The Untold Story Of The Xbox 360 Avatars
When it launched in 2005, the Xbox 360 was, certain issues aside, a successful product. But it was also drab. Lifeless. Until, in 2008, along came the avatars.
First officially unveiled at E3 2008, Microsoft’s avatars were seen by many as an attempt to cash in on Nintendo’s success with their “Mii” characters, caricatures that had become wildly popular as the individualised mascots of Nintendo’s new Wii system.
Included as part of a wider upgrade to the Xbox 360’s user interface, dubbed the “New Xbox Experience” (or “NXE”), the avatars were designed by the team at Rare to be part-dress-up doll, part-online identity, and, rather than being simple Mii clones, were the product of years of hard work at both Rare and Microsoft.
This is their story.
IN THE BEGINNING
“We (Rare) had been mulling an idea like this for several years”, says Lee Musgrave, Rare’s lead artist and one of the people primarily responsible for the design of the avatars. “The idea that you could play multiple games, bought separately, with the same (self-styled) character is something that we thought was pretty compelling, and something that would really be a benefit to the console in general”.
Rare’s initial idea for their avatar system was simple: create a single identity, tied to a user or a user account, that would be represented by an on-screen character of the user’s design, and which would be able to be carried over between games.
“We kicked the idea about internally, did some very scant groundwork on the kind of technical work that would be required to get something like this to work, flung a few emails about our thoughts across the Atlantic [to Microsoft's head offices in Redmond, Washington]… and then Nintendo announced Miis”.
Oops.
Unsurprisingly, Musgrave says, momentum on Rare’s project began to pick up pace after Nintendo first unveiled their own avatar system in May 2006. Rare’s thunder was stolen by the Kyoto company’s bold, console-wide initiative for their new Wii console.
But with stolen thunder came renewed focus for the team at Rare. “When we heard through internal grapevines that the Xbox platform team were putting together a completely new dashboard interface”, Musgrave says of Microsoft’s initial plans for the NXE, “we made it our business to get the work we’d already done on ‘shared characters’ in-front of them”.
Rare’s fledgling avatar system (indeed, it can be said Rare itself was fledgling at this stage, with the company having failed to deliver a certified AAA hit since being purchased by Microsoft in 2002) was shown to Microsoft. Microsoft loved it, green-lit the project with a new, greater scope (the avatars would now be bound to the console itself) and things took off from there.
WHO WAS DRIVING?
By this stage, the project was being driven by a select number of Rare personnel: head of production Lee Schuneman, writer Dale Murchie, art head Lee Musgrave and animator Nick Makin.
“The project team working through early ideation,” Musgrave says. “And [the] concept [team] worked closely with the Xbox LIVE team to ensure the avatar’s became active, living, breathing personas across the consumers’ entire Xbox 360 experience.”
“Once we moved from pre-development into actual implementation, about a dozen core team members from Rare worked hand in hand with Xbox to bring our shared vision for the avatars to life”. These extra hands included Chris Sutherland, Bjorn Madsen, Rod Boyd, Gareth Lough, Ryo Agarie, John Doyle, Will Overton and Rare’s internal animation and rigging teams.
NAILING “THE LOOK”
“We labored long and hard on the look of the avatars from the outset”, says Musgrave. “Our main goal was to create a style that did not alienate ANYBODY . . . this was about bringing people TO Xbox, not turning them off, and we deliberately went about creating something that was intrinsically human, but customizable to a point where people could express their personality within the system”.
“At the same time, we were careful not to make it SO customizable that it became a playground only for highly creative people who wanted to turn their Xbox avatar into a monster. We danced around the exact level of creativity to open-up with avatars several times, and I think we eventually hit a spot with the faces, hairstyles, clothing and accessories that allow people to portray themselves pretty nicely, and with a certain ‘edge’ if they are so inclined.”
Throughout this piece, you can see examples of early concept work for the avatars, Rare’s art and design team toying with several varying styles of character before slowly approaching the short, stocky figures that would comprise the finished article (final image at bottom of article).
As for what the avatars wear, Musgrave says that, rather than attempt to dress the avatars themselves, Rare enlisted the services of a number of fashion consultants. These fashionistas helped Rare “put together hundreds of pieces of visual reference from all kinds of fashion styles and genres”, which Rare then modeled and modified to fit the avatar’s art style.
Of course, the avatars didn’t launch with “hundreds” of pieces of clothing. And six months on from release, additions to those options have been few and far between. But Musgrave says that the initial range of clothing options available – whose limited nature and range has drawn a little criticism from users – is “actually something that is not fully appreciated yet”, with many articles of clothing designed in the avatar’s gestation period yet to see the light of day.
