When you join Second Life you get to choose from a selection of avatars, there used to be a dozen, recently 24 mesh ones were added.
It was about time that the old avatars were replaced by something new and more up to date but I fear that by giving new users 100% mesh avatars, Linden Lab may have made things more complicated for our precious noobs.
The new SL starter avatars
Imagine being a new user, you pick one of the avatars, start your Second Life and then you decide you want to change your clothes, or your avatar… and you realise that this is very hard.
A friendly oldtimer gives you some clothes… alas these don’t work on these avatars.
You chat to someone and see their mouth move, you realise your avatar can’t do that.
You visit a sim that has a dress code, you need to change your avatar… but you don’t know how.
Ebbe Altberg explained on Twitter that they had made a mistake with the avatars, they should have mod permissions, so this will be fixed.
But still, a full mesh avatar is something for experienced SL users, not for those who’ve only just started it.
One of the things EVERYONE in SL wants, is to customise their avatar, change hair, skin, shape, etc.
This has now become harder.
Getting the new user experience to be fun, easy and inviting is one of Linden Lab’s main goals, after all, lots of people join SL but only a few hang around, the user retention is not very good.
We should want new users to be able to create an avatar they like and start exploring as soon as possible.
I don’t think these new avatars will help with that.
There might be a better way to help new users start their Second Life.
I’ve written before about using the Second Life website for more phases of the new user experience, such as a tutorial, helping them find a first location to teleport to, etc.
But I also think we should perhaps let new users create their own avatar on the SL website before they even start the SL viewer.
I think that it is very important that new users get to experience SL with an avatar they like, one they created themselves and one that they can bond with.
One that represents who they are or who they want to be, someone they will perhaps would not abandon so quickly and that might keep them in SL a little longer.
Actually relating and starting to care for an avatar is a great experience that enriches your Second Life and it is something that usually doesn’t happen till you’ve been in SL for a while.
Imagine having that feeling from the very beginning!
I would like new users to create their new SL avatar on the SL website just like they can do with countless other games, MMOs and simulation games such as The Sims.
Besides giving you an avatar you will feel closer to than one randomly picked from a small selection, it is also just a lot of fun to do.
If I look at the current avatars on offer, I don’t see any that I fancy, that represents me.
If I joined SL today, I’d start it with an avatar I didn’t like, one that I could easily forget about if I decided to leave SL.
You will never make everyone happy with avatars you’ve created, so let them create their own.
Really, we don’t care if our avatars are not 100% mesh, we can always decide to buy one of those or as many do today, replace parts of our bodies with mesh bits.
Creating, adapting and customising your avatar should be fun and easy.
Look at the game industry to see how they do it and translate that to an avatar builder on the SL website.
If others can do it, so can we.
L
et’s have a look at a game that comes very close to Second Life; The Sims 3.
A game I used to enjoy a lot, till I discovered SL.
Creating a ‘Sim’, is a lot of fun.
With big buttons and easy sliders you have a surprising amount of freedom and countless options to make your avatar look the way you want it to.
And all this before you even start the game.
The second you move into your first house, you have already spend some time with your Sim and probably already like him or her.
I think that something that allows new SL users to create their own avatar, even if it is more basic than in the Sims will be better than making them choose from a selection of avatars, no matter how cool they are.
After all, SL is all about freedom and creativity, why not start that experience from the very beginning?
Oh and bring back last names 😉
What do you all think about this idea?
Let me know in the comments.
I want to leave you with this very impressive video of the avatar creation tool from ‘The sims 4‘ that will be released later this year.
Jo Yardley's Second Life 
Good post! When I first started watching the Sims4 Create a Sim video, I was thinking, “oh here we go, more cartoons…” but as I kept watching, I must admit I became excited. I just love the stretch-like control they have, and how you can magnify on one highlighted feature at a time. This would even be a great introduction to building in Second Life, which clearly makes slider panels irrelevant. As I watched further, I thought to myself “wow, that would be fantastic, if you could customise your avatar before you even began Second Life”, but also if you could use these kinds of tools to customise them on an ongoing basis, watching them age or change if that’s what you wanted. I may be a Second Life resident for nearly 7 years now, but this video makes me want to try Sims4! Thanks for sharing.
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Sounds like a good idea, except I have become convinced over time that LL does not have people with the skills to implement anything like this — or any of dozens (hundreds) of other fixes or features.
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I disagree.
Especially after meeting more Lindens and hearing the Drax Files Radio Hour with Linden Interviews, I think that they actually have quite a capable bunch of employees, many of whom spend lots of time in SL.
But I think that they do make a lot of mistakes as a company, which makes me think it may be more of a management issue.
The employees want to and can fix stuff but from ‘upstairs’ they are send in the wrong direction perhaps.
Having said that, I do think that Ebbe Altbert may turn that all around.
But he has only just started this huge job and I think that these new mesh avatars may still be an inheritance from previous management.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it took them more than a year to get all this work done.
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I agree with Ebbe about the Lab having the talent to create and implement. I am less inclined to agree on more of the issue lying with management. Ultimately it is management’s decision and ultimately the buck stops on Ebbe’s desk.
