Difference between revisions of "Talk:Janice Wong"

Latest revision as of 21:32, 15 November 2011

I found your comment on the lack of worry over the fantasy avatar very interesting. Personally, I found the creation of the fantasy avatar very frustrating because the lack of choices in the evolver program hindered me from seeing it as being fantasy. I also felt you accurately stated the issue of women not necessarily knowing or remembering what they really look like due to the buffering effect of cosmetics.

I think many people had the same issues with the hair styles and lack of eyebrow options. I believe you accurately described many issues that people had with the evolver software.

I am left unsatisfied by your choices for ‘external sources’. They do not add much to your reflection. They do not provide a break from your personal opinion as they were meant; they simply serve as things that influenced a few of your choices. Your reflection does not seem to be anchored in anything beyond you personally.

I also believe that someone’s choices in avatar characteristics can say quite a bit about them, especially in the fantasy regard. Quirky things like bunny ears can give you insight into their personality. I do not think looking for ‘complete understanding’ of a person is realistic, given that it is impossible to completely understand a person even in the living world.

I thought your reflection was very detailed. It was very interesting to read the process you initially employed when you were trying to create your personal avatar. Instead of looking in the mirror, I was looking at pictures of myself but perhaps my avatar would have been more accurate had I done what you did. Your point concerning the way women use make-up and other methods to alter their appearance was very insightful. Personally, I had not considered this at all. The only time it came up was when I was choosing a skin tone, and I didn't really see how make-up related to skin tone.

Similarly, I had many problems when selecting the nuances of the facial features. From your reflection, I think we would agree that the software is vastly inadequate and does not offer many of the options other avatar creators have.

I used the Sims as one of my external examples as well, but I used it in a different way. I thought your use of the external source was very biased rather than based in some factual evidence. If you had described how the Sims software accounted for some of the shortcomings you experienced while using the Evolver software, I think that would have been more helpful and added more to your reflection.

Finally, you discussed the role of traits that are not physical. Personally, I had not considered this at all because I don't really see clothing or accessories as a gateway into understanding a person. For that reason, while I can understand your use of bunny ears, etc. I don't think it has as much importance or significance as you implied. The only way to really get to know someone is through real life interactions, unfortunately, this is impossible with an avatar. However, bunny ears or not, the person is still exactly. the same. I don't think these superfluous touches add or subtract anything from the avatar image and they don't help to explain the nature of your avatar.

- M. Erickson