple yet effective way to make the player feel immersed in their environment. This is evident by the countless makeover games, virtual worlds and MMO’s available on the Internet today. This is a design feature many independent game developers can learn from and make an integral part of their game.

Large companies such as Nintendo have embraced virtual avatars with the creation of the Nintendo Wii’s Miis. Others are taking notice of the importance of having a 3d virtual representation of them selves with Sony creating the Home service and Microsoft is rumored to soon replace their static 2d Xbox Live profiles with fully 3d animated avatars as well. Other companies such as IMVU have focused entirely on just having virtual avatars with thousand of choices for changing your appearance. It stands to reason if many large companies with millions of dollars budgeted for advertising and research are leaning towards trend, your small game development company should too.

What is exactly the appeal of having virtual avatars? This is an abstract topic as it varies from one user to another. For some it is pure escapism, for others it is unlimited freedom to experiment with styles, looks, and colors they would otherwise never try in the real world. Virtual avatars appeal to our ego at a fundamental level and for some people it becomes an extension of themselves as a person. There tends to be a varying degree of seriousness taken as some people strive to make their avatar look “cool” or “sexy” while others intentionally make their avatar look outlandish and as silly as possible.

When planning to develop a game title, regardless of if it is a action game or puzzle game I think it is important to leverage the fact that gaming audiences have an eager appetite for having a customizable avatar. For example if you were developing a small racing game, you should take a two pronged approach this. Firstly, you should let the person create their virtual identity with a name tag and simple customization choices, hair color, clothing color etc. If you had the time to invest, it would be beneficial to create more accessories and variations. Secondly, you would give the player the option to customize the car as in depth as you did the avatar character. With this extra bit of development work you have just increased the chances of having your player feel like they have something invested in your game which is almost the opposite of what many casual game developers do. Casual games do not have to mean limited user investment.

Key elements of making any virtual avatar game succeed would include large variety of choices for clothes, hairstyle, accessories and colors. Also it is extremely important for the player to have their avatar be seen by other people via either in game if multi-player is supported or via a user profile page. Introduction of rare avatar items is a extremely important element as well. Many MMORPG’s cater to this exclusively as the quest to gain items is dependent on playing the game more and more. GAIA Online for example displays its users avatars on their message forums, and gives them the option to change their appearance with various clothing items but also displays public wish lists in the hopes that strangers buy items for them.

Regardless of the game theme or style of play there is room for addition of player avatars in any game if planned properly. Having a game with customizable virtual avatars greatly increases the chances of your games popularity, user investment and overall enjoyability.

Bruce

Derek T Young asked:




Rarely do you walk into a video game store and see many game titles catered exclusively for the female game audience. There is virtually no big box support for such titles as they spend millions of dollars catering exclusively to male audiences. After all, conventional wisdom would suggest that since only games for males are being made, that only males are interested in playing video games. This couldn’t be further from the truth, a fact often overlooked by larger game publishing companies such as EA, Activision or Take-Two. The statistics alone disprove the notion that girls are not interested in spending time playing video games. The Sims is the best selling game of all time and a large amount of its success can be attributed to its loyal female fan base. 40% of all girls in Australia that participated in a survey admitted to spending time online playing video games as well. This is a global trend that as more game enabled devices are available, so does the potential audience for your products. From personal experience I can attest to the power of focusing on the female gamer audience and the amount of success it can bring to your game portals. Hopefully this article can shed some light on what you can do to acknowledge the female audience and entice them to use your product.

Understand Your Audience

This would be common sense regardless of any type of video game or interactive content you would develop but due to the lack of exclusively developed girl titles how would you go about starting? The answer isn’t necessary waiting on a shelf of a game retail store but rather online on a games website or games portal.

Depending on the age range of the female audience you will find some games more popular than others. These games usually have simple and easy to learn game play factors that most professional game developers would consider basic or even in some cases downright primitive. Don’t be fooled by this or dismiss this fact. Its a mistake that many game developers make and hold against working on such games that would otherwise be something the female audience would be interested in.

One of the most popular games website with young girls would be StarDoll.com which is essentially a online paper doll website. Moving various clothing items on a 2d doll is a very simple thing to develop if you have any professional game experience. It is this very simple game mechanic combined with variety of various current celebrities and other incentives that encourage millions of users to return every day to that website.

Dress up games are some of the most popular games with girls with thousands of web game portals devoted exclusively to this genre of game. Other game categories that are popular with female gamers include pet games, makeover games, cooking games and room makeover games. Some of the most popular games with girls may have combined elements of these game categories providing an even more compelling game experience. Almost all of the games popular with the female audience would be categorized under Casual Games.

