Avatar, Assembled

Jaime Banks (Ph.D., Colorado State University) is Assistant Professor at West Virginia University’s Department of Communication Studies. Her social scientific work is animated by questions about how digital games influence how we see ourselves and about how humans relate to the technologies they use. She is a research associate at WVU’s Interaction Lab, was the founding Chair of the National Communication Association’s Game Studies Division, and serves on the editorial boards of Communication Research Reports and the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media.

• List of Figures – List of Tables – Acknowledgments – Jaime Banks: Introduction: (Dis)Assembling the Avatar – Teresa Lynch/Nicholas L. Matthews: Life & Death: The Meaning of (Digital) Existence – James M. Falin/Jorge Peña: Shape & Size: The Body Electric – Kristine L. Nowak: Race & Otherness: The Utopian Promise and Divided Reality – Jesse Fox: Boobs & Butts: The Babes Get the Gaze – Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn: Face & Hair: Looks That Change Behaviors – Hanna Wirman/Rhys Jones: Voice & Sound: Player Contributions to Speech – Sita Popat: Gesture & Movement: Indices of Presence – Mark R. Johnson: Names & Labels: Strategic (De)Identification – William Robinson/David Calvo: Gear & Weaponry: Market Ideologies of Functional and Cosmetic Items – Rabindra A. Ratan: Companions & Vehicles: Permutations of Digital Entities – Kristine Ask/Mark Chen: Alignments & Alliances: Associations of Value – Matthew Grizzard/Changhyun Ahn: Morality & Personality: Perfect and Deviant Selves – Nicholas David Bowman: Relationships & Reputation: Part of the Main(frame) – John Carter McKnight: Headcanon & Lore: Owning the Narrative – Nicolle Lamerichs: Cosplay & Conventions: Exporting the Digital – Andy Boyan/Jaime Banks: Rules & Mechanics: Parameters for Interactivity – John A. Velez: Achievements & Levels: Building Affirmational Resources – Christopher A. Paul: Spells & Statistics: Inside the Black Box – Oskar Milik: Class & Role: Frameworks for (Inter)Action – Isaac Knowles: Resources & Inventories: Useful Fictions – Peter Kudenov: Code & Logic: Procedural Desire – Mark R. Johnson: Glitches & Lag: Unanticipated Variables: Roger Altizer, Jr.: Pixels & Polygons: The Stuff of Light-Beings – Dominic Kao/D. Fox Harrell: Embellishment & Effects: Seduction by Style – Ryan Bown/Gabe Olson: Perspective & Physics: Frames for Play – Edward Downs: Mobility & Context: Of Being and Being There – Casey O’Donnell: Engines & Platforms: Functional Entanglements – Nathan Stevens/Anthony Limperos: Interfaces & Mods: Customizing the Gateway – Daniel Roth, Jean-Luc Lugrin/Sebastian von Mammen/Marc Erich Latoschik: Controllers & Inputs: Masters of Puppets – Tyler T. Ochoa/Jaime Banks: Licensing & Law: Who Owns an Avatar? – Contributors – Ludography – Index.

“Much like the multiple customization options many games offer to videogame players, Avatar, Assembled offers the reader multiple fascinating angles from which to understand game avatars. Covering the social and technical aspects that make up our digital representations, the book draws on specific game examples, highlights well-known avatars, and brings in classic as well as cutting-edge theory about how and why these representations come to matter to us so much. For games scholars and interested players, this volume is not to be missed.”—Mia ConsalvoProfessor, Communication StudiesCanada Research Chair in Game Studies and DesignConcordia University (Montreal, Canada)