Alter Ego

[V.R.Goh]

I'm interested in seeing where this one ends up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Second Life; It's the property of Linden Research, Inc. Please don't sue me.
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"Are you sure this is gonna work, Jake?"

"Trust me, bro. This program is cutting edge."

"Trust me," he says. The last time I heard my friend Jake say those two words, he had given me a glass of what I thought was wine. In fact, it was Mad Dog, one of those cheap fortified wines that leave you shit-faced drunk after two sips. To this day, I still don't know how I came to walking around a bus station in Connecticut, wearing nothing but my boxers and a tank top.

Needless to say, I became apprehensive when he told me about this new virtual world called Alter Ego. It's one of those programs where, like Second Life, you can create a digital avatar of yourself and interact with the environment in a number of ways. The only limitation is that your avatar has to look human. What made me interested in Alter Ego is that the program is completely free. Unfortunately, that's one of the two things that make me nervous about it. The other is Jake telling me to trust him.

So, I started up the program. Wasting no time, I immediately went into the avatar creation screen. The choices were limited only by the fact that the finished product had to be human. I browsed the options, wondering where to start.

[V.R.Goh]

When the avatar creation screen loaded, I was immediately overwhelmed. There were so many choices and options, I got lost trying to find the starting point. Luckily, there was an option that simplified things in the form of a little button marked "Simplify." When I clicked that button, a simple questionnaire appeared on the left side of the screen. On the right was a generic avatar: a blond-haired, blue-eyed guy wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. The avatar looked like any guy with an average physique. The questions (and my respective answers) were as follows:

What is your avatar's name? Devin Strongman
What is your avatar's gender? Male
How old is he? 25
How tall is he? 74 inches
How heavy is he? 265 pounds
What is his bodyfat percentage? 4%
Is he an ectomorph, an endomorph or a mesomorph? Mesomorph
What color is his skin? Golden brown
What color is his hair? Brown
What is his hairstyle? Crew cut
What color are his eyes? brown and hazel (heterochromia)


As I filled out the questionnaire, I noticed something interesting. Every time I answered one of the questions, the avatar changed appearance. Slowly, the generic avatar morphed into the image of my new avatar. In place of the template stood a man who would be a massive muscle monster in real life. Rippling muscle filled his skin close to the point of bursting with near-superhuman power. Each muscle group was clearly defined, giving him the overall appearance of a championship bodybuilder. His facial features were rugged, yet soft. He had a serene look of peace in his beautiful face.

In short, I created a man with the face of an angel and the body of a Greek god. It was all I could do to keep from jacking off to my creation. I saved the changes and entered the world of Alter Ego.
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Now that I've created my Alter Ego avatar, it's your turn. What would your virtual avatar look like? The only rule is that he/she must be human in appearance. Time to design your virtual persona.

[FrenchMuscle]

how old are you?

[V.R.Goh]

Originally Posted by FrenchMuscle

how old are you?

This is a bit unexpected. Why do you ask?

[nypup2train]

FrenchMuscle's reply threw me for a loop at first, too, but on further consideration I believe he was attempting to suggest an additional question that might be posed in the Alter Ego avatar-creation process.

You supplied us with a good deal of the standard height/weight/appearance stats, but never assigned your avatar an age.

-Pup

[V.R.Goh]

I never thought of that, pup. Thanks for the heads-up.