New Game
Thought the avatar, the user/player is able to craft an alternative identity or persona (alternative self). While this process seems liberating, this process also forces the user (gamer) to address various aspects of their personality that may be dormant or concealed prior.
By examining the construction and limitations of the avatar within video games, I contend that the virtual space rhetorically functions to allow for users to manifest alternative personas that are both extensions of their “real-self” and freestanding selves that only the gamer and others within the discourse are aware of. These avatars are not entirely free as they often reflect the social norms and conventions of the dominant discourse outside of the game. The “freedom” to choose your identity within a game is an allusion to some and a privilege for others. |
Entering The FieldJohn Alberti in his article “The Reading and Writing: How Video Games Reframe Our Understanding of Literacy” contends that videos games function similarly to a written work or text, as they can provide pleasure and can also be used as a site of reflection or discovery (261). Looking at the sub-genre of RPGs (role playing games), the gamer is often given the ability to construct an alternative identity through a medium, which is often called an avatar (see figure to the right).
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Who We Are & Who We’re Not
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Character creation software and modeling has become quite advanced over the past several decades and continues to become more and more detailed. The freedom to construct a character that looks identical to your physical characteristics in real life is performed with ease when playing titles such as Final Fantasy XIV, a popular MMORPG. While creating a character that mirrors one’s realistic proportions is acceptable within the genre of RPGs, the majority of players opt to create a virtual self that is dissimilar to their own identity in real life (Owen 206).
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