Whether referring to virtual reality, or the phenomenal four-dimensional world of human experience, an avatar is a focal point of consciousness by which a larger entity operates within a more limited and constrained environment in order to allow this larger entity to operate freely within that environment. In each case, there is a meta-level of existence which transcends the representative which it encapsulates. This is analogous to the super-implicate and sub-implicate orders proposed by physicist David Bohm.

In a typical scenario, an avatar has awareness only of the world scope in which it operates, that is, within the parameters of the game in which it functions as an entry point. In some cases, it may be possible for the avatar to develop an awareness of the game itself, as well as its own nature as a representative or diminished projection of a meta-entity.