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E3 Avatar Creator: The Kotaku Review

Ash Parrish Avatar
Ash Parrish
E3 Avatar Creator: The Kotaku Review

E3 is here. Registered participants will soon be able to log in to the E3 portal to connect with developers, industry professionals, and fans. Since the event is purely digital, the ESA is encouraging participants to create avatars so exhibitors who may or may not be there and who may or may not respond to requests can put a “face” to a name that may or may not be leaked along with other personally identifying information, as notoriously happened in 2019. As a lover of all things character creator, I decided to see how well E3’s avatar maker stacks up.

Initially I was pleased with this corporatized take on Picrew. There are no gender-restricted options, and you can import a hex code for anything that can be coloured — two of my favourite character-creator options. I was also impressed with the tool’s willingness to get silly. You can create a somewhat realistic representation of yourself, or say “fuck it” and give yourself Saitama eyes and a polygon nose.

I appreciate the ESA's willingness to get weird here. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)
I appreciate the ESA’s willingness to get weird here. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)

Your avatar’s eyes are kinda creepy. They stare forward lifelessly as though they’ve already seen the horrors of E3s past and future. What cursed knowledge do they hold, I wonder? Perhaps it’s the fact that there’s a very unfortunate moustache option you can choose that I won’t name here except to say it makes your avatar look like a dictator from the 1940s. Who can know such things?

I do wish the creator had more options particularly in the hairstyle department. Once again, a character creator neglects the wider range of kinkier hairstyles beyond the simple afro, and the one that’s there is pretty ugly:

God, this afro is ugly. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)
God, this afro is ugly. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)

But I’m in good company since most of the hairstyles are pretty dang awful. They all sit at the front of your avatar’s head while the back of your head is completely devoid of hair:

These hair options are like lacefronts that are all frontals but no wig. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)
These hair options are like lacefronts that are all frontals but no wig. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)

Lack of diverse options aside, I’ve already seen folks get funky with the tool, creating some genuinely neat avatars. Mike Fahey was able to recreate the Joker:

E3 has made Fahey become the joker. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)
E3 has made Fahey become the joker. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)

And I don’t know what the hell Zack Zweizen is doing here but I like it:

OK but the electric blue beard on Zack's avatar is pretty sweet. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)
OK but the electric blue beard on Zack’s avatar is pretty sweet. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)

As for me, if you see a pale, approximately 2.9-metre woman in a white dress with blood-red eyes and mouth stalking around the digital showfloor, come say hello.

This is probably the only time Ash will ever willing make herself a white woman. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)
This is probably the only time Ash will ever willing make herself a white woman. (Image: ESA / Kotaku)

So that’s the E3 avatar creator.

Final Grade: C-

 

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