Going forward, my intention for the CP unit is to measure both avatar and character embodiment. I want to see which factors affect not only feeling like the body belongs to you in the given virtual context, but also feeling like you have ownership of the character’s personality traits and emotional/mental space. Another priority is to finish this project with a working understanding of VRChat’s new language, Udon. 

Over the break, I have been following some tutorials for the new language and thinking about what basic functionalities I can incorporate. I haven’t tested anything yet. Udon has a node-graph interface and it compiles in the Unity editor. 

After my tutorial with Ana, I decided to look at some studies that examine people’s reactions to actual physical spaces given their different socio-political backgrounds and/or ethnic backgrounds. If I find one I think is of sufficient scale for this 10-week project, I will consider mapping the same environment in a virtual space and comparing user’s virtual interactions against the real-world ones. 

Another possibility is to remain in the same vein as my project was before, i.e. to create a simple game in VRChat with a more mythological backstory. If I choose to do this, I will create my own set of characters and measure user identification with character clues along the environment. 

I foresee my biggest challenge will be simplification. Because of this, it is even more imperative that I build a strong core idea in the following week.