The avatar design is essential for a videogame. The relation of the players with their avatar, and the projections they make of them, will make them experience realities that cannot occur. The influence on the child can be positive or negative depending on the qualities of the avatar.
Wii avatars, called Mii, are well known, with which children usually have a good time representing themselves and their friends or family.
There is a projection on what they would be if they had those avatar qualities as their strength, their special powers, and even their gender. Sometimes they like to act like they are girls when they are boys and vice versa. Acting in different roles can help them feel like another person and make decisions within the game based on the role they have adopted. This can help them develop empathy or have more experience and knowledge of themselves, by putting themselves in the shoes of the other, seeing how they would react to a problem, and understanding how another person would think or what decisions they would make.
How is the avatar design for toddlers’ videogames?
Normally, educational games for kids, are usually adapted to the kids’ age. Also, in childhood, they love to create fantastic and fun characters and explore multiple possibilities. Imagine characters is a game for them and, recreating their environment (their room, their pet, costumes, and cool clothes, can become a very powerful reinforcer that accompanies educational sessions.
Nintendo’s Miis, Pocoyo, Lego, and Peanut characters are some examples of apps to create avatars.
In some games or gamified methodologies, players get scores as a reward for their performance in activities, tasks, or games. These points obtained can be exchanged for accessories for the avatar. The user can decorate, personalize and modify their avatar as they wish, and this process is highly motivating and fun for the players. That is why it is widely used in different apps and educational methodologies to enhance the educational effect of the game
In the Kokoro Kids’ app, we are also preparing a space to customize the Kokoro characters, including a room, their clothes, some accessories, and their vehicles.
