The analytic problems such alts present are not those of performance of alternate identities, for they have no identity, they live in the shadow of the identity of the main, the problems they present are those of their parasitic agency and control, of animation, which foreground the non-identity between the animated object (the avatar) and the animating human player. The alt normally follows the main character, the visual effect mirrors its servant status, the alt follows behind the main character like an obedient servant. The actions of an alt are often parasitic on the actions of the main character. But more than anything else, it is the alt's movements that give its 'altness' away. Such alts neither speak nor are spoken to, and they are identified with kinship or ownership relations to a main character, which they are often linked to by having a rhyming name. The relationship of such alts to main characters are not explored in terms of identity and performance, but instead such silent attending alts are compared metaphorically to 'servants' or even tools. But when alts are used at the same time as main characters by a single player, the alt increasingly is treated as a non-persona, a silent, empty presence. When an alt is being played ‘as a main’, that is, directly controlled by the player, the alt appears to be fully vivified, an alternate identity or persona (in ‘persona-play’) or at least an ‘alternate character’ in roleplaying performances. While all players typically have one avatar in the game world with which they identify and which they play most often, called a 'main character', they also use a variety of 'alternate characters' or 'alts' for various purposes. This paper explores the animation of supernumerary avatars, what are called 'alts', in Massively Multiple Online gaming.
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