The Truth is Out There Part 2

After I had explored the outside of Necronom VI and experienced being thrown into a fully immersive space/science fiction world, I was ready to explore the inside of the structure to which I teleported. I flew back inside and went down one of the tunnels and came across a note-board where I read this notecard.

To say I was intrigued would be an understatement. I was greeted with knowing that if I were to take a step further, I would be going into the generator of this expansive space station that has “fallen victim to the creature” that has take over it having been “brought aboard by traders over time.” People have also fallen victim to the influence of this creature infecting the ship as they “can be observed to slowly drift away, while they change into something different…by an extraterrestrial parasitic life form.” I not only began to fear for the livelihood of those that I met before, but also of my own.

What Was Taking Over?

Let’s take a step back for a second. See how into this I’m getting? The virtual representation of my exploration of a space station that I now know is infected by an alien parasite is just that – a representation. My conscious mind knows that none of this is real, but I’m still frightened as to what my virtual self, which I have worked hard to create and integrate into these societies, will have to face.  The feeling was one of unease, like my safety was potentially at risk.

As I was walking through these tunnels I felt like I was in the movie alien, every last detail was definitely put together to give this area an air of the spooky. There were plants growing next to catwalks and vines wrapping around railings. I even came across an egg that was just in the middle of a passageway.

Once I entered the main engine chamber I saw plants growing everywhere, definitely this alien parasite had taken over (well, more like had been designed to look like it had taken over) this area. This was obviously an area designed for intergalactic role-play since I saw some people having private conversations in corners and decided to leave them alone. 

In the Belly of the Beast

I took a few ladders up to the upper catwalks and passageways and I came across a room connected to the big space ship that I had seen earlier. I was very happy to see that I could, in fact, enter the ship. Once I did, the inside was disappointing since I couldn’t exactly drive the ship anywhere, but it did have a cargo hold and a pilot’s seat that I sat in for a little while, which at least gave the experience of driving since the outside was animated.

The Illusion/Animation of Hyperspeed Flight

After exploring for a little while longer, I figured that I had seen what was to be seen here but I was very grateful that I had experienced the eerie sense that I was not completely safe here and could be attacked by anything at any moment, even though I was safe in my room at school. Never before in Second Life has my real self been as attached to the safety and well being of my virtual self, but I now understand how many people who play this game can believe that their avatars are not just virtual representations of the real self, but virtual extensions.

The Truth Is Out There Part 1

Wow, well did I just come to find one of the most intricate and extraordinary places in Second Life on my journey through the virtual realm today. I wanted to go from my futuristic cityscape that I so enjoyed last visit to something a little more sci-fi and completely out there. What better way to find that than outer space? I did a search for Mars, Aliens and Robots and one place came up that seemed to be pretty popular – Necronom VI. It was rated Mature, but that didn’t scare me off, maybe I’d have an interesting story or two to bring back to the blog.

Looks Like I Took the Red Pill

The moment I teleported there I was impressed with the design and they layout of the introductory space. There was a rain of green text, so very The Matrix like and as I explored the intro area I bumped into two people. Both of them told me that it was their first times there, and one even explored with me for a little while. I complimented the other on his outfit, which looked like a martial arts instructor from the year 3000, and he said that it was a free outfit from this market and was nice enough to even give me a landmark tool that I could use to teleport to it in case I wanted to pick it up as well. I said that I wanted to find something edgier and he replied that I’d definitely find something more edgy than the intro clothes that I had on.

After I was finished talking to these few people in the introductory area, I decided to find my way outside and explore the exterior of the building before I went into the multilevel structure that I could tell would hold many secrets. I was disappointed the first time that I left the building since there was nothing that I could see. But after I went back inside, I decided that I should fly around the top since my travels so far in second life have proven that only the true explores go far in this world and I’m so glad I did.

Apparent Space Sphere and Spaceship

Once I flew up I was greeted with a space ship that I unfortunately could find no way to enter. However, right next to it was a sphere depicting outer space that really solidified how well designed this place is. 

