Video: Creating an Xbox 360 Avatar

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Sep 19th 2008 at 4:45PM }

Xbox Live's Major Nelson has posted a new video, showing just how we'll go about creating tiny, polygonal and considerably more handsome versions of ourselves when the New Xbox Experience (that's fancy for "dashboard update") arrives this Fall. If you've been wondering how you'll outfit your Avatar with virtua-threads or which button elicits a burp (yes, really), peer past the break.

Of course, if you're the impatient type and just want to get back to your space mareenz, you can skip the whole process by simply selecting a random Avatar. Just don't blame us if you wind up as Shane Kim.

Gallery: New Xbox Experience

&lt;a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:af0e0dcd-5cff-43a2-bd32-4841fe6a89d1&amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="Avatars in the new Xbox experience"&gt;Video: Avatars in the new Xbox experience&lt;/a&gt;

Tags: Avatars, Dashboard, Dashboard-Update, Major-Nelson, New-Xbox-Experience

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Dirty @ Sep 19th 2008 4:50PM

I cant be a walrus....lame.

marklar @ Sep 19th 2008 6:49PM

I can't be a Jewish dolphin (jewfin)- lamer

Immortal Technique PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Sep 19th 2008 7:33PM

tiger>walrus

StrangeBum @ Sep 19th 2008 8:08PM

Well chemical compounds > tigrusses

:D

Titanium_Orchid @ Sep 19th 2008 11:38PM

Fight!
Fight!

MC Double Def DP @ Sep 19th 2008 4:51PM

I can't wait to make a mini me!

Nick the Hero of Canton @ Sep 19th 2008 4:57PM

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/1222/c6qjprhw4qf6kfdp7xjnw24ci9.jpg

Nick the Hero of Canton @ Sep 19th 2008 4:55PM

Speaking of Xbox, there are a ton of free NBC Universal shows in HD on the marketplace right now.

Badboy1979 @ Sep 19th 2008 4:58PM

Really??? Free? Which ones? Gotta check that out when i get home.

Which brings me to the fact that I can't wait for the ability to select downloads for my 360 to pick up while I'm at work from the Xbox.com site.

Hala Madrid!! (Madrileno hasta la muerte!) @ Sep 19th 2008 5:10PM

@badboy
Free!
30 Rock 480p and 720p
Heroes 480p and 720p
Knight Rider 480p and 720p

Badboy1979 @ Sep 19th 2008 5:19PM

WHAT!!!!?!?!?! Heroes, free? Do you know which episodes?

Thanks a lot for the info!!!

Youthinized @ Sep 19th 2008 5:49PM

Its actually the first episode thats free. Thats whats on my box.

Markez @ Sep 19th 2008 5:50PM

SCHWEEEEEET!

Nick the Hero of Canton @ Sep 19th 2008 6:56PM

I said NBC Universal. So an episode of Monk and Psych also free :)

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Sep 20th 2008 12:59AM

oh i forgot about that. i meant to check those out on the Zune Marketplace. i think they are free there too.

Bo @ Sep 19th 2008 4:56PM

Wow, these are stupid. Avatars are nothing but a bastardized clusterfuck of Miis and Home. I sure hope they're optional. I bought an Xbox because I wanted nothing to do with this casual gaming trend.

Vol @ Sep 19th 2008 5:02PM

Well...

Don't make one then.

Problem solved.

Duke @ Sep 19th 2008 5:05PM

I seem to recall Nelson saying they were optional. Either way, it's just an avatar. It won't destroy your ability to be so darn hardcore.

Badboy1979 @ Sep 19th 2008 5:12PM

Yea, you'll probably be able to just quickly select one of the "auto-generated" ones they provide for you at the beginning and that's mostly the last you'll hear from your avatar unless you choose to customize them further.

One thing that someone else picked up on on Major's blog is that the little pic (Gamerpic sized box) in the right corner of the top screen seems to show different angles of your Avatar as if to suggest some sort of Avatar "snapshot" ability.

So I'm guessing that you'll be able to put your Gamerpic (in the video, you'll see a Gamerpic option in the menus) on your t-shirt as mentioned before in other posts and then zoom in a take a snapshot of that area and use it to show in that upper right box.

