Zepeto

Zepeto
     For people who like creating little cartoon avatars of themselves, there's a new exciting app called Zepeto!  People can sign up using Twitter, Facebook, email or phone number.

     Zepeto reminds me a bit like IMVU, but with a lot less content... and less people trying to use it for sex (Which is why I stopped using IMVU in 2004) Users create their own avatars using a photo of their face. Not happy with the results?  No problem!  You can change any part of your avatar's face you want from the shape of the eyes to the thickness of the eyebrows.  The process isn't as detailed as one might like and lacks some customisation features I would like to see in the future.  For instance you can not move features up or down on the face.  No two tone hair or balayage effects.  Additionally, all avatars look very young.  Though you can add beauty marks and freckles, as of yet, you can not add dimples or wrinkles.  Nor can you make your avatar's body thick, tall or busty.  In fact the body is not adjustable at all aside from skin tone.

     Alright, so we know you can customise your avatar's hair and face, but what exactly IS Zepeto, I hear you ask.  Well, I'm not entirely sure but it appears to be an instant messenger with avatars that also allows you to use your avatars as stickers. You can also use yours (and your friend's) avatars in premade group images to share online.  I'll show you what I mean below.

     There is a limited supply of clothing you can use to costumise your look.  You get some stuff for free but most must be purchased from the fashion shop using in game currency.

     The in game currency can be collected for free doing daily quests and playing the mini game which I will discuss later.  One can also choose to purchase in game currency by tapping the bottom left corner of the screen where your currency is listed on the main character screen (The middle tap at the bottom of the app.  If it looks like the screen to the right, you have it.).

     The currency rates in USD are as follows:

• 3900 for 0.99
• 13900 for 2.99
• 19900 for 3.99
• 48400 for 10.99
• 259400 for 59.99
• 430900 for 99.99

     The fashion shop is accessible by going to your Profile tab (Bottom left tab)  You click Item Shop and from there Fashion.

     In the item shop you can buy one pieces, tops, bottoms, shoes, glasses, head accessories and hair.  Whatever you purchase will automatically be worn by the avatar.  It does take a few minutes for the changes to save all the way so if you try to make a photo with your new clothes you may notice the old clothes loading.

     There are several locked items in the shops.  These items can be unlocked by tapping the locked item then agreeing to watch a video ad.  After the ad finishes the item will be available in the shop.  You will still need to purchase it with your in game currency to put it in your closet or wear it though.

     Also in the Item Shop is an Interior option.  There are a handful of random bits you can add to your house background.  Not much has been added here thus far.  It works the same as the fashion shop, only the items are not organised at all.  This is likely due to the limited merchandise available.

     The last Item Shop area is Gesture.  Initially I thought the gestures would be used in the group photos and such people take with their friend's avatars.  This is not the case.  the gestures are only used for your greetings.  I will explain greetings in a moment.  The gestures are not separated into sections but you can watch any gesture by tapping it.  The exception is the locked gestures which are unlocked again by watching ads.  This is a bit tedious since you have no idea before watching the ad if the gesture will be something you want to purchase or not.

     Back on the Profile tab you can see your friend code which can be shared and is used to add people with.  You can also see your avatar's face shot, likes, followers and how many people you are following.  You can also Edit Face which allows you to change your hair or facial features just like when you signed up.  You can also click My Closet to change clothes or My Space to decorate your room.

     Greetings are at the bottom of your profile page.  You can use a gesture of your choosing and add a very short message to it.  When people visit your avatar they will see you in your room, posing with that gesture and a word bubble with your message in it.  It will be a lot like what you see when you click the centre tab at the bottom with your avatar's photo.

     You can have multiple greetings and the greetings will cycle when people tap your avatar.  You can delete greetings no longer wanted, or change their order.

     Clicking the Emoji tab on the Profile page takes you to some premade emojis featuring your avatar.  You can also create your own original emojis using their premade backgrounds and stickers.  You can use them when you chat in the app or download them to share with friends elsewhere.  The angry square to the right is an example of one of the emojis.

     The last part of the Profile page is the settings gear at the top right.  From here you can check or change your registered email, connect social media or change your password.  You can also logout, check what version you have installed, read the FAQ and TOP.  It lists your support code for if you need to contact support and allows you to manage your storage.

     The tab with the word bubble at the bottom of the app is your Message feature. You can start a chat with a friend you have added.  Just start a new chat and tap the friend you want to chat with.  You can only chat with one person at a time.  At this time there is no group chat feature present in the application.

     The middle tab with your avatar's picture will change to a camera when you tap it and take you to what other people will see when they visit you.  This is the page you will start on when you open the app after registering.

     Every day you log into the app you will get a present box.  You will see it next to your avatar.  Tap it and a slot machine appears.  From the free lucky spin you will get an amount of in game coins.  Watching an add will double the amount.  You can only spin this once per day.  You can see it on the left.

Your avatar will randomly change poses if you leave the screen open on this tab.  If you tap different areas of the screen the avatar will look in the direction you tapped.  Tapping your avatar makes them say a greeting with the associated pose.  Tap again and it does another of your greetings.

     From here you can purchase more currency tap the "See more Zepeto" button to go to the official Instagram or check your notifications.  Notifications is where you see who added you, liked you or receive gifts sent to you.

     The magnifying glass tab at the bottom is the Find feature and takes you to where you can find other people's Zepeto avatars.  You can enter someone's code at the top if you have it or choose from the avatars listed at the bottom of the page.  Tapping one of the avatars takes you to their page where you can see their greeting, like them or add them.

     Tapping the lighting icon at the top right takes you to a random Zepeto avatar's page.  If you want to see a lot of people at once you can click Street.  This is actually a pretty strange feature.  When you go to the street you can type a quick greeting that's a few words long.  Then random Zepeto avatars walk across your screen.  You can't tap them.  At the bottom of the screen it will show which Zepeto avatars passed you and their greeting.  If you tap the username you can visit them and like or add.  this is all you can do in this mode.

     You can see Street mode in the screen shot to the right.

     The last section of this application is the far left tab that looks like Pacman.  This is the Play section.

     Magic Shot Photobooth is where you can put your avatar or other avatars together into a premade photo.  You can choose which avatars to add and the order to add them.  If you get them in the wrong order you can always go back and change the order.

     The photo sections have sets for one avatar, two avatars (mostly couple shots), and groups.  Plus there is currently a special section where you can put your avatar next to a BT21 character.  New poses/shots are added over time.  Once you have the photo you want, you can download it or share it to other apps through Zepeto.

     There are Daily Quests on this page as well but the entire time I have had this app (About a week) these have been unavailable.  As such, I can not discuss them.  However, when they do become available, this will be a way to earn more in game currency for free.

     There is one mini game in the app called Flying Zepeto.  This is another way to earn free coins.  It is essentially a flappy bird ripoff featuring your Zepeto avatar's head shot with wings.

     All in all the app is cute but lacks content.  It doesn't feel like an app I could see myself using daily or for long periods of time.  I feel like I would lose interest fairly fast.  Perhaps if they added more variety in customisation and mini games it would benefit the app.  Group chats or other ways for the avatars to interact would also be a great addition to what currently looks like the start of a concept, and not a polished and fully realised creation.

Rating 3/5

• Free
• Category: Social Networking
• Size: 126.8 MB
• Languages: English, Japanese, Korean
• Copyright: Service Management Group, Inc. SMG
• © SNOW Corporation

Rated 4+