Pokemon GO’s customisable avatars take a leaf out of The Sims’ book
Despite its advancing age, Pokemon GO has kept its familiar gameplay up incredibly well over the last few years. Even as its original popularity has waned, the mobile game is keeping things running for the dedicated players who are still sticking around.
The now-classic gameplay remains the same but keeps things fresh as it introduces new beasties and bosses. Pokemon GO is an impressive signpost for how mobile games can keep themselves going, even if players are unimpressed with its microtransaction practices.
Unfortunately, the issue of in-game representation has been hindering Pokemon GO for a long time and kept it from being as truly immersive as it could be. Lucky for us, it looks like that's about to change.
Pokemon GO introduces new avatar system
Click to enlargeFor the first time since 2016, Pokemon GO is changing its avatar system and is offering new options for players who want their player model actually to look like themselves.
The new system is said to be developed with fan requests in mind, offering adjustable body weights, new hairstyle filters, a new section dedicated to muscle, shoulders, chest and hips, and advanced colour options for a player's skin tone, hair and eyes.
After Pokemon GO has been dedicated to offering players plenty of new clothes to grab to apply to a character model they couldn't really care about because it was inaccurate in the first place, these changes have been a long time coming.
The update is rolling out across the world and has begun in the UK, giving these players a first look at the opportunity to develop a character that represents them more intricately. It's a nice change after the avatar system felt like an afterthought in the face of so many Pokemon to catch.
Much like The Sims, we can imagine that some players will spend hours perfecting their trainer. Catching Pokemon is going to feel so much better now that we can truly do it in style.
Either way, it's good to know that there's more to do in Pokemon GO after fans have been riding the wave of the game, going from an exciting Valentine's event to a disappointing Mewtwo raid.