Musgrave is also at pains to point out that the clothing options “can be added to infinitely over time, to give us angles into pretty much any kind of trend or genre that you could imagine.” So if happy pants come back in, people, don’t worry: your avatars should be covered.
PUTTING THEM TO WORK
So the look and idea of the avatars was coming along. Yet for them to actually mean something, they had to be more than just dress-up dolls. They had to be characters. Avatars that didn’t just represent a gamer physically, but could be controlled by them as well.
“We ensured throughout the entire technical development of the avatar system that we kept one eye on the big prize, which was getting these things into as many places, products and games as possible”, says Musgrave. “To this end, we actually wrote TWO avatar systems that are available for other developers to use, and a whole boatload of documentation and guidelines as to how developers should go about using avatars in their own games”.
The first of these allows developers to take a console’s avatars and, using the 3D model as a base, rip still images from them in a variety of poses. This is the simpler of the systems, to be used mainly for games or programs that use 2D images, and users can even try it out themselves: it’s the same tech employed by the “photo session” tool used to snap a pic of your avatar for a user’s gamerpic.
The second system is more complex, and allows developers to lift an avatar model’s geometry and textures and use it in a 3D game. While we haven’t seen much use of this to date, Musgrave says that this tool can be “slotted into the code of any ‘in-development’ Xbox application”, so it shouldn’t be too long until Microsoft – like Nintendo already has to great success – starts using avatars more extensively as game characters.
THE MUSIC
With the art and technology now sorted, there was one more thing to take care of. The music — which, for an avatar system, sounds meaningless! They’re a visual thing, after all, so music… eh, whatever.
Yet anyone who has created an avatar will know that perhaps the most endearing aspect of the whole thing is the music featured, and in particular, the catchy chimes that play when a user saves changes to their avatar.
This crucial, yet under-appreciated side of avatar development was handled by Rare music man Steve Burke, with help from Dale Murchie along the way.
GO FOR LAUNCH
The avatars made their public debut with the release of the New Xbox Experience on November 19, 2008. And while the NXE brought welcome changes to the 360’s dour user interface, it quickly became clear that the main attraction of the update were the avatars, their widespread use and acceptance allaying any concerns that they would be ignored by the 360’s less “cuddly” user base.
“The main thing that I think we achieved here, and the main part that really lines up with our initial hopes for the project, is the level of integration and permeation that the avatars enjoy on Xbox 360″ says Musgrave. “The success of the Avatars is down to the fact that they have been allowed/forced into all corners of the system. There are avatars on the very front page of every dash of every Xbox, and when you buy a new box, one of the first things you are prompted to do is make an Avatar”.
Indeed, avatars have become a standard character across Microsoft for the Xbox 360, with executive avatars taking the stage at major presentations, and the characters also taking pride of place on Xbox 360 packaging and promotional material.
THE FUTURE
With the avatars having successfully made the journey from abstract game novelty to console mascots, creators Rare are looking towards the little guys’ future.
“We have a list of about twelve million things we’d love to do with the avatars, their clothing and accessories, and how this all might cross over into the real-world . . . and there are several of these ideas that are being worked on behind the scenes right now”, Musgrave says.
“Step one is complete: we have the look, the system and the tech. Step two is . . . due.”
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
I skimmed through it, but are those images actual sketch ideas they had previously thought of? Because they're all loads better than what we ended up with.
@Skitch:
Sure. But just because Nintendo was working on it, doesn't necessarily indicate MS or Rare knew about it (the Mii that is).
Unlike a lot of companies, Nintendo is actually pretty good about keeping a secret:
[kotaku.com]
Hell, they might have known. Who cares? Nintendo didn't exactly invent the avatar. Look, I have one next to my name at the top of this post.
No one cares who came up with what first. Did Nintendo steal the cartridge based console from Atari? Yes, and no one cares. Avatars (implemented well) are a good idea. Achievements (trophies, whatever) (implemented well) are a good idea. Motion controls.... etc.
Why people are so touchy about this with consoles is amazing. Nobody cares that lots of websites have durable avatars like this one does. Nobody cares that all soda brands use virtually the same style can.
Why do people hold up video game console manufacturers up as if they were artistes who need to be completely original and intellectually pure? Guess what, all egg producers use the same carton. All dairies use the same gallon jug. All Chinese Restaurants hand out fortune cookies and all Mexican Restaurants hand out tortilla chips.
