This was the video that started up this blog post.
Originally, I saw the video on Porter Robinson’s instagram, and thought, “Woah! That’s really cool!” I enjoyed his video and just had to reach out to the creator behind the VR model of Porter, PHIABUNNY. I just had to know the story from her.
I reached out to Phia, and before you know it, I got this lovely interview with her. Here was how our interview went.
INTERVIEW WITH PHIA
Can you talk about the story of how Porter Robinson hung out with you in the VR world?
I created the Porter Robinson model a few months ago after a friend and I had discussed the possibility of recreating Second Sky in VR. Second Sky was the best day of my life, and I felt deeply stirred at the idea that I could experience it all over again through VR! I immediately made the Porter model with this in mind. That was about four months ago, and I recently realized that I never actually showed off my model anywhere online for fellow fans to see. I’m an active user on the Porter Robinson subreddit and decided to post a picture of it there, jokingly including “Porter hmu for the download” in the title. I honestly forgot about the post until two days later when I was sitting at my computer and saw Porter’s name light up my phone followed by “Hey, you might be surprised to hear from me but..” and him going on to explain his inability to get my model into VRchat.
Within half an hour of receiving that text, I found myself inside VRchat with Porter to exchange the model with him. I cannot even explain how surreal it was to see my Porter model standing in front of me with the real Porter’s voice coming out. I put my heart into making something and watched this very personal creation come to life before my very eyes. Almost felt like I was living out a real life scene from Pinnochio!
I mention in my “Thank you, Porter” video I posted online that I had expected him to get the model and then takeoff, but we ended up talking a whole lot after. His girlfriend Rika even joined in, and we went on this really magical adventure through different worlds together. It’s so crazy to imagine that in this time where most people aren’t even leaving their house, I was able to meet someone very important to me in this way. VR is so captivating to me already, but this experience showcased how remarkable its features and potentials are to the entire public. I feel very lucky that I got to partake in such an incredible moment.
What got you into creating these VR characters?
I had no major interest in VR until the later half of 2019 when I started becoming obsessed with a Japanese fashion brand called Chloma. Chloma had recently partnered with VRoid Studio, a free 3D character creation program based in Japan by creating virtual versions of their clothing for users to purchase and wear. I have always been a sucker for character customization, and this called my name. I knew I had to create a character right away so that I could sport Chloma online as well as real life! Once I finished my PHIA model, I couldn’t get away. I had never played VRchat before, but I wanted an excuse to use my model somewhere. Before I knew it, my entire life revolved around VR. So many cogs start to turn in your brain when you look in a mirror and see a virtual version of yourself, and I couldn’t stop asking some really important introspective questions after that moment.
You mentioned that one of your inspirations is Porter Robinson. How does he inspire you?
I’ve been an escapist my entire life. I highly value imagination and constantly daydream about these made up worlds and characters I have locked up inside my head. I’ve always been really connected to these places I’ve created, and I’m also really invested in the made up worlds of others (Narnia, Hyrule, etc.). Discovering Porter’s album Worlds was revolutionary for me, because I had never encountered anyone else who explicitly expressed these same feelings before. I felt like I had found someone, despite never having met him, who really understood what was going on in my head. I think me and Porter are extremely similar in the way we view the world and have overlapping childhood influences as well. I’ve really resonated with his music because of that. He is such a genuine and special person, and you can tell he really cares about the people around him. I’ve paid close attention to his inspirations and those, in turn, have led me down my own path that I couldn’t have found otherwise.
Other than Porter and yourself, who have you made VR models of? Also, do you have plans on making more?
I’ve made multiple variations of my personal PHIA model, but I also have made models that connect me to some of my favorite artists and media. I’ve made Lain Iwakura, Hatsune Miku (The End Opera version), and even a 3D recreation for a friend of their character. My full collection of models can be found online at the VRoid hub under my username PHIA. I definitely plan on continuing to make models and have opened up commissions after the amount of interest I’ve received this past week. Anyone interested can send an email to thevirtualrealityshow@gmail.com, and I will get back to them there.
What are some of your favorite anime series and characters?
My current favorite anime is Serial Experiments Lain. I think it’s themes about technology are thought provoking and connect very nicely to the philosophical concepts of VR as well. I’m also a huge fan of Mekaku City Actors- I fell in love with Jin’s music first, read the Kagerou Days manga, and then watched each episode as it came out. Ene is one of my favorite characters ever, and her story falls very in line with some of the dreams I have for my PHIA project. A few others that are close to me would be Nagi no Asukara, Ao Haru Ride, and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
What is The Virtual Reality Show and what was the inspiration behind creating this channel?
The Virtual Reality Show is a show I created to talk about VR and the many topics related to it while being inside Virtual Reality. The past few months I’ve been really engaged by VR, and by what it means for both the future and the now. I found myself falling down Wikipedia holes, reading book after book, listening to VR podcasts, completely unable to get away. Every free second I had/have is dedicated to VR in some capacity because it is what brings me the most joy and excitement in my life. I was driving to my university last month listening to an interview with DigitrevX, one of the minds behind Projekt Melody. As I was listening, I was struck with this epiphany of just how much I really cared about these topics. I thought to myself, do I really want to be going to school to study things I’m not passionate about and get a job I don’t really care about? No! I want my life to be dedicated to the thing I love. I knew that if I was going to somehow involve myself in the VR community, I needed to get started right away. I took all my skills into evaluation and the resulting idea was The Virtual Reality Show. That same day, I came home from school and made it happen. I wrote a script, filmed a video, edited the video, made a YouTube channel. I had a really powerful epiphany about the strength in doing. The result was my first episode covering Projekt Melody. I’ve built up a strong, small community since then, and it’s truly the most delightful thing I’ve ever experienced. The show has really blown up since Porter took interest in what I’m doing- there’s a lot of plans underway for taking things to the next level. I’m incredibly grateful for all the helping hands of people who have reached out this week to support me in bringing my dreams to life!
If you guys enjoyed this content and are interested in following her and The Virtual Reality Show, make sure to check out her social media down below and give her a follow.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: @phiabunny
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/TheVirtualRealityShow
Twitch: twitch.tv/phiabunny
Twitter: @PHIA_bunny
Patreon: patreon.com/phia
Discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/Qkf4qUD
