Visual Design of Virtual Pedagogical Agents: Naturalism versus Stylization in Static Appearance

The paper presents an overview of arguments for and against visual naturalism in virtual humanlike agents, with a focus on pedagogical settings, concluding that there is: (i) a need for a distinction between static and dynamic qualities in the visual appearance of virtual agents; (ii) little general support for visual naturalism in virtual humanlike agents; and (iii) a definite need for more empirical research on the issue and on user effects of visual aspects in general. Furthermore, the paper analyses how contrasting perspectives towards visual naturalism are related to differences in research practices and research goals.