“In adding a character creator tool to its flagship app, game maker Toca Boca wanted to make sure that it represented a wide range of kids and wasn't reinforcing stereotypes. The launch of the update was featured in the Apple App Store and Google Play store, and we garnered a lot of media attention, including a special shoutout in Ina Fried’s daily Axios Login newsletter. We are happy to report that users are super engaged! 22 million characters have been created as of July 2019, and the average Creator Tool user makes 9 characters. Our goal was to make as inclusive a character creator as possible, and we did! It’s selling well, and kids are enjoying creating their own inhabitants of the Toca Life universe. The paid version includes more items available for customization (bringing the total to more than 1,000 items) and allows players create and save up to 30 characters. The free version of the character creator allows players to create and save three custom characters, which they can edit or re-do anytime. Players are invited to create a character entirely their own, it could be someone they make up, or anyone in their community (like a grandparent, or the neighbor’s baby, or the local news anchor). Prosthetics are readily available for arms and legs. Kids can choose from dozens of different customization options that let them tweak each character’s age, skin color, hair color and style, facial features (like eyebrows, dimples, and mouth shape), outfit and accessories. When a player enters Toca Life: World’s Character Creator tool, they are greeted with a silhouette, not a prefabricated character. To create an inclusive environment, we decided to design the app so that there would be no “default” before a player starts designing their character. We made an effort to ensure that the UI was as inclusive as possible, so there's no "default" skin or hair color prosthetics are easily includable-kids should be able to easily design a character who looks like themselves, their families, or members of their communities. We created Character Creator so that players could build their own Toca Life: World character, and then play with them within the app, among the other inhabitants of their universe.
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