Every company in the world has the same position: giving their customers what they want. To expect a for-profit business to ignore developments is insane.
The irony here is that we are talking about a Japanese company getting ripped off by an American company. Japan has an incredible (impressive, even) reputation for taking the ideas of others and improving them. Japan did not invent the car, the watch, the camera, the computer, the stereo, the video game, etc. Yet Japanese companies have taken these inventions and improved them. Could one not argue that that is precisely what MS did with the Avatar?
/end rant
sorry :(
Brodka
One thing stuck with while reading the article they wanted everybody to like them so they made them so generic that nobody at rare/ms (they may as well be the same company at this point imo.) did'nt dislike them surely this would be instant fail... Surely the point would be to make it so not everybody liked them...Hmm.
@Billkwando bought his tickets for Hyde's US tour:
That facemap technology rocks. This is one of the reasons I love playing Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on the Xbox 360 through Xbox LIVE
@Bii Nii Wii Nii Politely Replaces You're Your with Your You...: No offence but ,you sad bastard!!!!
@The Cap'n: Negative. When you boot up the first time with NXE, it does present you with the avatar creator, but you can exit out of it without having to create an avatar.
@KanSer: Yeah, I'm not fond how how "avatar games" thus far are mostly limited to just victory screens. I was excited when I saw Bomberman Live update for avatar usage, but instead of actual playable avatars as any idiot would make happen, we just have the usual cheering idiots at the end of a game.
Tee It Up! has horrible looking default characters. Why not enable avatars? Sure, the game looks abandoned given the one old DLC course, but I bet you more people would buy and play it just for the chance to play with their avatars. I'm convinced that's pretty much the main reason Kingdom for Keflings sold.
@Stompy1: Oh! I missed his name in the middle of all those. I think he only spells it with one 'l' though, Luke...
tossrStu
I like how in all the pics except the final product do the characters have real clothes. The clothes for the Avatar truely sucks.
@Nubius does it for the Prinnies: Look guys, everyone is right and wrong at the same time. Since all opinions are valid and cannot be contested with, we should cease posting altogether.
-[[CHoZO]]-
@TiKiMaN1: Yeah, hear hear.
FireSketch
@Marques Shaw: I noticed that.. man, the pigs.
FireSketch
Still gets me that pretty much any of the early concepts would look countless times better then what we ended up with, seems like that's the way it is with everything these days, beat it with the generic hammer until it can be spoon-fed to the public.
Wolfencognito
@dgkz0idberg: Or the second one.. although I guess that wouldn't work.
FireSketch
@The Cap'n: I agree, and only have an avatar because I was forced to. I really don't see what they add to the experience at all. The few games that have used them just seem to be lightweight trivia. I've got better things to do with my time than to waste it on Z-grade games.
@Knaaks: Damn, those avatars looked so much better when they weren't copying Miis.
:P That's actually why I chose a PS3 instead. Not even joking.
yanipheonu
I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this article; more like this, please!
@kingmanic: Very well said. I'd like to see more games genuinely targeted at adults personally.
The Avatars to the left of the "Nailing the Look" heading should have been what PS Homes avatars looked like. Im just not feeling the realistic approach, I still cant get my avatar to look like me on home. My avatar on LIVE looks like me, in a cartoon way. Lol.
#1, chrs look different.
#2, chrs look different.
#3, chrs look different.
#4, chrs look different.
#5, chrs look different enough.
#6, chrs look different.
#7, chr on his own, even manages to looks different.
#8, Same Transvestite, over and over, wearing variety of masks and wigs.
Good choice, Rare!
The fact that I've seen about 100 avatars online that all look the same as mine, is a testament to just how sucky they managed to make it.
@captain_cthulhu: are you actually trying to say that the mii's are better? dude, how? just give a good argument how. I am really interested in what you have to say.
SoulSiphon is rollin' with Saget
@FlagshipFighter: you are obviously WAY too creative for avatars. your awesome suggestion alone has confused and dazed us all since according to Rare, we are not capable of dealing with an idea like that - avatars must be dumbed down in order to include the lowest common denominator.
it's amazing to me that anyone commenting here has better ideas than what we got.
So all the concept stuff is 10 times more interesting than the final product? Makes me question their research into what people want.
Speaking of, are they still denying they copied Miis? Cause I'm pretty sure that's not fooling anyone.
