The Slowdown: Avataritis

The Slowdown have posted a new critique, "Avataritis," that attempts to portray the utilization of character customization as a pandemic, emotional response on behalf of publishers and developers to finding the easiest, most efficient solution to the very unique dilemma presented by the enlarging, widening player base of video games.

With a narrative-oriented focus and a literary approach emphasising authorial intent and life-experiential factors, the article also discusses the emergence and role of gender criticism and research in relation to the recent proliferation of the customizable avatar.

The story also discusses the very act of character creation, aiming to clarify several semantic distortions related to our terminology of character creation, in turn breaking apart the concepts of relatability and understandability.

The overarching analysis is finally related to examples from the gaming marketplace, where many continue to corroborate apparent falsehoods and misunderstandings in relation to the utilization of the avatar. In this way, the article aims at dissuading both developers and players from believing that written narratives are going away as customization and emergent content are entering video games with full force.