Difference between revisions of "Talk:Michael Wasserman"

Latest revision as of 04:00, 16 November 2011

I thought the author did an excellent job of explaining why he generated the avatars he did. He explained various issues he had with generating his personal avatar, such as forming an avatar that accurately reflected his physical characteristics. One interesting point he mentioned was the fact that he defines himself and his identity through his actions opposed to his characteristics. Thus for the author it was difficult for him to generate an avatar that he believed was representative of himself. Although he mentioned technical limitations on the evolver website, it seemed as if most of his problems stemmed from his inability to express his demeanor on life through his avatar. He mentions that "a blank stare leaves too much room for interpretation of character" and this was one of the main difficulties he faced throughout this process. For this reason, I believe the author used the movie, School of Rock, to generate his fantasy avatar. By drawing upon this outside source and some of it's main themes, he sought to generate an avatar that allowed him to forget who he is supposed to be every day life and live in his dream. The author noted that he was an avid player of sports and thus wanted to generate a soccer player, which is what he always aspired to become. By drawing on themes from School of Rock he was able to generate an unique avatar that represented his childhood dreams.

--Elijah Thompson

The author gave a great snapshot of the problems associated with the software, especially with the problems of constructing a human face on a digital avatar. The fact that he mentions such details as the cheekbones, or the shape of the jaw reinforce the ideas that humans are complex beings, ones that are far more complex than machines can replicate (at this point in time). There was a brief moment where I thought the author was going to break into a story about how he was genetically altered or had some sort of reconstructive surgery when he mentions things such as, "a snapshot in time." He was of course referring to who he is as person defining, going beyond just a physical resemblance. He also provides good insight into the limits of the evolver software in the idea of the "blank stare" he ends his analysis with. The fantasy avatar, and idea behind it, was also quite interesting to read. He chose an interesting perspective, comparing it to something in pop culture. I felt the old saying, "actions speak louder than words" running through my head as I read this part. I think that his physicality of being and his hard-working nature really shine true through this interpretation. It's almost saying, don't look at me, but look at what I'm doing. It doesn't matter what a person looks like, as long as they are doing something they love and want to do. This was a very unique interpretation of the entire process and a good model.

-Anderson Phelps

The author did a fabulous job describing why he felt that his reflection avatar did not match the way he perceived himself. It is difficult to make a computerized avatar feel appropriate because there is such a personal element to your appearance that cannot be conveyed through simple facial features that may or may not accurately depict your appearance. It was interesting that he felt that his life experiences constructed his appearance rather than the actual make up of his facial features. He also carried this idea over to the creation of his fantasy avatar. He mentions that he used this opportunity to express what he wishes he could have done rather than focusing more on what he would have liked to look like. I think that the pop culture reference to "School of Rock" helped highlight his attitude in creating the fantasy avatar. He used the personality of his fantasy avatar to dictate what features he chose for the facial features of the avatar. The author uses this opportunity to display his own personality traits that he prides himself in with the physical appearance of the avatar, like having softer features in order to portray a fair but hard playing style.

-Rosa Wong

In terms of pure honesty, openness, communication to the targeted audience, I felt that this particular Author did an OUTSTANDING AND EXCELLENT JOB!!!! I couldn't tell if this was a psychology-class, and Art-class (of some kind), an existential/metaphysical Philosophy-class -- AND I say all of that (i.e. I mean all that) in a very complimentary, positive way. In other words, I felt this way, in terms of immediate reaction, after reading his Reflection -- BUT ESPECIALLY IN REGARDS TO PARAGRAPH #'S 1 & 3 of his *Fantasy Avatar*-section of his Reflection. Suffice it to say, the quality of writing Overall, in regards to his Self-Portrait Avatar, and especially his Fantasy-Avatar was simply brilliant and honest. This person, seems to be a "Gamer" in the sense of being an Athlete/Sportsman -- and a competitive one at that (reminds me, of me in a sense). I completely agreed with the ENTIRE ASSESSMENT OF HIS *SELF-PORTRAIT* AVATAR AND SYMPATHIZE/EMPATHIZE WITH HIM IN THE FRUSTRATIONS THAT HE ENCOUNTERED. I LOVED THE "LIFE, IMITATES ART --> ART IMITATES FORM FEEL AND ANALYSIS THAT HE GAVE HIS REFLECTION. Although, I did not see the movie "The School of Rock", I am aware of what it is about and I liked the Pop-Culture Reference he gave here, as well as the detailed-oriented approach to it (I too based my Fantasy Avatar off of a Pop. Culture Movie!!!!)

-J Stevenson