# The Virtual Body

LLMS index: [llms.txt](/dvw/en/llms.txt)

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Players enter virtual worlds through the medium of their characters. Although in general the player determines the appearance of a character, characters are not merely ghostly projections of the spirit: They are tangible entities within the virtual world, as real (to it) as any other object. As representations of sentient beings, they have attributes and skills; however, they have other functionality merely by virtue of their being objects. From this point of view, the virtual body is a machine that the character lives in. What should this machine do? And what happens when it stops doing it?

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Section pages:

- [Maintenance](/dvw/en/book/05-life-in-the-virtual-world/05-21-the-virtual-body/05-22-maintenance/)
- [Survival](/dvw/en/book/05-life-in-the-virtual-world/05-21-the-virtual-body/05-23-survival/)
- [Sensing the Virtual World](/dvw/en/book/05-life-in-the-virtual-world/05-21-the-virtual-body/05-24-sensing-the-virtual-world/)
- [Body Composition](/dvw/en/book/05-life-in-the-virtual-world/05-21-the-virtual-body/05-25-body-composition/)