Talk:Ryuta Oshikiri

Ryuta described well his process of selecting applicable physical features when creating his self-portrait avatar, and why he selected particular traits. By describing why he made each particular decision regarding facial features, it became apparent that he put significant thought into the process of trying to create a realistic looking avatar. Ryuta even went as far as to state that he felt he had made a “relatively accurate” physical representation of himself with his avatar, but also felt that the lack of emotions and personality within the representation did not make it an accurate image of him. By laying out how emotions and personality were not conveyed within the physical portrayal of the avatar, Ryuta grappled with what it meant to define himself in virtual space in a different way than had been talked about in class – he realized that emotional portrayal plays an integral role in one’s physical appearance. By questioning this, the piece felt applicable in its attempt to deal with physical representation in an online space. Ryuta also did a nice job incorporating a reference to a study which described how portrayals of avatars often give people less emotional insight into the person they are representing than seeing them in the real world. When creating his fantasy character, Ryuta combined parts of his physical appearance with parts of his personality by highlighting decisions he had made with his outward appearance that were representative of how he felt about himself emotionally. This was an interesting take on the issue of “lack of personality” he had outlined earlier in the piece, and was a useful way of thinking about how an individual can accurately portray themselves by more than just their personal appearance within the avatar creation process. His use of Being John Malkovich was also an apt example of this way of thinking, and was very indicative of the avatar-creation process. – Lynette Wall