Introduction to Avatars

Now project the Image Slider in the student chapter Introduction to Avatars or have students access it. Ask students if they recognize any of the characters on the screen and identify any that they aren’t able to name:

“Steve” and “Alex” from Minecraft, a player avatar from Pokémon Go, a player avatar from Animal Crossing. and “Astro Bot” from the game “Astro Bot.”

Ask students how these characters are like each other and how they are different. Affirm all the students’ answers but make sure that one key similarity is mentioned: all of them are characters whom you control in a computer game.

Introduce the term “avatar”: a character that stands for you in a computer game.

Point out that an avatar is something like a game piece in a board game, such as Monopoly or Snakes and Ladders (since it’s how you “move” and do things in the game) and also something like a Hallowee’en costume (since you get to choose what you look like.)

An important difference between avatars and costumes, though, is that when we see someone in a costume we usually know who they are and what they really look like: when we see someone’s avatar in a game, that’s usually all we know about them.

Point out that in some games everyone starts with the same avatar and you can learn or buy the ability to change it (as in Minecraft ), in others you have to play one or a small number of characters (like in Astro Bot) and in some you get to pick what your character looks like, but only from the options the game gives you (as in Animal Crossing and Pokémon Go).