Avatar Modder
As digital beings, citizens of Soulbank can have their avatars modified with relative ease. Most citizens can make minor tweaks with publicly available software, but more extensive work requires an Avatar Modder and a lot of trust.
Career
Qualifications
To work under Administrator and Moderator approval, modders have to show their expertise with visual design or programming, depending on the types of modifications they offer. Additionally, they must maintain a clean track record because they are often in a position where they can abuse the permissions given to them for a procedure. This is especially true for modifications that go beyond the cosmetic, as they can hinder a User's ability to interact with the world if they make a mistake or intentionally sabotage their client's avatar.
Career Progression
The career of an artistically inclined modder often depends on the winds of fashion. A skilled artist can climb quite high on the social ladder if their designs are adopted by famous figures, causing intense demand for their artistic touch. Overexposure, however, can often cause a career to crash and burn as it becomes mainstream.
Modders who offer more pragmatic customizations tend to have more stability in their careers, but are more heavily scrutinized as a result. A disgraced modder will often find a place in the underworld for installing illegal modifications.
Payment & Reimbursement
It is rare for an avatar modder to work for exposure or reputation alone, but there are a few such individuals who do so for the art or challenge itself. Simple cosmetic modifications may only require 1 Coin as payment, but more extensive changes can easily become prohibitively expensive, especially if they are illegal. Exchanges of favors are also commonly accepted.
Other Benefits
The desire for fame draws many to the profession, while others simply enjoy the challenging work. Some modders, however, abuse their position to manipulate other people in a more direct fashion, implanting them with hidden commands or malware.
Perception
Purpose
In a world where everything changes, fashion extends beyond clothing and accessories. For the hedonistic majority, changing one's appearance is routine, whether it's small changes or a complete overhaul of their body's configuration. These beings need experts who know how to get the desired results and celebrity modders to idolize.
Social Status
Artistic modders can range from a friendly local barber to the dictator of popular fashion, depending on how visible they become to Soulbank's cultures. Some may get fans devoted enough to serve as models to display the latest designs. Modders who focus on pragmatic enhancements can often find themselves climbing the ranks of a crew as they improve their capabilities. Modders with broad skills in the art almost never want for prestigious work and clientele.
Demographics
Modders run the gamut of Users and AIs. Process modders are often considered the most trustworthy but are usually less fashionable than getting a modification from a "real" modder, namely a User. Daemon modders are considered the least trustworthy by the general populace, but fashionistas and criminals can't deny that they offer services beyond what most Users are willing to do.
Operations
Tools
Avatar Mod Tools are a 2 MEM piece of equipment that can additionally function as echo gear. Most serious modders have more extensive, less portable equipment tied to a body shop.
Dangers & Hazards
Modifying one's own avatar beyond cosmetic changes is often difficult, and a common safety measure is to have a person ready to revert changes if something goes wrong. Working on Glitched individuals is also potentially hazardous and may require additional containment procedures.
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