Elegant Avatar Performance

" The previous examples showed some techniques related to the mapping between the player performance and the avatarʼs. Within those cases, there is a subset of games where avatars are controlled to perform aesthetically pleasing moves.

" Avatar body, gestural and facial language and expressions are the primary mode of conveying affect in MMOGs (Eladhari and Lindley, 2003). Generally, as it happens in many RPGs, players can trigger different pre-designed animations (such as dancing, kissing, bowing, spitting, waving goodbye). The use of avatar body performance in MMOGs re-places the lack of real body language, which helps disambiguating messages in these

games which heavily rely on textual chat. The subject of body and avatar performance in cyberspace has been covered extensively (see for example Stone, 1991 and Balsamo, 1993). This is why I would rather focus here on offline games that stress the ability of the player to play with the avatarʼs body aesthetically⁴⁹. Not surprisingly, many of these games are related to sports. I would classify them in two groups: functional and non-functional aesthetic avatar performance. By functional I mean that the aesthetic avatar performance has a reward on the mechanics level (i.e., it allows the player to earn points). By non-functional, I mean when the avatar is manipulated mainly for the pleasure of it.

" An early example of non-functional aesthetic avatar performance is found in Jordan Mechnerʼs Karateka (1984). In this game, the player controls a karateka that must rescue princess Mariko after fighting countless enemies. The game included a key for bowing, which apparently had no functional use on the game. I consulted the author (2006, per-sonal communication) and he confirmed that the feature was originally included just for the sake of it but then it was tested as a requirement for winning the game. The original idea, he told me, was to introduce an action that seemed had no point at all but that would serve at the end of the game. If the karateka did not bow at the princess before rescuing her, she would kill him. However, Mechner explained that after testing the game, nobody figured that out, so they removed the requirement but left the bowing action⁵⁰. Still, he said that the bowing served one function: if you bowed at the first enemy by the gate, he would let you in without fighting. However, after that, bowing was completely useless and could only be used for entertainment purposes.

49 Of course, there are multiple videogames without avatars. It can certainly be argued that the elements on these games can be manipulated with grace and elegance, too. I merely focus on avatar-based games be-cause it may be easier to grasp the potential beauty of their performance, based on the artistic conventions drawing from dance, sports and drama.

50 That puzzle was actually replaced by another one. At the end of the game, you would have to run towards the princess to prevent her from killing you. If you walked towards Mariko in fighting stance, she would kill you with a karate blow.

" Videogame sports is a particular genre where aesthetic body performance is gener-ally present. This is of course not surprising since sports are genergener-ally viewed as elegant experiences, both for the players and the spectators. Here are some examples where the player has a degree of control over the avatar that allows her to perform with elegance:

Football (Pro Evolution Soccer (2001- ) series), Rollerblading (Jet Set Radio (2000)), Skat-ing (Tony Hawk (1999- ) series), DancSkat-ing (B-Boy (2006)), SurfSkat-ing, CyclSkat-ing, SurfSkat-ing (Cali-fornia Games (1987)). Such focus on elegant moves also applies to fighting games (such as in the Street Fighter (1987- ) series) and also to mechanized avatars, such as in flight simulators (following the real life tradition of flying acrobatics).

" In the Tony Hawk series, it is generally required to achieve certain goals in order to move on to the next level. Some of those goals can involve tricks (difficult and sometimes spectacular moves). However, the player is always able to perform the tricks for the sake of them and/or in order to increase the score and/or to create a combo (a sequence of tricks can create a combo, a term used here in a slightly different way than it is used in fighting games⁵¹). Independently from the playerʼs motivation, these games allow for a de-gree of avatar movement control that is far more complex than in other videogames. The degree of control –when mastered– can result in aesthetically pleasing performances simi-lar to dancing (even though not necessarily tied to music). Dance-like performance is pos-sible in many games, as it is exemplified by the Quake III rocket jumping videos created by the Tricking iT team (2004). The main difference is that the Tony Hawk games require and encourage players to perform aesthetically pleasing skateboarding tricks and stunts. In other words, the main goal of the game is to create a beautiful performance. Other games, such as Quake III, can also be used as tools for pleasing performances but they were not necessarily conceived for that purpose.

51 In fighting games a combo is a combination of moves, while in this particular game a combo is a combina-tion of moves but grouped as a series of small challenges.

" Within the games where aesthetic avatar performance is functional to the scoring system, there are some where the task is particularly difficult and requires player virtuosity.

This is best exemplified by fighting combos, generally available in fighting games such as in the Street Fighter series. Combos are “a set of actions performed in sequence, usu-ally with strict timing limitations, that yield a significant benefit or advantage.” Wikipe-dia (2007). Combos are generally very difficult to perform and commonly make the avatar to perform in a spectacular way. Interestingly, Wikipedia does not recognize this aesthetic dimension –which applies both to the avatar movement and the virtuoso skill of the player– and instead focuses on the functional value of combos:

Combos are either used as an essential gameplay element (more commonly), or used merely as a high score or attack power modifier, not explicitly necessary for victory or survival. (Wikipedia, Combo (video games), 2007)

In many cases, the spectacularity of the avatar movement is matched by the virtu-osism of the playerʼs own moves, who frantically presses buttons and moves the stick according to a complicated sequence. Within this category, the Mortal Kombat (1992- ) series became famous because of its so-called “fatalities”: special combos that were used at the end of a match, where the player had the chance to kill the opponent in one out of several spectacularly violent ways⁵².