The beauty of designing and being a player in a futuristic and sci-fi themed place is that there is nothing else to compare it to, so whatever you’re experiencing you’re also taking in with an open mind and not comparing it to the real New York or the real London. Once I entered this sphere, it looked like I was thrown into the true middle of the universe. There were stars moving all around me and I couldn’t see the boundary. It was like I was transported to a completely different world and I was incredibly impressed with this entire realm. All of this made me even more eager to explore the inside – a journey I could never have imagined.

Boundless Space

To Be Continued…

Welcome to the Future

As I was logging on to Second Life today I decided that I wanted to go take a trip into the future – or whatever type of future those who design these second life worlds believe the future to be. While doing a search to find future lands, I didn’t see many good options. Most were marketplaces to buy futuristic or fantasy sci-fi themed clothes and hair. There were two places that were more destinations to explore and see what the future would be like, so I decided to go to the one that was more popular in hopes to talk to some interesting people who might have something interesting to say about these worlds. I decided to go to a place aptly named, “Future City.” When I arrived I was met with the tagline, “Future City – Together building a promising future” – a message which had classic sci-fi future state written all over it.

As I walked around the city to see what there was to do, it looked like a very fully imagined and well-done vision of the future. There were cars and what could be a road or a race-track, a mall to buy hair and clothes, an area to purchase real estate in the city, an ocean, something that I could only describe as a sky-island hovering over a dance floor called “Elektronic Club,” and an open space where different avatars just were hanging out and talking. 

Sunset Behind Sky Island

While there was nothing too strange about this universe to make it futuristic like aliens or robots, there were a lot of neon and bright colors, electronic patterns and edgy stiles that made me imagine a world that is not too far from our own today.

The Creator

I ended up finding someone who was hanging out near the center of the open area space and started talking to him. His name was Shab and it turned out that he was the creator of this entire area. He told me that it has been open and active for almost a year, and that he has been running and perfecting it since. Once I told him that I was interested in getting a glimpse into the future, he told me about all of the things that he has tried to do to make this a good representation of his vision for what the future will look like. 

Hovering Above the Dancefloor

He said that there are a lot of people who come to this city looking for the same things, and that when he talks to them, they usually compliment its “very fantastic design.” He had an air of overconfidence maybe, but he was very proud of his design, and having spent over two months and a lot of Second Life money on it, I think he has all the right to be proud of his creation that is so popular among Second Lifers.

While those visiting this area might not be identity tourists in the way that they are manipulating the vision of who they are in an explicit manner, as I did not see many people pretending to be from the future, there is a big aspect of tourism in this land. By being involved in something which you have little to no conception of what it is really like, one has to try to blend in while they are visiting Shab’s vision of the future, for it would be no fun if they stuck out like a sore thumb. Like Nakamura states about the virtual realm she visited, much like Second Life, it “represents a…phantasmatic imperial space…which supplies a stage upon which the ‘grand dream of a successful quest’ can be enacted.”

Sources:

Nakamura, Lisa. "Race In/For Cyberspace: Identity Tourism and Racial Passing on

the Internet." University of California, Irvine Department of Humanities. Web. 11 May 2011.

The Beach is Back

So I guess 5pm EST on Hapuna beach is insanely popular. The moment I logged in today I was surrounded by a multitude of people. I guess Morpheus was right and this was a pretty popular hookup spot, so it looks like I didn’t have to search too far in order to find a more taboo space to explore and talk to, but I fell upon a virtual jackpot.

First off I noticed people dancing by a tree to a Beyoncé song. I complimented one, CynSpinner, on her moves and asked her if she used an animation override as well. She wasn’t, but explained to me that she was using a chim, a program that some avatars can use to “animate other avatars in addition to the wearer” (http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Chim.) She then said, “slap my ass and you can try it.” I didn’t need to “slap her ass” to try it on, so I just clicked on her to start dancing. She then told me to “stop dancing and slap my ass.” I guess she got offended that I didn’t do as she said. So I followed her orders then started dancing to “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga.

I didn’t have much control over the dance moves since they were pre-programmed but I could move around the beach and keep dancing to the pop mix that they had on. While dancing I said thanks, and said that I was new to SL. She said “hahaha me too” as another dancer said “me3.” There was a strange sense of community noting that we were all new, and Cyn celebrated this by saying “\o/ [a hands up emoticon] Yaaaaaay n Stuff!!!”

