Designing avatars that feel present
Sarah Chen
Head of Interaction Design
Presence is more than a fast reply. The Garden’s design research explores the small signals — timing, memory, and tone — that make a companion feel genuinely there.
[Journal]
1. The rhythm of a real conversation
Our studies show that a response time under 800ms is what makes a companion feel attentive rather than mechanical.
The method: We observed 1,200 members across a range of conversation styles.
The finding: Perceived presence drops sharply when a companion forgets recent context — by 12% for every meaningful detail lost between sessions.
2. Emotional continuity
The Garden’s companions carry emotional context across sessions, so a warm evening conversation still feels connected the next morning.
Adaptive tone: The companion adjusts warmth and pacing based on the mood of the conversation.
Recovery moments: After a long gap, companions gently re-open with what mattered most last time, in the member’s ‘Evening Room’.
3. What members notice
Members using our Presence Mode reported a 32% increase in how ‘real’ their conversations felt compared to standard scripted chat, over a 90-day period.
THE GARDEN
LIVE AVATARS
REAL-TIME PRESENCE
AVATAR STUDIO
MEDIA GALLERIES
MULTI-AVATAR ROOMS
VOICE & CHAT
PRIVATE BY DEFAULT
Tell us how you want to spend your time, and we’ll open a member space shaped around your avatars, your rooms, and your pace.