Transfer of attributes between generations of characters

A method comprising:

• identifying a virtual entity in an interactive software experience, wherein:
• the virtual entity has one or more virtual attributes that are managed within the interactive software experience;
• and
• the virtual entity is capable of one or more virtual behaviors, wherein an individual behavior is affected by one or more of the virtual attributes of the virtual entity;
• determining one or more hardware attributes for the virtual entity in the interactive software experience based at least on one or more corresponding hardware attributes stored by and associated with a physical user device, wherein each of the one or more hardware attributes for the virtual entity corresponds to one or more behavioral attributes of the virtual entity;
• modifying the individual behavior of the virtual entity within the interactive software experience based on a combination of the one or more hardware attributes and the one or more virtual attributes;
• and
• based on a user's performance of one or more tasks using the physical user device, generating updates for the one or more hardware attributes for the virtual entity during a first lifespan of the virtual entity, wherein the updates result in one or more changes to the one or more hardware attributes stored by and associated with the physical user device, wherein the one or more changes to the one or more hardware attributes:
• remain linked to the physical user device following the end of a first lifespan of the virtual entity,
• persist following a regeneration of the virtual entity between the first lifespan and a second lifespan of the virtual entity, and
• persist following association of the physical user device with a second virtual entity that is different from the virtual entity.