Doing your homework on what works out there currently on the Internet will help you understand an audience that might be decades younger than you personally and completely different than your own personal preferences for games. It is a challenge you must embark upon to fully capitalize on this market segment and achieve success.

The Online Factor

One of the game categories not mentioned previously are quickly becoming the most popular. Online worlds provide an experience where they can socialize and meet new friends. Important game elements of online worlds would include; the ability to have avatar customization, personalize user rooms and the ability to chat and meet new friends. Some examples would be Club Penguin, Habbo Hotel, There.com and IMVU.

Major companies are taking notice of the immense popularity of online worlds with the female audiences and now feature many similar game elements. The key for anyone looking to compete in this field is to come up with a compelling game mechanic that entices this key demographic of female users.

This type of game might be out of the reach of many small time developers but any game starts modestly so this might be a long term goal for you to reach. Never discount any game idea entirely especially as it can help you in developing some uniqueness. Sometimes combining existing game ideas in a online setting can help set it apart from what is available currently.

Making It Unique

Regardless of the size or scope of your game websites, an important aspect to realize is that uniqueness will help stand you apart from the competition in a very crowded market. My games portal for example specializes in browser based online worlds which require no registration. The benefit of this is you can immediately introduce your user to your game product without having them register or download anything. Consider introducing a unique element such as this into your game or website and you will of taken the first step to capturing some the fastest growing gamer demographic out there.

Utilize The Female Gamer Demographic

Accepting and embracing the fact that your games website caters to female gamers is a very important and strategic move that should be planned for in any games portal website. The market share is so large that the chance you will find success and as an independent developer raises if you do so. This is not the first choice for most professional game developers but I am one hundred percent certain this is the right direction to take a small games website if you want to attract a larger audience. The games you make don’t always have to be exclusively made for a female audience but I think they deserve some consideration.

Hopefully this has shed some interesting light on the often neglected market demographic of female gamers and brings about some success in your endeavors.

Brent

Aldric Chang asked:




IMVU is a 3 D instant messaging based in a virtual world. It is a social networking site with features like blogs, personalised profiles etc. As opposed to the traditional chat programs, IMVU allows the users to customise their avatars. The meetings between users are held in 3D environments, which can also be chosen by the users.

To enter the virtual world of IMVU, a user has to customise his/her avatar’s appearance which includes the skin tone, hair, clothes and other accessories. Next, every user gets to learn the tricks of the game from a brief tutorial. This tutorial informs users about the means to express different feelings in the game. This particular feature attracts a lot of users, especially teenagers, who get the chance to say or do things that they would be conscious of in the real world. There are a variety of moods to choose from. Also, there are a lot of cool things an avatar can learn like break dancing.

Like other virtual world programs, IMVU also works on a currency model. A user can buy different things like clothes, accessories and background environment using credits.

IMVU is usually thronged by teenagers and adults and one can easily imagine the flirtatious environment that exists in chat rooms. Sometimes, it’s not only mild flirting, but a lot more sexual and obscene. In that regard, IMVU is a hot favourite among people in their young twenties. However, it is also a matter of great concern for parents as it is very easy for a young teenager to enter this world so full of sexual references and offensive language.

Besides the normal form of chatting, IMVU also provides an option wherein it pairs users randomly with other users. The users can then place their avatars in their favourite 3 D backgrounds. What make it interesting and a little creepy at the same time is that you never know who you are actually chatting with. For all you know, it might be a 40 year old woman trying to pass for a 15 year old teenager. Some users might be thrilled by this sense of unpredictability, while it may bother others.

Though the concept of three dimensional chatting is delightful, it takes some getting used to. Users often take some time before they get well versed with the technical aspects. The chat options are a little complicated and users might also witness some technical lags.

The best feature of the IMVU are the graphics. The virtual chatting world is thrilling, and users are just awed by the 3 D environments initially. The conversations between users almost seem real, and even trivial details like facial expressions and movements of the hands are complete in sync with each other.

The creators of IMVU have combined, very cleverly, social networking and a virtual world replete with countless options of customisations. Both of these together make IMVU extremely addictive and users just can’t get enough of it. IMVU also allows users with paid accounts to create their own products, which can later be sold in the virtual world to earn credits.

As is obvious, IMVU is an online based programme and the basic membership is completely free. Users can create an account, choose their avatar and enter the virtual world using the basic membership. To enjoy certain privileges like content creation programmes, users have to purchase an exclusive account. The starting price for these is $8.

Thus, IMVU introduces a virtual world with immense opportunity for social networking. The graphics and other technical details are flawless, which only add to the thematic excellence. Among a generation obsessed with social networking and chatting, IMVU is bound to gain immense popularity.

Cheryl