Creating Meaningful Bodily Expression in Virtual Worlds

This paper describes an investigation into possible participatory design methods for creating an avatar’s performance to support meaningful interpersonal interaction in virtual worlds. The questions proposed for this study include how to observe and analyse people’s bodily expression and how to use that material in creation of meaningful animations of bodily expression that might be incorporated in avatar behaviour. Three possible approaches were identified and evaluated in practice: observation in public places, role-play, and analysing movie clips. Observations in public places and role-play appear to be limited and unproductive in this study. Analysing movie clips could be considered as a useful approach to engage people in creating meaningful bodily expression for avatars. Besides, a preliminary scheme for understanding people’s experiences and viewpoints on bodily expressions of interpersonal interaction was concluded as follows: the phenomenon of empathy, the balance of status, the effects of environment, and the difference reactions in gender.