What started as a simple suggestion from the Xbox community to include more diversified options for in-game avatars is now becoming a reality.
The company offered an alternative to in-game representations of gamers by adding a customizable avatar feature as part of a a massive Xbox update back in 2015. The update also added various other console functions, like an enhanced friends list, game hubs and keyboard shortcuts, integrated with Windows 10 OS PCs. The update served as a strategic marketing move for Microsoft's newest operating system as well.
The avatar feature was the most awaited update of the batch. It gave Xbox gamers an alternate option to depict themselves in the community, since after all, other players would now be able to view them easily within the console's interface. Various accessories, clothing options and hairstyles were some of the different customizations Xbox gamers could access to replicate their likeness in their gamer profiles — unless, of course, they wanted to create a completely different persona.
While the new feature was definitely appreciated by the Xbox community, there was still much left to be desired as avatar creations were only limited to a few options (read: physically abled bodies). Other players, such as persons with disabilities, could not create an avatar that fully represented themselves — until now.
The idea seemingly started as a suggestion, the inclusion of wheelchair options for avatar customizations, which would have gone up to a formal petition had one of the Xbox developers not replied to the original poster.
Hey @XboxP3 I'm pretty serious-- depending on how skeletons are done on avatars, wheelchairs might be relatively simple and the #rightthing
— Seamus Blackley (@SeamusBlackley) July 3, 2016
Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, immediately replied to the tweet and commented that a petition was not needed. The company was already planning ahead and had considered this option beforehand, adding that it was "not far off."
The following day, to further prove Spencer's point (and probably just in case some people were skeptical), Mike Ybarra, the partner director of program management at Xbox, posted a "sneak peek" of the avatar builds that featured the wheelchair design. The photos depict a male and female avatar in wheelchairs, with what others noticed also had new facial designs.
Many Xbox gamers applauded the company's initiative while other users asked that the company further improve the wheelchair designs and avoid the "clunky hospital kind." Overall, the Xbox community's reaction was generally positive, but some were not "feeling" the new faces and preferred the older versions.
Meanwhile, the company's move to add more varied options that seek to include most, if not all of its player community is a step toward the right direction. Launch dates are yet to be announced by the company and we'll keep you posted as the update rolls out.
