On a related note, does anyone have references which would explain VRChat (and the culture around it)? I'm not quite certain if the models are primarily used for comedic effect, role-play, or more of as a 'Ready Player One'-esque alternative identity. I think I know cases for the latter, but I feel like as someone who has never understood VR as a form of self-expression or played VRChat, I feel like I can't have the conversation with them.
I provide full livecast coverage by visiting every booth at Vket, which takes place in VRChat twice a year, and over time I’ve noticed some clear patterns.
In Japan, the market for 3D models and other VR/metaverse assets has steadily flourished. Within VRChat, it’s fairly common for users to purchase avatars from platforms like booth.pm and then customize them to their liking—sometimes as simply as changing colors, and other times by adding clothing, accessories, or other elements. The market itself is quite approachable: some avatars are used by thousands, or even tens of thousands, of people, while others cater to much more niche tastes. Either way, there’s something for almost everyone.
Originally, the focus was largely on avatars themselves. Over the years, however, we’ve seen a noticeable shift toward clothing and accessories. Looking at booths in recent Vket events, roughly 40%—if not close to half—of the offerings now fall into those categories. Tools such as ModularAvatar and Mochifitter have made applying and adjusting these items easier than ever, lowering the barrier even further. More broadly, many Japanese users don’t seem to find working with Unity particularly daunting, and that comfort level has helped form the foundation of the ecosystem we see today.
While comedy and roleplay certainly appear from time to time, many people treat their avatars as genuine representations of their identity. This doesn’t mean that identity is fixed—some users switch between multiple avatars—but there is often a strong sense of attachment. The avatar functions not merely as a surrogate in a virtual space, but as something that defines how they present themselves within that world.
This emphasis on originality, combined with a general avoidance of ripped game assets or avatars based on existing IPs (at least compared to trends outside Japan), appears to have played a significant role in shaping this distinctive Japanese VR culture.
I find the vtuber effect pretty offputting myself. It's so flat.
It's going to wander into entirely different problems (one with a much more uncanny valley), but i'm curious to see how the field develops when facial animation systems start being able to parallel people's faces more.
VTuber avatar expressiveness varies wildly depending on the software and avatar artists in question. With the right software and top tier avatars, it can be quite good, but high quality avatars are extremely time consuming to create and thus expensive so only the biggest streamers tend to have those. Some agencies also force usage of less advanced agency-proprietary software to prevent talent from using the avatars without authorization.
Not quite the same as Vtuber avatars, but what you said about their software makes me think (hope) you might be able to answer a question I was wondering about the other day: is any software/models good enough yet to be able to replace the face of someone talking into a webcam with a different, photorealistic face - either that of a different existing person, or an entirely fictitious face - in real time, such that it could be used to pretend to be a different person on a live video call? Or, if not real time, how about for non-live videos, is there a tool that can do it well enough to be convincing without needing any manual editing?
And if the answer is no, how far away might it be?
(I'd be curious to play with it myself if such a thing exists and is publicly available, but the main reason I'd like to know is to keep an eye on how soon we might see faked video calls joining faked voice phone calls in the toolbox of financial scammers.)
It’s not something I’ve looked into so I’m not sure. VTuber software output can be set up to appear as a webcam which can be used in Zoom and such, so that’d be the closest that I know of.
It's a bit perplexing, but 1st gen VTubers were all 3D. They evolved through natural selection into current 2D forms, only slowly growing back supplemental 3D forms.
My guess as to why is that full 3D must have been extraneous cognitive load to viewers - xkcd wouldn't have been as popular as it is now if it had been drawn somehow by Rembrandt himself. It owes its success to Randall Munroe's minimalist art style. That kinds of things.
It's probably because high quality 3d is just much more expensive to do. You can easily do all sorts of effects in the constrained environment of a 2d model that take a lot more skill to pull off in 3d.
Plus, ultimately, the anime aesthetic is a 2d thing. It's a lot harder to make a 3d model look good in a 2d art style, as a ton of anime over the years have shown.
If someone is socializing in VRChat it would follow they are able to be social. So a bit of a non sequitur.
Would it be more accurate to say you have a categorical disdain for the way they are socializing? Why do you think that is (other than the obvious stuff, which seems to be more an anonymous internet thing than anything particular to VRChat)?
I'm genuinely curious because I see this attitude a lot and I don't understand it.
I have no issue with it if that’s your thing. The dozen or so times I tried it, I had the above experience. I deleted it and never looked back.
Others have had similar experiences. While others say it’s the best thing since the internet. Some people like ToFu. I find it bland and without flavor.
When asked “What are the general experiences”, I pulled from a few sources that corroborated mine and others experiences.
If the attitude of “This is bad” offends you, it is not my fault. Your personal tastes are not my fault. However, more and more reading can be done on the hellhole that is VRChat from others, from researchers, and from victims.
I stand by my sentiment. I will never see it in any light other than what it showed me. I choose not to.
As to the point about socializing. You are correct, they are indeed socializing. Again, research has shown that there’s levels to this, with engagement. Not having the social skills in the real world doesn’t mean they aren’t social online. You’re right. Have you been online lately in these lobbies? The verbal abuse and mental health issues are all over the spectrum. Socializing by reinforcement of mental illness isn’t what I would call healthy socialization.
Not saying they are all like that. I’m not a totalitarian. When the majority of experiences border on my own, I draw my conclusion. Until then, I assume it’s just me.
No offense, but you really can't possibly understand how bad this place is if you have never been in VRChat.
Picture a 30 something guy in a hotdog avatar telling children how he can't help be a pervert.
Picture playing a game of chess in a chess room that should be really cool for all ages. Then a drunk woman is telling the room about the blowjobs she has given. Of course you can hear by the voices that some are little kids talking.
If you put on a headset and go in VRChat right now, you too can have the same experience. Anyone who says this is not true is completely full of shit because everyone inside VRchat knows this almost like it is an inside joke.
I would never bag on someone for being socially awkward. I was so awkward as a teenager. Social awkwardness is not the problem at all.
Oh yea how about kids running around yelling the n word for no reason other than they can? That is standard.
If you never used modern VR, the immersion is incredible. That is what makes the VRChat experience so disturbing.
Most people with any sense avoid public instances. Most of the healthy interactions in VRC are almost certainly in highly curated Friends instances at the broadest and Invite or Invite+.
The VR raves though at least kind of work. You can do a lot visually with the medium and sound.
The problem is that generally VRChat is like a masked ball with a combination of alcoholics, repressed perverted losers, obnoxious personalities and children.
Anyone who downvotes this to me is suspect as being part of that ingroup.
It is one thing to be socially awkward. I was quite awkward when I was young too. VRChat is something else. Like the worst aspects of a 90s chat room but with immersion and real voices.
Some Japanese people use avatars to be v-tubers, and post talking head content on youtube or similar while mailing privacy. In some cases talent agencies require them to use avatars, which remain the property of the agency.