Final note...how come they dropped the Clint Eastwood design? There is no possible way to design a normal looking Avatar. They all end up emo or gay. That's it. No in between whatsoever. Did nobody stop at any point and say "Gee, there are more than just bald men and spiky haired men in the world" or maybe "Wow, it never occurred to me that someone wouldn't want to look like a flaming douchebag." Just a thought...
jargy1
the xbox avatars are pretty lame. every picture in this article shows cooler looking, non-mii clones than what we got... and were forced to use. why not let us control them, like walk around? why not let me decide what color the shirt I chose can be? where's the customization? the freedom? they said in the article that they didn't want to make them "SO customizable that would only be for highly creative people" um, what?!? it would be easy for those who don't care and have depth for those who do, that's win-win in my book. no, this is their lame excuse for laziness. shame on you MS! you shamelessly copied nintendo because you wanted to make as much money as they do but you didn;t want to shell out the time and $$ to actually make it cool or better than the Mii's. horrible, useless, cheezy, avatars which, beyond your lame attemots not to, have alienated hardcore gamers who, by the way, are you bread and butter for this system. congrats on selling us out.
all these fucking retarded comments about MS copying Nintendo, did any of said douche bags actually read the article?!
@Gray665: nah, they are considered Mii clones because most of the parts themselves (eyes, mouths, noses, etc) are almost all direct copies from Mii parts! lame! greed! crap! if you're going to clone something like that, at least make it better!
Been a while since I commented on Kotaku, but this:
"The project team working through early ideation," Musgrave says.
The next time you hear someone say something as ridiculous as "ideation," please, please, please hit them in their face.
I like the avatars and i like my xbox but it bums me out that everything ms does is rip off the other guy..everything they do.
What would be cool is if Rare made and amazing adventure game starring your mii... avatar, a grand huge game could be a interesting idea.
Jad35
Will Overton? Of course! I remember him when he was at N64 magazine. I remember he left for Rare. Good to see he's still there!
Stompy1
Yeah thanks for displaying your vast understanding of and respect for female gamers by designing all the early female avatars as blond bimbos, Microsoft.
@emag:
Yeah, #7 is awesome. It would be so awesome if there were styles and we could choose that instead of the egghead style we currently use.
I would take any of those concept ideas over the final product.
Did someone say "ganguro"?!
Shoot. I've been lured in by the top pic yet again with false promises of ganguro.
And if you need me to say something about the avatars, I don't much care for 'em. Unless they're ganguro, then they're awesome.
XBL avatars are worst ever created. No versatility along with limited options. Just shit.
For all of the work they've put into it, I've only got one question:
Why do our male avatars still pose like females?
/Trying hard not to gender-stereotype.
the mii's have more character and alot more flexibility on facial feature placement.
would have been cool to have arthur de pins do the concepts, [www.arthurdepins.com]
or just take the sims character creator for this. pretty sure microsoft could have bought it. they are loaded!
che-che
@Knaaks: Good call, because two people have never had the same idea...EVER!! /eye roll
MissingPieces
I still find Avatars pointless and boring as all hell.
Where are the Ninja outfits, pirate gear, cowboy duds, robots, monkeys, orcs, knight armor, skelton people, ghosts, circus bears, mimes, whatever? I want weird, wacky, and fun....not random dudes that hang out at the Hot Topic or Gap. This is fantasy...howzabout the characters look like something I don't see around town?
jcb231
@-[[CHoZO]]-: Moods are a fantastic idea. It would be hilarious to see who chooses to be sullen or happy, violent or goofy. I still want game integration.
Golf: Tee It Up! developers Housemarque and publishers Activision; I'm looking at you.
KanSer
@trunkenmath: True Dat. I would hate to scan through my list of friends only to see well built Avatars with testicles for eyes.
@Nubius does it for the Prinnies: What do you know? He's clearly 300x better than you are!
@NeVeRMoRe666: Penis headed guys
trunkenmath
I really like the avatars no matter how they came about. MS has done a decent job of bringing new clothing content and I only expect this to increase in the near future. I am still waiting and hoping for some licensed NCAA, MLB, NHL, NFL etc. apparel for my lil dude. I would pay money for a Mizzou fb or bb jersey, a Stl Cardinals uniform, a Blues hockey jersey(how fuckin sweet would official NHL sweaters be.
I also wish developers were allowed to include free clothing in games you buy. Maybe in the future.
The final product is definitely my least favorite out of all those :(.
JukeJointJezzabelle
My biggest problem with the avatars are their mannerisms. They just are so lame, its hard to tolerate. I just ignore my avatar at all costs.
@wallpaper42: They only fit since the entire NXE changed the way things look. Which is a bit childish, but approachable. Goal achieved.
