Second, I have decided to discuss my experiences with the virtual worlds that were assigned as exploration sites for this week's class.
My overall impression of all of the virtual worlds is that they just are not for me. I am not interested in creating a second life, so to speak. However, I universally enjoyed creating my avatar and spending time customizing the way it looked. I particularly enjoyed seeing how much I could make each of the avatars I created look or not look like me. Additionally, across the board I did not like how much time it took to start the programs. I don't like how hard it is to multi-task during game play. The virtual world takes up the whole screen and envelopes you, which is something I am not really interested in. Though an interesting experience, it is not what I am looking for out of my time on the computer. I like to be doing a little of everything all the time. Moving from pdfs of reading to my facebook profile to my email and back to a series blogs is something that I value and a game that takes up the whole screen does not afford me that leisure. I suppose that the feeling of being separated from your regular life is a big draw of virtual worlds and it is created by fully enveloping the user, but I just don’t feel like I need to escape in that way. When I want to get away from the hustle bustle of my everyday life, I would rather step away from the computer entirely to spend face-to-face time with friends and family than to walk into a different virtual world.
Some Specific Likes and Dislikes:
SecondLife: I was trapped in another country and failed to learn enough at
WoW: I have several friends that are hardcore WoW players and I thought I would have fun seeing what they loved so much, but really I was just confused by all of the jargon. My friend Jordan showed me a couple of youtube videos which makes fun of this. Here is one (NSFW). This is also classic (also, NSFW).
There: When I downloaded the player it made my computer lag. This made me immediately give up on the game. While this, again, was not the game’s fault (my lack thereof computer is really to blame), it did make me think that I’d rather just play Kitten Cannon and not crash my inferior machine.
VMTV: The TV and now this virtual environment lie about what
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4 comments:
Love the title of your post. Like you, I found creating my avatar to be the thing I enjoyed most. I had a hard time getting around and don't think it should be so difficult to have fun.
Agreed; when the Chronicle for Higher Education covers SL and feature faculty users -- even the most 'progressive' faculty look completely chiseled with massive front ends and if male, completely buff. It's such a give away on 'who is using SL.' And while appreciate escapism, I simply don't like the aesthetic of SL -- it's like Wal-Mart in 3D ...
"aesthetic of SL -- it's like Wal-Mart in 3D"
Which makes a kind of sense, considering that the bulk of the aesthetic is defined by the users and not by an art director.
As an avatar getting ready to celebrate one year in SL, I can say with conviction that even though the beginning was a bit daunting I am now having a blast! I spend a lot of my time exploring the fantastic sims that people have created, learning to script, building various things, dabbling with machinima, making clothing/hair/shoes (skin is next). I have made fast friends (all over the world) that I could not have met any other way. At some point I anticipate meeting some of them in the 'real' world, so kids, this is for keeps. Plus, I like hanging out with smart people and anyone who can figure out SL has got to have something between the ears for gray matter. As for the smart people that are mean or creepy? The mute button can be a girl's best friend. To each their own, but I heartily endorse having a second life. My second life is definitely producing blossoms in my first life.
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