Game Feature: Avatars

From the movie "Avatar".

Traditional Gaming

In World of Warcraft players have an Avatar that represents them on the screen. Without this visual representation, the player could easily get lost in all the activity they see.

Gamification

Avatars can be as simple as a Facebook profile picture.

Avatar Customization

Definition: Avatar Customization allows for deeper levels of emotional attachment by the player. As the player decorates the avatar they create a bond, the avatar becomes an extension of themselves. Often Avatar Customization is used as an extended piece of monetization for social games. Generally a small bit of customization is allowed for free while deeper levels of customization are charged at a premium price.

Example: Again, in World of Warcraft players are allowed to choose their hair style, color of hair, facial jewelry, etc.

How this applies to Gamification: Perhaps by adding a simple selection of avatars (where players choose from a list of pictures) they will have a sense of ownership and deeper attachment to the Avatar itself.

Avatar Decoration

Definition: Avatar Decoration refers to the ability for a player to add virtual assets to an existing avatar. For example, if the avatar was a human representation, the player could customize the appearance of an avatar by changing their hat.

Example: Once More, using World of Warcraft as an example, players can choose to outfit their characters in a vast array of clothing purchasable in the stores found around the game.

How this applies to Gamification: A site that uses Facebook profile pictures as the avatars could provide a variety of backdrops for the avatar, this giving the player another assortment of choices to "make it their own".