Ready Player One Assignment

    The Ready Player One Assignment was one of my favorites. Growing up and especially now, I have never really played interactive video games. My group mate, Hannah, remembers growing up playing Movie Star Planet. So, we decided to use that game for our project. We generated a random avatar and moved throughout the different worlds until we came to a setting that we really enjoyed. We found one girl named Twinkle Toes who was dressed like cotton candy, a style that is definitely not too popular outside of avatars in video games. 

    We asked her a lot of questions about her style and about why she started playing online video games. She told us she dresses like this in the game because its how she wants to dress in the real world. But she told us she doesn't dress like this in real life for fear of being judged by her peers. I think a lot of people hide aspects of themselves from everyone else because they too are fearful of being judged or made fun of for being different and unique. It can be hard to do, but being who you truly are without worried about what others think would make the world a lot more freeing. Going along with that, we asked Twinkle Toes why she plays Movie Star Planet. She gave us really good answers, saying she is introverted and shy and feels more open when talking to people online. She said its easier to feel comfortable and to be herself behind a screen, which I know is true for a lot of people. It was nice, though, because she also told us that through playing Movie Star Planet, talking to people in real life is becoming easier. 

    I enjoyed this assignment so much because Twinkle Toes was actually really vulnerable with us, and it made me feel comfortable knowing that I'm not alone in how I feel sometimes. 

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