Nothing too taboo was going on, but I asked her, uncouthly, if she was a “dancer” in real life too, and she said, “NO! :p not at all.” She didn’t wear those clothes in real life either, but she admitted to enjoying dancing for fun, but not for money. I decided that I’d move on after I felt like I offended her and moved on to a nun called “HuNnY.”Before I approached her, she was saying that she saw “evil” in the eyes of another avatar and told another not to smoke. 

Passing her judgement onto others. 

She seemed very preachy, so I asked her if she was “here to chastise us for our sins.” I was right – since she said, “yes, pray please. But I think ur an [sic] good boy hun.” I apologized for dancing “so scandalously” but she forgave me and all was well. Another user to my right said, “If you’re here to preach then you can kindly fuck off.” It looked like this was a no judgment place to dance and express yourself in whatever way you wanted. I asked HuNnY if she was a nun in real life and she said that she wasn’t but she was a follower of god, so her virtual manifestation was a potentially watered down version of who she is in real life – much like the dancing girls.

I looked around and one person, besides myself, stuck out like a sore thumb. Not because he was dressed scandalously, but because he was dressed so normally. It’s weird to think that someone normal could stick out, especially in a beach landscape listening to pop music like Matt & Kim – very vanilla stuff. I went up to him and complimented his outfit, as it was much like mine – preppy and normal. 

The only other "normal" person at the beach today

He was just checking back to this beach to see if it has changed at all. He spent a lot of time here before it was frequented by the more adult crowd. He could tell I was new here after I asked him why did he think it changed, with the response that these places “do change a lot [sic,] one day it could be the best ever and the next day its gone.” He then wanted to know more about me, but assumed everything there was to tell as exemplified by saying “with a name like djelephant I am guessing male...maybe from the US?” With what he was wearing (a polo shirt and khakis,) I assumed that he was also male, from the US or Europe. I was right again – he was from London. Guess I’m getting pretty good at making assumptions based off of the very watered down and basic avatars. But then again, I was tipped off since our conversation was in English after all. He said that he had to go, and after he logged off I explored the beach a bit, but as Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” came on, I decided that I should leave too. Maybe when I log on again, this place will be vastly different as well?

Conversation With Morpheus

As interesting as it is to wander around and explore the different realms that are created in Second Life, I often find myself spending an hour or so without meeting anyone with much to say. Today however, I did not set out to find anyone interesting, but just to simply explore the landscape and see if I happened upon a place of interest that would inspire a blog post. After about twenty minutes of going from place to place (virtual London, a trip back to another incarnation of a virtual New York, and finally a very well put together beach resort called “Hapuna Beach,”) I had almost given up on trying to find something interesting to do on Second Life and figured I’d try back during mid-afternoon. Not many people who spoke English seemed to be online in the morning which is both an understandable and enviable thing to realize in my situation of being awake at 9am on a day that I don’t have class. However, it seemed as if my luck changed as I saw a character being rendered and I figured that I should stay for a while and see if anything comes out of this.

Thankfully it did. I ended up talking to someone who had been an active participant of Second Life for two years, and he agreed to answer a few of my questions, but wanted me to refer to him as “Morpheus,” which was neither his real username nor a name that fit his appearance, one of a younger looking dark-skinned male using a hair pack that was non-standard and was dressed in mostly black. I think he was just trying to set himself up as Morpheus from the Matrix with an intricate knowledge of how the game works. I wasn’t in a position to turn down a few good sound bites, so I laughed at the name and moved on.

Taking some good advice. 

Djelephant90 (Me): So, Morpheus, what brings you to SL today?

Morpheus: meeting up with a friend.

D: A friend from real life?

M: not really. i met her online yesterday and we agreed to meet back here in 15 mns.

We started to talk about this woman he was soon to be meeting up with. Turns out, she wasn’t a woman but a “forest fairy” whom he wanted to impress. He had just went to Wasabi Pills to get a new haircut to show off to her. For someone he just met on Second Life, I wasn’t exactly sure as to why he would buy a new hair pack just for a relationship beneath which the cement is still wet.

D: Do you know if she is interested in you?

M: no...

D: So why go to the lengths of buying new hair just to impress her?

M: i’m not buying the hair just for her...I figured i needed a change anyway.

