Gaming: Identity Formation??
I’ve been into gaming since I was really young. I especially loved the fantasy online roleplaying game “World of Warcraft.” It was more than just a game for me, it felt like living in another world. The world has its own history and culture. I’ve spent countless hours digging deep into the stories, meeting people online, and just exploring the world. I also cared a lot about how my character was represented in the game, I would go to great lengths, often spending days to obtain a piece of clothing I’d like my character to wear. It was so immersive to me at the time that coming back to the actual world felt strange and dissociating, I often felt like I needed to touch grass. In more recent years, I’ve dabbled in VR and saw how this new technology takes it even further. In this game VRchat, it’s like a whole other universe, you can visit rooftops, cafes, or cosmic worlds that don’t exist in real life. There are so many worlds out there, if you search for it, you can probably find it. The interesting thing about VRchat is, I’ve seen people spend a lot of money to commission 3D artists to create their own unique avatars. It’s fascinating how much people care about their digital presence. This whole idea of how we present ourselves in these virtual spaces is very interesting, especially as someone who has experienced it extensively before. I felt like this could potentially be a really interesting topic to explore especially in recent years with all the talk about the Metaverse and digital identity.
Identity: Two Places, No Home
Born in Taiwan, my life took a turn when I moved to Singapore during my formative years. Those years from Primary 1 to 5, Singapore wasn’t just a place where I lived, It’s a crucial part of who I was. It was a time where I started to really establish and figure out who I was. My first meaningful friendships, my understanding of the world, and my sense of self, these were all rooted in Singapore. Then, after finishing my Primary 5, I suddenly had to move back to Taiwan. It felt like being uprooted just as I had begun to lay down my roots. Even though Taiwan was my birthplace, I don’t completely feel at home, even now. The sense of belonging to Singapore has faded over the years. Now, I don’t feel any sense of belonging, not in Singapore, not in Taiwan. It’s like living with one foot in each place, never fully immersing in either. It’s a unique perspective, one that keeps me from being tied down to a single identity. This whole concept of how experiences can shape and impact identity really interests me. It’s like living proof of how our environments can forge who we become, and I think it can be valuable to explore this further.
Beliefs: Shifting Perspectives
When I was in college, my view of the world and life was quite different. I was really nihilistic, didn’t care about anything and didn’t want to do anything. It’s edgy and cliche I know, I’m not proud of that. It was during this time I stumbled upon “Rick and Morty.” The show, with its blend of dark humor and existential themes, really resonated with me (edgy and cliche again, I know, the whole theme). There was this one line delivered by Morty that really echoed with my own thoughts, “nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, we’re all going to die. Come watch TV.” It was a show that mirrored my own skepticism and doubts about life’s meaning. It felt like the show was putting into words and scenes the very ideas I was grappling with.
As I moved forward from my college years into the professional world, my outlook began to gradually shift. I still don’t think life has any inherent meaning, but I no longer believe that life having no meaning is an excuse to not do anything. It’s intriguing how the same show that once reinforced my own nihilistic views now sparks a different kind of reflection. I’ve recently revisited “Rick and Morty,” I realize that the show hasn’t changed, but me. My understanding of nihilism has evolved. It’s no longer about the despair of meaninglessness but about liberation and the freedom to do and experience whatever you want. This shift of perspective really shows me how our ideas and beliefs can change with life experiences. The topic of how our ideas evolve and how they shape our perception towards life, I feel like it is worth exploring how people’s views change over time and what influences them.
AI: Creativity and Efficiency ???
Working in marketing at ASUS brought me face-to-face with the rapid advancements in generative AI technology. It was not just a new buzzword, like the “Metaverse” or the “NFT.” It was a fundamental shift in how we approached creativity and efficiency. When tools like Stable-Diffusion, MidJourney and ChatGPT came onto the scene, it was like opening a door to a new world. These AI applications weren’t just tools, they were collaborators, bringing a level of efficiency we hadn’t seen before.
I remember being one of the first marketers in our department to integrate Stable-Diffusion and MidJourney into our workflow. It really changed how fast we can push things. Collaborating with a senior designer in our department, we started using AI-generated images as reference and as a base instead of relying only on stock photos. It was faster, unique, and often sparked new ideas due to the unstable nature of how some generated images came out as. With the help of these new tools, we pushed the project timeline to a new fast. This threeway collaboration of a marketer, designer, and AI was a revelation. It showed me that AI shouldn’t be seen as a competition but as a valuable tool and partner. It’s about using the tool to enhance our capabilities.
Looking ahead, I believe the key is in how we adapt to and integrate AI into our workflow. The future should be about collaboration between human intuition and AI’s data-driven insights. This perspective on AI excites me, it’s a part of the unknown that is still developing and something that I’m eager to explore further. Understanding how AI can continue to evolve as a tool and how we, as creatives, can harness its potential to its fullest.