05 | Potentials and Problems in Digital Fashion for Video Games

In the gaming and virtual reality space, digital fashion is gaining popularity as a way for users to customise the appearance of their avatars. In this context, the word “avatar” refers to the player’s representation figure in the game. Players can purchase or earn virtual clothing items to enhance the aesthetics of their digital personas. These virtual clothing items are commonly referred to as “skins”. The phenomenon of skins and their importance in certain video games opens up a space of opportunities for digital fashion design. The following article will discuss some relevant terms and point out topics of interest for further research into this aspect of digital fashion design. 

In order to provide a basis for the further discussion, we must begin with a definition of the term “skin” in the context of video games. The website “Engaged Family Gaming” offers the following explanation: 

“A “skin” is a kind of item that players can acquire in games. They change the appearance of the players avatar (the character on the screen that represents the player). Skins can be as simple as a change in color scheme (often referred to as a Palette Swap), or as complex as a new avatar with different lighting effects and animations. Most companies are very careful to make sure these skins don’t effect [sic] the actual gameplay though. The characters will still play the same. They will just look different doing so.”¹

According to this definition, the “skin” in a video game therefore does not only refer to an avatars clothing but can include the entire appearance of the figure. This fact alone opens up a discussion on the extent to which digital fashion design encompasses design decisions that go beyond the clothing choices of digital avatars. In the traditional fashion world, the appearance of models is often viewed as an influential factor on the presentation of garments in fashion shows and photo shootings. Although the vast extent to which a digital avatar can be customised and shaped does not compare to the possibilities present in working with actual human beings, an argument can be made that this is merely an extension and an improvement that the digital space offers for fashion designers when it comes to presenting their garment creations. Certainly, this way of viewing the issue opens up a discussion on the importance of the body in fashion design, and along with this also raises questions of ethics and body image politics which the present article does not have the capacity to elaborate on. It should however be noted at this point that the malleability of digital bodies is an interesting topic for further research and writing which is hereby pointed out. 

Another definition on the website videogames.org.au describes skins as follows: 

“A skin changes the look of an item in a video game. For example: the same gun in a game can have different ‘skins’. The skins make the gun look differently.  Skins are either earned within a video game or they can be purchased in the game’s store. Skins are purely cosmetic so they don’t change the gameplay or they don’t make you a better player. Some skins are rarer than others. So players with a rarer skin gets a certain recognition. Quite similar to branding on clothes.”²

Consequently, skins also extend to the appearance of items in the game. This extends the design possibilities to accessories and further items, which might be of interest for digital fashion designers. 

The above definition also brings up an interesting aspect of skins in mentioning that they can be earned or purchased and that some skins are rarer than others, comparing the value of certain skins to branded clothing. Consequently, this opens up a discussion on a potentially problematic side of skins – the practice of “skin betting”. The article on videogames.org.au discusses this problem by further explaining how skin betting works and affects game players. 

“Your child plays a game and purchases or wins some skins. The skins are held in a virtual wallet. The player takes their wallet to a different website. This website offers gambling and betting games. The player bets/gambles using skins as their tokens. The skins won can be traded for real money in some games.”²

To outsiders who are not familiar with the market of video games in the present day, this might appear as a niche issue. But the market for skin betting is large and growing. videogames.org.au explains that a further problem with the practice is that

“Skin betting is not governed by gambling law because skins are not considered to be ‘real money’ ”²

The article and other references on the topic can serve as a starting point for further explorations of this issue in the digital fashion design market. Although it might not be a direct design problem, the parallels to traditional fashion and the value assignments to certain items certainly are worth discussing in depth. It may also be worth investigating parallel practices in traditional fashion, such as counterfeiting and black market trade. 

References:

¹ Duetzmann, Stephen  (2020, October 2). Video game definition of the week: “skins”. Engaged Family Gaming. https://engagedfamilygaming.com/videogames/video-game-definition-of-the-week-skins/. 

² Videogames.org.au. Skins and Skin Betting. https://www.videogames.org.au/skin-betting/#:~:text=Skins%20are%20purely%20cosmetic%20so,similar%20to%20branding%20on%20clothes.

Further reading:

Berrin Beasley & Tracy Collins Standley (2002) Shirts vs. Skins: Clothing as an Indicator of Gender Role Stereotyping in Video Games, Mass Communication and Society, 5:3, 279-293, DOI: 10.1207/S15327825MCS0503_3

Reza, A., Chu, S., Khan, Z., Nedd, A., Castillo, A., Gardner, D. (2019). Skins for Sale: Linking Player Identity, Representation, and Purchasing Practices. In: Taylor, N., Christian-Lamb, C., Martin, M., Nardi, B. (eds) Information in Contemporary Society. iConference 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11420. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15742-5_11