Photographer Robbie Cooper's Alter Ego explores personal and social identities being shaped in the metaverse at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Portraits of online gamers and virtual-world participants from America, Asia and Europe are paired with images of their avatars, with profiles of their real-world and virtual characters. The book is both an entertainment and a serious look at a phenomenon that is shaping the future of human interaction. With an introduction by Julian Dibbell and interviews and a glossary by Tracy Spaight.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Robbie Cooper was born in 1969 in London and studied photography at Bournemouth College of Art. He won the Ian Parry scholarship in 1992 for his work in Somalia and has been been widely published, including in Liberation, The Sunday Times Magazine, Geo, GQ and Esquire. His work has been exhibited at galleries in London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Berlin and Paris.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By K. Chu
Format:Hardcover
"Alter Ego" is a clever, fascinating idea... presented very well with Cooper's photographs and the short bios by Spaight. It's an awesome coffee table type of book that my friends always pick up first. It sometimes surprises me that there are still a lot of people who are totally unaware of the virtual world phenomenon/culture, so this book is a eye-opening introduction to all that.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Upon first discovering 'Alter Ego,' it's difficult avoid the feeling that you should have thought of the idea first: a book that pairs photos of people with their images of their avatars. It's not condescending, exploitative or academic--Cooper's images are presented factually, at face value and show that MMO gamers cannot be classified as geeks or otherwise. In fact, the diversity of subjects, both real and in-game, is the book's most enjoyable aspect. 'Alter Ego' may not attempt to engage the somewhat ridiculous debate regarding games as art, but it's depictions of elaborate avatars does prove definitively that gamers can be artists.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
What fun this book is! The front cover is a "hologram" just like on the covers of some of the books I had as a kid in the seventies, where moving your head a little morphs the photo of two World of Warcraft avatars into a photo of the couple who play them. The entire book is devoted to photos of avatars alongside their players, with brief facts given about each player and avatar. A perfect coffee table book for a gamer or digital culture scholar!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
All that we see or seem...
Beyond the cool lenticular cover, showing a virtual WoW couple and their RL human counterparts, this book's first "alter ego" is an avatarless Arch-Wizard: Richard Bartle - he who... Read more
Published on January 19, 2011
4.0 out of 5 stars
from missprint.wordpress.com
At first glance, Robbie Cooper's Alter Ego: Avatar and Their Creators (2007) is fundamentally a coffee table book: large, non-standard size, glossy photos, high quality paper, and... Read more
Published on July 16, 2009 by Miss Print
5.0 out of 5 stars
People worth meeting
When I received this book I thought I could just do a quick glance through it then off to bed. Oh well, I don't usually have this much fun being wrong, so that is one good thing. Read more
Published on May 14, 2009 by Michael T. Lybarger
3.0 out of 5 stars
Avatars...
Interesting book. Good concept. Excellent cover. It becomes a little repetitive throughout the pages though... I wish there were more interesting people in it. Read more
Published on September 6, 2007 by Bora M. Sozen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't put it down
I thought it would be just a nice topical coffee table book, but it is way more compelling than I expected. The layout and form is quite unique. A precious work of art. Read more
Published on August 29, 2007 by xianatro
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Alter Ego is very interesting and entertaining. It provides insight to a world of over 10 Million people and a Billion dollar industry. Read more
Published on July 13, 2007 by P. Goyarts
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptionally Entertaining
Alter Ego is an exceptionally entertaining read for anyone interested in the world of MMORPGs and their ability to provide us with our own digital alter-egos.
Published on June 8, 2007 by Jonathan Wood
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