User Centric, a Chicago-based user experience consulting firm, has recently published a study on how avatars in online poker may provide behavioral insight into the competition. The article also looks at how online poker sites could enhance the features and functions of avatars during gameplay.
User Centric highlighted how avatars are used as physical representations in the virtual worlds of other forms of online games, and how these avatars provide an extra layer of entertainment for gamers, helping them to become immersed in the world, and to establish an online identity.
Some online poker sites allow the choice of basic avatars, including animals, humans, and inanimate objects.
User Centric theorized that the motives for selecting an online avatar on a poker site may be very different to the motives in other games. Do players select an avatar that suits their style of play, or is choosing an avatar just another part of the game, with players selecting something that may create a false impression off their play style?
They also talked about possible future developments. Could avatars that mimic real emotions be on the horizon? Imagine if avatars could look nervous, or excited, or stare down others at the table.
This could add more fun to online poker games, and perhaps an extra layer of complexity. It still wouldn’t be the same as playing at a table, as people could make tactical decisions about what behaviors to exhibit, but it would be interesting to see how players responded to the chance to bring a little more of themselves to the table.
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