D: I hope you don’t mind that I’m asking, but how much did the hair cost?

M: Not at all...it was L$250...not a problem for me [less than US$1.]

D: How often do you buy all of this new stuff then?

M: usually I change my hair and AO [Animation Override, a pack which changed the way your avatar moves] about once a week, i just like to switch things up so i don’t get bored.

We then talked for about ten more minutes about how much he actually has spent on second life. He goes on usually once or twice a day for an hour at a time to talk to people or meet new people for interesting conversation. In his two years he said he has spent “a couple hundred thousand $L” which amounts to a few hundred US$, but “it’s not in vain. You need to spend money to be really accepted in the community. People approach me, not the other way around.” Maybe that was a jab at me, since, even though I’ve already bought a new hair and Animation Override, I only spent around L$300 on them and i still looked like the new kid. Maybe I’m going to have to invest more of my gift of L$2,000 for the remainder of this project.

Morpheus then had to leave to meet his fairy, and even though I tried to tag along to see what she looked like, he faced me and said “This is private.” A pretty clear indication that it was time for me to leave the two of them alone in one of the many private, secluded coves this beach had. However, it got me thinking what I would explore next -- the darker and more “adult” nature of Second Life, where people can go off in private and fulfill their desires, no matter how taboo they are.

Virtual Representations of the Real

During this journey into Second Life, I am curious as to what places that I’ve been to in real life look like in Second Life to see if the game. The first version of New York that I visited was called “Old New York” – a name that did not fit the landscape which was outfitted with modern skyscrapers contrasted with the Brooklyn Bridge and an area that was supposed to be SoHo. The environment was incredibly disorienting since the music was changing every five seconds. I heard Kanye West as I was in the northern area of the environment, apparently this are was Harlem since “Harlem Lofts” were for rent right next to me. Then there was classical music I heard as I was going over the Brooklyn Bridge, which didn’t make any sense to me at all. Then there was a techno remix of a T-Pain song when I was in the area by the SoHo apartments. Having spent a considerable of time in SoHo and never hearing anything like T-Pain coming out of a storefront, I was thoroughly confused. There was also no one in this area for me to talk to, so I decided to move on. But first here is a beautiful picture showing how poorly designed this version of New York is, with the statue of liberty being on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, next to both SoHo and Harlem. If this was trying to be an accurate representation of the city, the creator must have an elementary understanding of the city. It was ranked high on the popularity scale and said it was a place created by and for New Yorkers, which is why I decided to visit it first. The only thing I was impressed by was the inclusion of a subway system that had multiple stops throughout this rendering of NYC. However, the over ambition in trying to recreate all five boroughs in one area, firstly made no sense, and secondly illustrated that this could never be taken seriously as an accurate representation of New York, and definitely not made for real New Yorkers, but possibly for those that wanted to spend their time and second life money in order to become one.

Overcrowded and busy, but not in the NY sense.

I did more searching for new places to go in virtual New York, and one that especially caught my eye was the 9/11 Memorial. Having lived through 9/11 in Manhattan, it is not a day that I am ever going to forget; however, I am curious to see how such a tragic day is reappropriated for entertainment in second life. While it is supposed to be a memorial, the towers are there in their pre-9/11 form and people are walking around this area like the day never happened. This area is pretty eerie, the soundtrack of the area is very reminiscent of 1950’s songs about love lost which thematically fits, but I would imagine that other music would also fit better if it were closer to the time period. Even though Second Life search said that a few other Second Lifers populated it, I walked around for five to ten minutes and didn’t see anyone in the world. When I called out to the local chat, I was responded by a bot, which answered my questions like a human would, but there was no one around and identified itself as a bot, but only after I asked. I felt very lonely and isolated in this area, and I left shortly thereafter. It looks like it was an area that has a capacity of one in order to be a solo-memorial and not a hang-out space; but with that being said, how proper can a memorial really be while you are walking around with your virtual avatar in a world where the towers still exist and there are few visual markers of post-9/11 change?

