What is it about?
When users attend events in the metaverse, they must first create an avatar — their digital self. But how do they decide what that avatar looks like? This paper explores the avatar creation process for virtual events through a mixed-methods design: semi-structured interviews with attendees of a real academic conference held in the metaverse, followed by an online experiment in which 184 participants created avatars for either a utilitarian event (a professional workshop) or a hedonic event (a music festival). Results confirm that users tend to prefer a single, consistent avatar that resembles themselves — but adapt its style (formal vs. informal) based on the expected value of the event. Utilitarian events generate formal avatar styles; hedonic events generate informal ones. Additionally, users who feel more excited (expectancy) about the metaverse event create avatars that are more similar to themselves, which significantly increases their satisfaction with the avatar. Platform ease of use and customization options are also critical enablers of avatar satisfaction.
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Why is it important?
As avatars become increasingly central to identity in digital environments, understanding how they are created — and what drives satisfaction with them — has major implications for platform designers, event organizers, and brands. This research provides evidence-based guidance: virtual event platforms should offer clothing libraries matched to event type (formal options for conferences, casual for festivals), invest in intuitive avatar tools, and generate excitement about events to encourage more engaged, self-representative avatar creation. With NFTs and blockchain enabling avatar economies, these findings also speak to emerging commercial opportunities in the metaverse.
Perspectives
What drew me to this topic is the deeply human act of deciding how to present yourself — and realizing that people apply the same social logic in virtual spaces as in real life. Conference attendees wanted to look professional; festival-goers wanted to look relaxed. The avatar is not just a game character; it is a social signal. The finding that expectancy drives avatar-self similarity was particularly satisfying, because it connects the emotional anticipation of an event to a concrete design behavior. I also found it meaningful that ease of use and customization — factors often treated as technical details — were among the strongest predictors of avatar satisfaction. Good UX is not a luxury; it is a prerequisite for identity expression in the metaverse.
Sergio Barta
Universidad de Zaragoza
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Avatar creation in the metaverse: A focus on event expectations, Computers in Human Behavior, July 2024, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2024.108192.
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