Avatar Evolution

When I first bought my Xbox 360, the aspect I was most excited about was…creating an avatar. Go on, take a minute to roll your eyes. Done? Okay, see, I had created a Mii before that more or less looked like me, and found the process surprisingly satisfying, but when I started seeing pictures of gamers’ avatars with different clothes and body sizes and all sorts of details, I just knew it’d be even more so.

But I don’t completely love Xbox avatars. I’ll never spend real money on fake clothes or toys or pets. I kind of wish all of that stuff was free, but I understand pockets must be squeezed dry these days. I wish more games involved them somehow, that they could do more than just stand around and sway with the click of a button.

Anyways, I thought it’d be fun to follow the evolution of my avatar. I’ve only updated him a few times now, mostly for seasonal purposes or I wanted to rock a new haircut. It’s kind of like having a baby…and watching it grow up. Man, that’s a terrible analogy.

Here’s how I looked starting out, rocking a full beard at the time:

But then I cleaned myself up a bit, and dressed like I dress when going into the office:

Then I decided, considering the absolutely frigid weather in New Jersey right now (January 2010), to bundle up a bit more:

Spring is creeping about in New Jersey. I’ve even gone to work a few days jacket-less. Crazy, I know. Anyways, while I’m technically not out and about in khaki shorts and moccasins, it’s only a matter of days. I even have a fancy grill prop where I can watch myself flip turkey burgers over and over and over. So here I am as of the end of March 2010: