Final thoughts on Second Life

 

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for Alex’s Virtual Worlds class.   Last semester in another class, I was briefly introduced to Second Life which I found strange, but compelling. What I found is a sub-culture existing in a virtual world. I guess it can be compared to the Twilight Zone episode where the characters meet their doppelgangers, except that the doppelgangers here rarely look like their real life counterpart. I found it fascinating that you can create an alter ego, complete with green skin, turquoise spiked hair and girlish figure that likes to go nightclubs.  That’s my avatar and I certainly do not have green skin, turquoise spiked hair, or a girlish figure and I haven’t been disco dancing at a nightclub in years. Here in World anything goes! (within reason).

Much to my surprise, I discovered that many universities, libraries, museums and educational institutions have a presence in SL. Please see my previous post for details. At first I kept asking myself what are the benefits to having a presence in SL and could not think of any that were feasible. My research showed that many schools use SL for distance learning, business models, gathering information on how we communicate, and case studies for future endeavors.  SL is being used for practical purposes, as well as, for game playing.

The class offered the choice of coming to campus or staying home. I chose to come to campus to avoid the chaos at home but had forgotten how bad the parking situation is. It was during the third week of school when I was forced to circle the back commuter lot like a vulture on a quest to track and hunt down a lone student walking to their car. Week after week it became a game, no more like a obsession to be the first afternoon student to secure the only vacant spot in the full parking lot. So many near misses with other seekers occurred each week and I realized that my many novenas to St. Christopher had finally paid off. 

Seven students out of nine came to class regularly and it was a lot of fun. It seemed bizarre at first to be sitting physically next to someone, seeing and hearing them in real life but communicating with them in World. I enjoyed sitting around in a circle discussing SL topics with the Prof. and classmates. After a while, you tend to forget the avatars and become immersed in the conversation, but something always jolts you back to the present to make you realize that you’re in a virtual world and it’s not real. I found it amusing that the avatars did not even remotely resemble the humans (except the Prof’s) and wondered what the motives were behind the choices the others made. Even the names were fanciful and unusual.  For a long time, I didn’t know that Mogue was Tom who sat in front of me each week who I talked to in real life.  I liked it best when we communicated by text that I saved and printed. When we tried using voice, there were technical difficulties and was discontinued  after a few sessions. 

The final project I worked on was the Cheshire Academy Admissions Center. I really enjoyed working together with so many talented and dedicated people who really put their heart and soul into the task at hand. The recurring question I asked myself  was “can I measure up to their standards?” I certainly tried, barring my many computer problems. The project was for a real life institution that could someday have a real presence in World. I enjoyed the brainstorming sessions both in class and in World. I found that when in World, many things happen spontaneously. I liked choosing the furnishings and accessories and arranging (and re-arranging) them within the space. Sometimes things change quickly when you’re in World and decisions are made on the spot. 

We visited Marist College’s school store which has an exceptional stock of school-related items giving me inspiration for a sweatshirt design. The only problem I had with designing the sweatshirt was that it was hard to judge the final color and overall boundries of the shirt.  My first shirt had only a 10% color which made it appear see-through. The second shirt did not have enough of the collar and sleeves colored. The third shirt looked just great. (see my picture above) After working extensively with the clothing templates, I feel very confident now and can’t wait to create more custom clothes. Perhaps designing my own line of exciting night club-dance wear.  Now go ahead and try that in real life – I doubt if DKNY or Chanel would be so accomodating to share the spotlight with an unknown designer. Like I said earlier, anything goes here in World. 

The photos on the wall of the Student Life and Wall of Fame were fun to produce. I enjoyed preparing them in Photoshop, uploading them and applying them to prims I created to use as canvases. I also liked to arrange the furniture and the accessories upon them. It was difficult at first to place the item directly on top of the table.  They look like they’re sitting on the surface, but when viewed from another angle, you find they are 4 feet away. It took me a while to master the x-y-z coordinates, and with a lot of practice, I now feel like a pro.  

In my case, instead of being patient with the learning curve, I became frustrated with knowing what I wanted to do, but not being able to accomplish it quickly enough. Something I’m not used to at all being experienced in many software applications. This was totally foreign to me and I wasn’t liking it. I finally gave in and realized that the more time you spend in World exploring and experimenting, the easier it becomes. I felt like Ponce de Leon looking for that mystical Fountain of Youth.

But time I did not have enough of. It was usually late at night when my daughter relinquished control of the computer so mom could finally “play” in World. Melissa and her friends think I’m the coolest mom around – what other North Branford mom has a class that requires being in a virtual world? Most of her friends play World of Warcraft and the Sims so they are familiar with RPG’s and virtual worlds. She sometimes “allowed” me to use the computer early but had to look over my shoulder to watch.  I enjoyed working on the Ecoutee campaign, especially while filming the machinima. My loud peals of laughter had Melissa running constantly in to see what mom was hysterically laughing at. All in all, I think this experience brought us closer together and I hope to be a good, if not “cool”  role model for her here in real life. 

 In conclusion, I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to experience SL first-hand. I think this medium so far is vastly untapped. The next great (not final) frontier to conquer has yet to enter mainstream society. There are unlimited opportunities (financial, creative, social, etc.) to experience and SL is just the beginning. Who knows in 10 years if we will be an avatar-based society in maybe Sixth or Seventh Life. I certainly don’t know. I do know that while my avatar may lose her green skin and turquoise spiked hair, she’ll definitely keep her girlish figure.  For now, meet you in World!