What are Avatars?

Ask students if they know the term “avatar.” (If you have already delivered the Game Design lesson, you can remind students of the discussion of avatars there.)

Make sure students understand the following key points:

An avatar is a character that they control in a game
Not all games have avatars (for instance, puzzle games do not) but many do
Most avatars are human, but some are not even humanoid (the car in a racing game could be termed an avatar)
Many games and virtual worlds allow students to modify their avatar, either at the beginning or later in the game (or both)

Next, have students access the student chapter What are Avatars? or project it using a digital whiteboard or digital projector.

Have students identify which games and virtual worlds the avatars come from:

• Slide 1 Fortnite
• Slide 2 IMVU
• Slide 3 Stardoll
• Slide 4 Pokémon
• Slide 5 Animal Crossing
• Slide 6 Minecraft
• Slide 7 Roblox (note that the ungendered avatar is only available if a user does not select a gender when signing up for an account)
• Slide 8 World of Warcraft