@kingmanic: Adult gaming...we can only dream. I wonder if Trico will fit in to that ideal, or if they will try to appeal to the masses some how....
@[twitter.com]: Just what I was thinking.
Is that the Demoman's dad?
@kingmanic: True, but sadly the ones you mentioned are like "Adult Themes 101" (if there was such a college course). Sadly I think the industry is still waiting on something with some real depth throughout. Hard to get somebody to publish something like that unfortunately so it tends to have to get something like "Star Wars:" put at the front of it. Someday...
@Fil Vina: PEDOphiles...
@Vecha: they must not have their 360s online. If your 360 is hooked up to the internet, NXE is a mandatory install and the first thing you have to do when NXE boots for the first time is create an avatar.
@ttocs: My opinion is so important it screams right past all forms of cognition and transforms itself to TRUTH!!!!
Would have been better if you just kept it in CAP LOCKS
Then...then, you'd be awesome!!!
@mat1cs: virtuous mission: yes. (see the name << I know what I'm talking about).
@b-radicate: Technically the head and body shapes are a little more basic in the Mii than the Avatar, but if you've messed around with both of them enough it's pretty clear that there is a lot more customizing options as far as specific facial features go in the Mii.
@danielhouse: and there is dust collecting on my Wii.
@joshfigueroa: The third and fourth (and seventh) images are great. There's some real personality showing there. Unfortunately, what we wound up with is entirely bland and uniformly atrocious.
emag
Avatars and Miis should all die a horrible death.
mrmud
@kingmanic: +1 for you, sir.
Steven Harris
@Ashurahori: Like the PS3 Home. I wanted to make a fat albert character but, characters have a fat limit. Perhaps if they are too fat, they will interefere with the pre-designed animations and such.
@Brodka:
Actually Nintendo had been working on the Mii ever since the NES era. But they never really could get it right until the Wii era.
@-[[CHoZO]]-: yeah, my neck is nowhere near as small as my avatar's. And let me adjust the size of my head and I have a bushy goatee that's not all neat and trim. Bastards! Other than that, the clothes are actually decent.
IndustrialJones
@KillerBee: I also think the line about trying to please everyone had a bit to do with the generic outcome...
@mat1cs: virtuous mission: By 99% of peoples' definitions.
Sorry, 99.9% of _skinny_ and not morbidly-unhealthy people.
KanSer
@-[[CHoZO]]-: Nope, opinion.
If EA ever made a console, then they would force Spore monsters to be it's avatars. I guess I am already all set anyway for that (look at my image)...
Anyway, it's a shame that the 360 avatars aren't used for much anyway. Not until 1 vs 100 launches.
I pray to the heavens that they'll introduce a virtual world for these NXE Avatars.
D0RC
@High Speed Indeed: I think he's referring to the hair on that ginger fellows buttock hole!
@hezz05: That would be around the time Nintendo was Rare's exclusive publisher. There's probably a deeper story to this game avatar thing, but I'm guessing one person may have picked up the idea from another and ran with it.
Pizookie
@MercerCh00x: At least we got to facemap in Rainbow Six. I made my eyes look all buggy so I could scare people when I pop around corners.
@Brodka: Off course they're gonna say that. Just like Sony said they had motion control before Nintendo had shown the Wiimote and Nunchuck.
@dgkz0idberg: although instead of copying miis, it would be team fortress 2
@AngryEddy: no, step 3 is ????. Step 4 is PROFIT
@Knaaks: Flamebait or not I must concur.
@[twitter.com]: Guess I spoke too soon then :( I can assure you it'll be the power I used the least though, even if it's the best!
Knaaks
It looks like they had some really cool ideas and fresh looks. Too bad they decided to throw them away.
@[twitter.com]: whoa, wrong thread
@dgkz0idberg:
I agree with you my good chap!!!
@Knaaks: seems it was a pretty successful flame bait.
@mat1cs: virtuous mission: Reminds me of how strange clapping is... O__o
TaylorEatWorld (The New One)
@Knaaks: wait till you get the last power ...
@Wawa: So original. It never gets old.
You forgot to mention the PS3 has no games, too, by the way.
I appreciate all the hard work that went into making the avatars, but as of now they seem pretty useless. There's only a few games that you actually play using your avatar, and those aren't very fun (atleast to me). To be honest my friends and I had to create a game of our own to give the avatars a purpose. We customize them to look like some character (video game, cartoon, or really just an celebrity) and then everyone else guesses who it's supposed to be. We've had some pretty funny results (I'm currently rocking a Bart Simpson avatar).
lil-hand
"Yet anyone who has created an avatar will know that perhaps the most endearing aspect of the whole thing is the music featured, and in particular, the catchy chimes that play when a user saves changes to their Avatar."