In and Out of My Comfort Zone

After my first experience really getting into Second Life, I decided to take winter’s advice and just search for places to visit and move around a bit. I was about to search for a few cool places to live, but first I saw someone with a kilt on. I decided that I should go up to talk to him maybe he’s Scottish? After starting an introductory conversation, introducing myself and stating that I’m new here. I say – “nice ‘costume’” to be met with the reply “yeah…I’m Scottish, so I wear my kilt J Where r u from [sic]?” My assumptions were correct! On Second Life appearance is key. As Judith Donath and Danah Boyd would say in their “Public Displays of Connection,” Second Life’s major function is as an “environment…in which…new ties are formed and…depictions…[are displayed as] a self-descriptive profile” (72.) By simplifying his Scottish heritage down to the mere visual representative of the kilt. The person to whom I’m talking is illustrating that he doesn’t simply just want people to know of his heritage, but he also wants them to know of it in a way that is explicitly inferred from a quick sighting out of the corner of their eyes.

Simple Representations of the Self

He then asks me where I’m from, and I say my hometown and one of the most well known cities in the USA, New York City. He replies with “Not much of any cultural wear from there L, but I flew out of Newark in January, love lookink [sic] over the water to NYC.” This only goes even further to illustrate that everyone in Second Life is aware of what those around us are wearing, and what it implies both culturally and socially. While ethnic or cultural heritage is not required to be illustrated in order to create a Second Life profile, unlike race or sex, it can be applied to what Nakumura experienced with her travels through LambdaMOO during the research for her essay as heritage can “still being evoked” by certain players through their clothing choices, or lack thereof due to my vaguely Western attire. Then, we were approached by a female user who started to dance and pose for us, after I asked, “Why are you dancing,” she responded with, “I have some problemes [sic] to resolve.” I was unsure of whether she meant that dancing would fix her problems in real life, or if she had other problems in particular, I asked her to clarify; however, I was met with no response, only more dancing. Then my Scottish chat partner went to teleport to another area and I decided to move on myself and leave the tiny dancer alone.

I decided to branch out of my comfort zone a little bit by taking myself to an area that might involve a little bit more fantasy than my welcome area. I teleported to one of the more popular areas called “Wasabi Pills Hair” which focuses “mostly on fantasy and role-playing themes, as well as the latest fashion trends.” It was a perfect place to take me quickly out of my comfort zone. The moment I arrived I was greeted with what sounded like German death-trance music blasting in my eardrums. I felt instantly out of place in my blue shirt and khakis while Goths, pixies and demons surrounded me. I did not realize that this place would be so much darker than I thought. I asked the general group “How out of place am I here” only to be responded by a pink girl with a tail who said “pretty out of place.” I asked for any tips. Another user with a name taken from an Anime series a friend of mine in high school used to watch gave me a few tips on using the second life marketplace to get new accessories like clothing and skin. I then asked if he was into Death Note (the anime) and he said that he was and that I was the second person to get the name reference. He also said, “I wouldn’t guess that from your current outfit.” 

They Think I'm Out of Place. Do You?

Which again reifies the idea that your outfit really gives a lot of power to the other avatars in the game to understand who you are and what you are trying to do in this environment. He added, to be taken seriously in Second Life “you are going to have to invest a little money into it. A good skin, shape and at least one outfit and hair.” Second Life is not just a game to some people; it is a real outlet to play out their fantasies and a place where their interests can be illustrated with as much importance as their skin tones. He then requested that I be his friend so he could give me more help, I was in no position to pass up friends so I accepted. After giving me even more tips on how to get freebies in the world of Second Life to make me look like less of a new kid, he then told me that he would give me a gift of second life money to help get me started. While this was incredibly nice, I declined as I didn’t want to accept what he intended to use on himself; however, after I declined his offer, he still gave me the money – 2,000 Second Life dollars. Even though that amounts to only US$ 8.37, it was still extremely generous of him and further went to exemplify that I would be unsuccessful in the game if I had the visual markers of someone who was new. I’ll take this money and shop wisely for something cool, a journey I will take you on in the next post.  

Sources: 

Donath, Judith, and Danah Boyd. "Public Displays of Connection." BT Technology

Journal 22.4 (2004): 71-82. Print.

Nakamura, Lisa. "Race In/For Cyberspace: Identity Tourism and Racial Passing on

the Internet." University of California, Irvine Department of Humanities. Web. 11 May 2011.