Just a guess.

Arnon @ Sep 19th 2008 5:18PM

They already said these were in dev. before the Miis =|

Duke @ Sep 19th 2008 5:46PM

I got voted up and then down - thats pretty funny.

philmcphail (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 19th 2008 7:36PM

Does this mean the NXE will let us add our own gamerpics?! YAY! I won't have to buy one then. I hope the update lets us add music via USB too!

elmersglue @ Sep 19th 2008 4:56PM

Well one thing's for sure, the interface and the avators are a hell of a lot sexier than the mii's on the wii.

DarkNessBear @ Sep 20th 2008 2:57PM

But, sadly the Mii's are more customizable. You're not gonna see anything unique on the 360's avamii's. Can't move anything.

This whole thing is stupid...

Jake11 @ Sep 19th 2008 4:59PM

nice, it's a really simple system, and best of all it's not mandatory. I'm gonna stick with my pip-boy picture though.

Dirty @ Sep 19th 2008 5:02PM

The menus look to be moving swiftly. If only my arcade game list didnt take 2 hours to compile.

Badboy1979 @ Sep 19th 2008 5:07PM

Yea, I'm really digging the speed of the menus so far... and Major Nelson noted that this is from a earlier build so hopefully the final code will be even faster.

343 Guilty Fart @ Sep 19th 2008 5:27PM

I was noticing that too, I like the zippiness of the new system, it looks nice and quick. I do hope they make the Arcade titles load faster like you said.

Obie @ Sep 20th 2008 12:28PM

Agreed, it always seems to load my most recently played game last.

Youthinized @ Sep 19th 2008 5:03PM

So when is it a good for go on buying darth vader helmets and spidey costumes for your 360 avatar?

Evan @ Sep 19th 2008 5:07PM

How are we supposed to make Dr. Zoidburg or Batman or anything remotely interesting with this?

Hala Madrid!! (Madrileno hasta la muerte!) @ Sep 19th 2008 5:19PM

Well, you can make a dirty hobo like Major Nelson did with his avatar.

juju187 @ Sep 19th 2008 6:06PM

with female spandex pants

Dirty @ Sep 19th 2008 5:11PM

I want to put my too human armor on my avatar. That would be sweet. Hopefully developers do something in that regard.

I also want a shirt for it that says "My 360 RROD and all I got was this stupid shirt".

Hala Madrid!! (Madrileno hasta la muerte!) @ Sep 19th 2008 5:35PM

Oh yeah, I want a shirt for my avatar that says Giant Enemy Crab! either that or one that says It's Ridge Racer!

Shagittarius @ Sep 19th 2008 5:39PM

You can do that stuff in Home.

philmcphail (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 19th 2008 7:54PM

Don't get all defensive Hala, Dirty was just oozing out comedy and possibly sarcasm.

Fenix @ Sep 19th 2008 5:20PM

The Sound effects = Nintendoesque.

Me = LOL!

Conor @ Sep 19th 2008 8:21PM

Yeah I heard that too,Microsoft are trying to be like nintendo now and I'm not the biggest nintendo fan :(

Tez (PSN: Tezasaurus) @ Sep 19th 2008 5:20PM

Slick, no doubt about that.

elmersglue @ Sep 19th 2008 5:35PM

they need to add scruff to the facial hair list, thats one of the things that was missing from the mii's, I want a 5 o'clock shadow option!

Noxat @ Sep 19th 2008 6:02PM

Looks fun but looks there's a lot less room for creative tweaking than with Miis. Then again we haven't seen all the options yet so who knows.

bm @ Sep 20th 2008 12:18PM

But but but they have necks and stuff, it's much more advanced don't you know! Nevermind that every face looks the exact fucking same, and horribly retarded to boot. Who cares about faces with any sort of personality, you can dress them up! Wow!

KeenCommander @ Sep 19th 2008 6:02PM

Attack of the Mii60's!!!

Adurox @ Sep 19th 2008 6:08PM

you know it being a game system and everything why not let us customize a certain character rather than these. I dunno like spartans or the main fable chars or several others from our favorite games then let us change stuff on them. I for one would love to have an evil character from fable as my avatar.