What Can XNA Devs Do With Avatars? Not Much Really

With the release of XNA Game Studio 3.1 comes a number of features I’ve mentioned before, but the one that comes with the most strings attached is the ability to include Mii’s Avatars in games either as window dressing or actual playable characters. This being Microsoft however, the developers of what will become Xbox Live Indie Games don’t exactly have what anyone would call free use of the cuddly little gits.

In a looooooong list posted on XNA Creator’s Club Microsoft laid down the law with regards to what developers could and couldn’t do with the figures. Most of them make plenty of sense, avatars can’t perform explicitly violent acts (so no Avatar Manhunt), have sex (though we have rule 34 for that) or be seen taking a dump or take drugs. However some of the things on the list are a little puzzling.

Firstly avatars can’t be distorted, so no giant arms and critically, no big head mode. You can make them bigger or smaller, but they must remain in their original proportions. This seems weirdly pointless to me, where’s the harm in giving my avatar a giant leg? Then there’s more iron fisting with the rule that avatar features can’t be modified, so no custom clothing or hairstyles. While sexual acts are obviously out, so is sexually suggestive body language. If I can’t actually see my avatar do it I at least want to know that my avatar, which is supposed to represent my personality remember, has the same dirty mind as me.

The real odd thing though is that avatars are not allowed to appear as separate characters or even speak. The guidelines state:

A player’s avatar does not have an autonomous personality or instinct. The avatar is under the control of the owning player.

To my mind that’s cutting off a high point of storytelling potential. My mind conjures up a game idea where the main villain is my own avatar. There’s a potential artistic statement there of ploughing through a game seeing devastation and cruelty inflicted by an unknown villain only to reach the end and find out that you (or at least, your virtual representation of you) were the one responsible for all this. That’s actually a game I now feel should be made.

Any potential for avatars as anything more than pre-made character models has been stifled by this rule list, avatars can’t move independently, talk or even act in an aggressive manner. So really, what purpose can these virtual dolls, which I’m actually very fond of, serve in any form of game? I was looking forward to seeing what Team XNA would do with avatars, but short of a full revolt causing a big relaxation of the rules I can’t see anything interesting coming out of this. I’ll leave you with this guideline regarding criminal activity.

Criminal activities need to be relevant to the story and are presented unfavorably.

While I’m not in favour of glamorising crime, surely I’m not the only one who sees that as intruding into creative freedom? A bit odd for a service soon to be explicitly calling itself ‘indie’. Sure as hell doesn’t seem very independent to me.

Via: Reddit