But Rob wanted to being back last names. He saw user demand and heard user complaints and apparently saw some benefit to bringing them back. But, staff convinced him that should not happen and he gave it up.
I believe the convincing part is in the signup stats. I know the Lab is big on stats. But, stats can be misread. After all POTATOES CAUSE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. Stats show 99+% of those in prison ate potatoes before being arrested… dumb huh?
I’ve written about the problem of connecting signup behavior and player longevity via stats. Without understanding the player there is no way for those working with the stats to make reasonable connections and it is difficult to figure what needs to be compared to provide answers.
If Ebbe can see through the problem he may not be convinced as Rod was to drop the idea of restoring last names. I have some hope, just not much for last names coming back.
I do agree that Jo is right about personal attachment to a self made avatar. The more one invests, the more value it has to a person. But, we can surmise that simplifying the sign up process had a significant positive impact on signups. At every step needed to sign up for anything people drop out of the process. Thus commerical site go for one step sign up as the goal. I suspect removal of last names made a significant improvement in the numbers for completed signup. I suspect the Lab will resist putting avatar creation in signup.
The problems with changing clothes is also likely to prove these new avatars are too complex for new users and thus be counterproductive to player retention. But, as I recently wrote, they may be part of a larger plan. We’ll have to wait and see.
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I so agree with you on this, Jo. Designing your avatar before you get inworld (even if it is within some limited paramaters, definitely helps you adjust to the strange new space that is your Second Life environment. It gives you a level of ownership even before you come inworld – and that’s important in helping you develop a sense of identity and a sense of ownership.
And bring back Second Life names.
And, as with the Sims, make sure that they get a home they can move into asap in the process.
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I think they should get a piece of empty land in stead of a house, it will support the economy when they buy houses but more importantly it will allow them to experiment with building something.
Important though is that they have privacy there, anywhere where they won’t land in the middle of griefers.
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The idea of giving them a house in a themed community for thirty days rather than a bare bit of land is that many people come in here wanting primarily to socialise, not to build, and could be intimidated if confronted with a blank piece of land, where their choices will be “spend money or build it yourself”. Both of these require a considerable commitment and interest.
Choosing comes before building, I think – just as some people will be given standard clothes and will go on to start creating their own, or their own hair, some will go on to build houses and furniture and gardens. And many will begin to invest money.
But the starting point should be focused on giving people ownership and investment in the world, and making it easy for them. Then encourage them to the next step.
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Problem is that all users want something different.
So I’d suggest giving new users (all of them) a small island with a sign on it that lets them choose from a dozen or so nice low prim mesh houses and then rez a house or decide to build their own or keep it empty.
Again going back to giving them the choice, the freedom to choose.
This will also make these new user areas look more interesting and more fun, in stead of deserted suburbia.
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Well, another thing that would be useful on a Sims4-ish av-maker mechanism might also be the option to present it with a photo or photos of ones self — one of you seen from the front and one of you from the side, say — and let the system then auto-adjust your av to that shape and facial characteristics, then let the user tweak it from there. This would also make it easier to convert over your legacy-av appearance to whatever new mesh av system they might come up with for this. Mind you, somehow I expect something like this Sim4-ish system is less likely to show up for SL and more likely to get developed for HyFy, simply because HyFy is starting completely from scratch, and SL would have to graft this in on top of or alongside their existing av system, possibly hamstringing things. Course, if HyFy give us a feed-it-a-photo option in their av-generating mechanism, it’d make it easier to recreate one’s SL self over to HyFy.
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Because there is no sensuality in the avatars ?
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What do you mean?
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The avatars EMVU are more realistic and interesting.
Here are some examples::
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Are you kidding?
Those IMVU avatars look terrible, much, much worse than what we have in Second Life.
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Worse than the avatars of this video? (The Sims 4: Create A Sim Official Gameplay Trailer). Hope you do not was referring to avatars represented on this page…
Avatars need to be totally realistic, sexy and sensuous as the real people
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Well, the examples you showed meet none of that criteria.
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but have a more realistic skin tone…
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The IMVU pictures you refer to look better than what I saw in IMVU or SIMS when I went there a few months ago. To get an idea of what avatars can look like in SL visit: http://strawberrysingh.com/ or for a range of quality look at SL sections of Flickr.
It is possible to create far sexier avatars in SL. You can’t use Jo as a comparison point for sexy. She is deliberately dressing conservatively to fit her 20’s era. Looks good for the era, but not today’s idea of sexy. (no offense intended Jo) Strawberry’s and a site named Juicybomb both show skin textures beyond anything I’ve seen in IMVU and SIMS… as does Flickr and most SL fashion sites.
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Yes! Bring back the last names!!
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Yes, now that I’m exploring the Beta version of Secun Life, I have to agree with you … however, the avatars are still unrealistic. But certainly in the future will be increasingly realistic…
When we use the Oculus VR avatars will have to be more realistic, or will get too ridiculous
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Natales really nails all, tks God some is not ignoring the basic reason for many to be in Sl, to feel sexy!
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