What is an avatar?

In the digital era of computers and the internet, an avatar serves as a graphical representation of a user. Avatars, both in 2D and 3D forms, have been a presence on the internet for quite some time. The majority of online avatars today are 2D, commonly used across various social media platforms, forums, and games. Moreover, creating and customizing them has always been a straightforward process. Whether in traditional Web 2.0 applications or emerging Web 3.0 environments, tools for crafting 2D avatars are easily accessible.

However, in recent times, driven by advancements in computer capabilities, faster internet speeds, and the surging popularity of 3D gaming, the use of 3D avatars has witnessed rapid growth. Presently, the primary domain for 3D avatars is the gaming industry. Within the realm of 3D gaming, users are granted the opportunity to personalize their in-game characters. These customized avatars come with predefined clothing, accessories, facial features, and design aesthetics, allowing users some degree of creative freedom within the constraints of the developer's offerings.

Yet, the emergence of blockchain-based ownership mechanisms, notably non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has fundamentally altered the landscape. Users now have the ability to possess and trade these virtual assets and use them in different games and apps. However, despite the potential, the adoption of NFTs in the gaming industry remains limited, primarily due to the nascent state of the NFT infrastructure, leading many established gaming studios to approach the technology with caution.

In contrast to the relatively user-friendly 2D avatar creation tools, the landscape for 3D avatar creation, especially within blockchain-based applications and games, presents unique challenges. Most existing 3D avatar design applications demand specialized knowledge and design skills for effective operation. User-friendly, accessible tools tailored for non-specialists and non-designers in the realm of 3D avatar generation are scarce, and those that do exist often lack critical functionalities, hindering their usability and accessibility.

Given the rapid adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, coupled with the growing computational capabilities of computers, the utilization of 3D models and virtual environments on the internet will escalate. In the following chapter, we will explore how this trend will evolve toward the concept of the metaverse in the near future.