WAIT - I thought they bought that chime music from Nintendo.
burjeffton
@Pombar: so by your definition:
fat = ugly
?
mat1cs: virtuous mission
You know, just thinking about it, I'd like to see some sports games that con use your Avatar.
@Brodka: You do understand that Nintendo was actually working on an avatar system even before Rare started? I remember reading somewhere it's actually something that Miyamoto internally developed for the N64 or even earlier.
The xbox 360 and ps3 both have camera add-ons and we cannot put our own faces on the avatars yet......
MercerCh00x
@mastergodai: I agree with your statement 100%, and I hate it when games like Killzone 2 shoe-horn in motion controls just cuz it's there. I'm enjoying Infamous more then I have any other PS3 game, and guess what, no motion control at all in it!
Knaaks
@[twitter.com]: You know...if you feel like that, I guess.
-[[CHoZO]]-
The 4th image is so cool. I wish we could customize the faces and shape of avatars with multiple slider or at least use the vision camera to scan our own face in because currently the faces look lame.
@Wawa: I guess at that stage rrod wasn't a big issue and then it became one so they scraped that t-shirt.
MercerCh00x
@wallpaper42: Gears of War isn't adult. It's adolescent. Adult would be something like "I have no mouth but I must scream", "Shadow of the Collosus", or "Knights of the old republic". Adult games have some story depths and make you think about things. Adolescent things Fixated on id themes. Swearing, sex, violence, and simplicity of charcters. While gears would be on the upper end of the adolescent themes it's still at heart about things adolescent fixate on. Violence and pretend maturity.
kingmanic
that second set of avatars reminds me of a cross between Prozzak and the Oblongs
...wow, haven't thought of those in a while.
interesting writeup! it's cool to see how much work actually goes into something so seemingly simple.
@ShadowXion:
*still
I created my little Vampire guy on Day 1 and it ain't changing until I get cool video game gear like a Gas Mask so I can be HUNK!
Personally, I sill like the old dashboard and could care less about the avatars.
@Brodka: From my understanding, Nintendo had been dabbling on the idea of Miis for a LONG time, dating back to pre-N64 era stuff, with a precursor to the Mii having appeared on the N64 itself.
@DarkLinkinfinite: I feel like the opposite is true. Miis are too generic. There is so much left to the imagination it's hard to make one that couldn't look like a dozen or so people you know.
However, my Avatar looks exactly me. My best friend laughed out loud when he saw mine the first time we joined the same party.
Differences in opinion aside, I'm just glad to know the general idea of Avatars was being kicked around before Miis came on the scene, even if it still sounds like the big push to get them "made" really was due to the Mii "success." I am sad some of the other art styles were not chosen, however.
"Rare's thunder was stolen by the Kyoto company's bold, console-wide initiative for their new Wii console."
Stolen thunder?
Didn't Nintendo say, and release pictures of proof, that they had ideas for Mii's way back in the SNES era?
Pot kettle black I think.
marfin
@Gray665: Crazy Robot Dancing!
Pyro Jack Frost
@Coolest guy of teh Internetz: Please elaborate.
@Knaaks: True dat.
Hey_Blinkon
I hate the way they stand.
@Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.: To be fair, I don't really like Avatars, Miis, OR Home.
@xxXX_Insanities_Birth_XXxx: I know they weren't, but they were some of the most popular. I don't mean copying the IDEA of avatars in games, I mean copying the style.
Knaaks
I am somewhat unimpressed by all of this. After all this isn't some unnamed internal development team in the mega corporation that is Microsoft, this is Rare. Rare should be working on a title, something that takes our mind off their last flop, not designing clothes for our avatars. Rare is one of the oldest studios around and they were the ones making the dolls that you can do what with? Burp and wave?
Obviously the avatar's true potential can't be seen without cooperation from outside developers and I'm not opposed to the concept, but the whole thing is rather underwhelming.
ctorrans
@Knaaks: hmmm... no.
We all know what the most blatant video game feature one company copied from the other and it has nothing to do with Nintendo.
It's about these little things that pop up on your screen and record your video game progress that gives you an overall total.
Imagine if they had the Soul Calibur 4 customisation characters for the avatar (even though you can barely change there face details)
One can dream...
@Knaaks: Your attempt at "Phirst!" is "phail".
