Exploring a New Avatar Maker
ArmaniXR Tries HIKKY's Newly Updated Avatar Maker
In the past week, I had a chance to try the latest version of Avatar Maker by HIKKY, the organization behind Virtual Market (Vket) in social VR. I am happy to share my first impressions below, but first I have an introduction…
What is an avatar maker? And why is it important?
Here’s my perspective. Back in the beginning of my time in social VR around 2017, I thought of my avatar as a playable character and used it accordingly. Perhaps this was a continuation of my experience configuring and playing as a Nintendo Mii character in 2008, or getting ready to enjoy multiple rounds of paintball in Rec Room that influenced my approach to avatars.
After the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, my time in social VR, outside of just gaming, increased as many others did. As I made new friends, I found my avatar becoming more than just a playable character and certainly more like an ambassador. This change in the relationship I had with my avatar, in combination with new types of experiences, motivated me to spend more time with editing my avatar and make it more self-representative.
That said, not only did my avatar needs change, they also increased with the amount of options I had with each platform. Moving from Rec Room to AltspaceVR to VRChat and beyond involved multiple leaps in the amount of avatar customizations available. By the time I got to VRChat, the options were nearly infinite, depending on if you could make your own avatar in Unity. As wonderful as that was, it was also intimidating as someone who didn’t make their own avatars at the time, so an avatar maker was (and continues to be) a helpful bridge over this gap.
Functionality
HIKKY’s Avatar Maker allowed me to choose from a variety of avatar clothing and styles in a variety of colors. Some features I saw were standard options, like hair type or skin color, while others were more unique, like body shaping or even editing shape keys! Artist collaborations allow for even more options to choose from and purchase. All of this fun stuff is happening in the web browser!
After you finish customizing and/or purchasing your avatar, you can also manage where you take your avatar. This includes the option of downloading a VRM copy of your avatar or purchasing the option to import your avatar. I’ll mention more on VRM later, but the option to carry your avatar across different platforms is a big deal!
User Experience and Review
My experience with HIKKY’s Avatar Maker was enjoyable overall after spending a few hours using it. In comparison to other avatar creators I have used with similar features, like ReadyPlayerMe, Avatar Maker had more exact avatar height measurement and in-editor shape key sliders to name a few differences. Being able to know how you show up in your avatar and express yourself as you talk are needs that HIKKY proves itself more aware of here compared to other companies.
There’s still room for improvement on the options that HIKKY’s Avatar Maker provides. Most of these problems are common to all avatar creator processes I’ve experienced. Stuff like the option to put Black skin on a non-Black/POC shaped face is an all too familiar problem for me and makes avatars feel less relatable—almost like you’re changing paint on a car before you drive it. My honest, and sincere feedback as a Black male social VR user is that I can’t help but be disappointed that it is so hard to be myself and not an anime girl or femboy with cat ears if I don’t want to. I have nothing against anyone who does, and I realize that our options are unbalanced at the moment.
Fortunately, the latest update to the Avatar Maker (feel free to read more here) makes new options easier for creators to provide through VRM. Perhaps this is a call to action for more avatar creators of color to try using VRM to sell in Vket’s platform and offer more diverse/cross-platform options for users.
That’s not to say I didn’t have any options at all here. What I came up with after just an hour or two was a satisfyingly snazzy looking guy with cool hair who I wouldn’t mind being as an avatar. What excited me more is being able to export this new avatar into VRM directly from the avatar creator to my computer.
The Importance of VRM
One last topic that I would like to quickly cover is VRM as a file format and why it is important. VRM was created in 2018 by the VRM Consortium, based in Japan, as a way to standardize sharing/saving 3D avatars that are compatible for both VR and virtual YouTubing (VTubing). Just as JPEG exists as a versatile/ lightweight format for 2D photos, and GLTF does for 3D meshes, VRM does for 3D avatars.
What will prove important next is the continued international adoption of VRM through the rest of the metaverse platforms in the coming decade. I invite you to try creating a VRM avatar using HIKKY’s new Avatar Maker to get involved and make one for yourself! For more information directly from HIKKY on how you can use the Avatar Maker, you can visit their tutorial here. To stay updated ahead of Vket this summer, you can also follow the Vket blog here.
This was a very interesting article. I’m happy to know greater improvements are being made in VR to bring the closest versions of self to various platforms. Keep growing!