Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style
Our favorite virtual vlogger, Ami Yamato, is visiting friends and family in Japan this month, and she's chronicling her trip along the way. In her latest, Ami's walking the streets of a Japanese suburb just before midnight, camera held out, and musing about the differences between her homes in Japan and England.
If you've already taken a peek at the video embedded above but are otherwise unfamiliar with this underappreciated YouTube personality, you might be wonder why I'm talking about her as if she's a real person. While she might look like she belongs among a lineup of the latest Disney princesses, Ami is presented as a real flesh-and-blood vlogger. Every now and then she makes tongue-in-cheek references to the programs and people that have made her existence possible, but for the most part she's playing it straight, and that might just be the best thing about her.
If you're looking for an extra dose of Ami, be sure to catch up on the videos available on her YouTube channel, and check out her new Instagram account for some unbelievably unreal selfies.
Iris Ophelia (@bleatingheart, Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times, and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.
she is very addictive, I can see that being the future of avatar human relations in the say, the next iteration of second life, or more accurately High Fidelity, she totally nails it as far as the "uncanny valley" goes, totally relatable, and she totally immerses you in her digital world and the seamless mesh between the virtual and the real is amazing!
Posted by: Jaqua | Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 03:37 PM
Her brilliant avatar aside, her subtle humour and clever ideas are really what set her apart.
Posted by: Uccie Poultry | Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 07:02 PM
LOL
She may be safe from muggers. But she is taking a hit from all the heavy radiation falling down on her in Tokyo.
What is next? Her avatar explores the Fukushima reactor room?
Posted by: melponeme_k | Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 08:52 AM