Maybe read the phucking article next time.
i still dont' understand why i can't use my camera to 'read' my face and create the most accurate avatar with the given options. i'm no programmer, but i can't imagine it would be THAT difficult.
Fil Vina
@Gray665: Actually, Nintendo was working on a Mii-like system since the NES days
[en.wikipedia.org]
@The Cap'n:
Are you forced...I have some friends who don't have avatars...
Nice one Luke! Thanks for another great feature article.
@-[[CHoZO]]-: make an option for thrashing about and giving the finger perhaps?
@jlburgin: Red, Ring, XBox, You see the connection?
@DarkLinkinfinite: Yeah sure, you can make them look a lot more like you with the Miis, or you could go and play a game...oh wait.
I'm just KIDDING! I agree to a point, but I'm happy with the likeness of my avatar to me. Also, I don't think the famicom section should be in that development of the Mii article, I mean that's just a face/avatar, I doubt at that time they were calling it a Mii, seen as a Mii is a play on the "word" Wii.
@Ashurahori: I'm guessing that there is probably too much of a perceived link between video games and obesity, and they didn't want to do anything that might reinforce that belief.
Stupid yes, but it would not suprise me one bit.
@Gray665: Bear is driving?!?! How can that be?!?!?!?!
Fil Vina
@DarkLinkinfinite: accuracy? my avatar is more accurate than my balloon head miis to the point where my friends immediately point out "that's him!"
@Brodka: Either way it's a stupid argument.
@Knaaks:
well if you want to say that then PS3 motion control the untold story: copy wiimote the end
mastergodai
+1 for gender stereotyping females in the first two pics. It would be nice to see women displayed in a CREATIVE manner, artists.
Marques Shaw
Well, we already know step 3 is "Profit!".
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions Wii fanboys suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
;)
radink
It is a good thing we have characters such as mii's, xbox 360 avatars and ps3 home avatars. Otherwise we might just play games.
MercerCh00x
@ttocs: 10x better than Miis??
False.
-[[CHoZO]]-
@DarkLinkinfinite: accurate in what respect, hell, my avatar looks almost EXACTLY like me, and so does my wife's. I mean sure, there may be a lack of the options that make you yourself harder to replicate, but I find that most of my friends that care enough to make their avatars look like them are nearly spot on.
SoulSiphon is rollin' with Saget
@Wawa: No, that's a symbol that is commonly on the "power on" buttons of computers and such.
@+ Watch video
mat1cs: virtuous mission
@Crash__Man: Outside of the part in the article where it mentions that Rare was working on avatars BEFORE Nintendo announced their Mii's, I totally agree!
Brodka
@Pombar: Er, dunno where that post went.
Previous post: Because on XBLive, everyone is beautiful! Maybe that's why people feel they have to compensate by being so ugly in conversation.
It seems like the avatars don't get used in new games or applications anymore. Then again, I don't see as much use of the miis as I used to either.
I chuckled when they talked about how widely accepted the avatars are. We're FORCED to accept them! I've never used mine for anything. At least Nintendo makes mii's optional.
@Ashurahori:
i like how the first drawing is a blonde cheerleader with big (probably enhanced) boobs....
microsoft, make the next avatar update include the option for DDs and pom poms
@Ashurahori:
Because nintendo sold more consoles then them and they feel obligated to copy.
Look out for massive amounts of shovelware coming to your 360 and ps3 this year...
diagorus
@AngryEddy: What's step two? I always get a ? *shrugs* ? from most people who know step 1. ;)
Great article Luke!
It is so sad to see the cool potential that Avatars had compared to the final product.
In the end, I am sure it was "Those other designs don't look enough like Mii's. FIX IT!"
Interesting. Good read. I think they will always be considered Mii clones simply because they didn't launch first, despite what the article says.
Also, Bear was driving.
Gray665
Ever since the avatars came out they make me think of the 360 as a child's console.
I mean the 360 has a lot of mature games like Gears of War, the avatars just don't fit.
wallpaper42
Wow, nice article. I knew Rare was behind the scenes with the initiative, but I didn't know to what degree. It's funny how something so small in our eyes (avatars are small compared to actual games and the system itself) took so much time and devotion to bring to fruition. Good work on their behalf though. The Microsoft avatars are 10x better that Mii's and 150x better than PS Home itself.
@Knaaks: you mean copy avatars? Mii's weren't the first small avatars around you know.
xxXX_Insanities_Birth_XXxx
Is that at the top (second from right) wearing a RROD shirt?
I would have appreciated being able to choose a mood. It would give each Mii...er Avatar more character, instead of everyone smiling and waving when you scroll over to them.
And also, allow big fatties.
-[[CHoZO]]-
@Knaaks: nail on the head.
Crash__Man
Step Three is Profit, right?
intersesting read. Still, I find it odd that despite being technically superior, you're still able to make a more accurate Mii than you can an Xbox avatar, not to mention all the amazing and offbeat creations you can find on the Check Mii Out Channel, not that many people here would care for such things.
Also, for the few of you that haven't seen it yet, [en.wikipedia.org]
Nintendo's NES and DS Mii prototypes
@Knaaks: Well it's not like Nintendo was doing anything with them... I say it's fair game!
Good write up.
@Knaaks:Don't hate, don't flamebait. Miis really aren't used enough for what they could be used for.
I kinda skipped most parts, but I have a very small question.
...why does the customizeability get lower and lower through the years, until suddenly, you can't make a guy who looks half as fat as you are?
Ashurahori
The Untold Story of the Xbox 360 Avatars: Copy Miis. The end!
Knaaks
4th pic woulda been great
@Knaaks: Think about this for a second... a persistent identity that exist outside of games that can be carried over from game to game... who do you think bought that concept to consoles... Nintendo? Please...
@Brodka: Pretty good rant there. I liked it.
Put on a happy face.
Illist
It's not just you Thejamielynch I feel the same way. Also I believe the unisex clothing doesn't help. They really need clothes that makes male avatar's stand out.
Darvan
DupliMiiCation. Nothing original. Even has the stupid stance-jump-tinkle noise.
SigmundTheSeaMonster
is it just me or do almost all of the concept art styles look way better then what they ended up with?
All of the concept artwork is so much better than the actual product. Sad panda.
@tcolberg:
Ah!...I thought so...
When compared to the other ideas that were kicked around, the final "Avatar" product just looks awful. Some of those other showcased styles could've been really cool.
Veit
Here is a prime example of corporate group think at work. Notice just about all the early versions are better than what they ended up as. This is due to some non-creative people in meetings saying "hey I like that part of that one and this part of this one. Let's stuff the two different concepts together. Oh and make sure it won't offend anyone (i.e. "be at all interesting").
Note that Musgrave defines "success" as "forcing" the user to use them. Real success would be defined as "we made avatars optional and 80% of the users decided they wanted to configure one".
I hate xbox avatars. They look dorky as hell (my professional opinion).
As gay-friendly as I am, I don't see why Avatars need to be *all* so queery. Couldn't it be an option? :)
Also, the concept of carrying your character through different games is perfect for the Wii and its selection of casual games, much less for the most "serious" platforms.
nevernow
@Knaaks: But I had the idea of using my Tiger Woods created character in all my other EA games back in 2003.
The bastards read my mind!
i still refuse to take any avatar system seriously
koof
To those who were moaning at Knaaks for his comment on Rare copying Nintendo's Miis, have you all forgotten that Nintendo were working on Miis way before the Wii came about and perhaps Rare knew of this being a close company to Nintendo before Microsoft bought them.
Wow, I've seen better concept art and character sheets from high school kids on Deviantart. This is a professional company, you say?
kiddoblivion
whoah, whoah. im wholly against bullshit microtransactions, but if i can make my avatar guy rock spaghetti western garb, sign me up for anything less than five bucks. im all about that shit.
@-[[CHoZO]]-: You can change the mood if you use your Avatar for your Gamerpic by tapping the bumpers when taking the photo. I know that's not what you mean, but something of that sort is available. I'd like to see it pushed to the Avatars visible on the Friends tab too myself. A bit more visible.
@Illist:
:D
Brodka
The Eric So looking ones would have been boss. With the rendering abilities and processor hogging footprint of the 360 UI, why not get crazy with the roto / vinyl toy approach, instead of compromising down to a mediocre rip off of the Wii that became a mandatory aspect of the experience.
Also, would it really be that hard to coordinate with 3rd party developers to allow / unlock the ability to play / replay a game using your custom avatar instead of the particular sprite or space marine you'd normally see? Bipedal humanoid rigs don't really vary that much, despite what animators might tell you, and if the 360 rigs are locked down, allowing developers to port in the templates as added incentive for players to not sell their discs to GameStop, win-win.
e
@Ashurahori: shut up fatty.
typingfromwork
@MercerCh00x: When did the rrod stop being a big issue? I still to this day hear about people I know having their xbox fail out on them. I just thought it was MS poking fun at themselves for their mistake.
Sony HOME, the untold story:Copy Xbox Live.
UZI13