The Moment We Have All Been Waiting For...

Upon first entering the House of Usher, I was unable to see my surroundings. Although I had taken the advice to set my environment settings to midnight, I was forced to change them back to midday. The Victorian dress attire was quite gorgeous and very designed extremely appropriately. I had had no trouble changing clothes nor locating the visitor’s center on Richmond Island. After entering into the House, I was greeted by both Roderick and Madeline, both of whom were designed exactly to how I imagined them to look like. Due to the slow Internet connection, there was a bit of a lag at the beginning. After the lag passed, Roderick took I, as well as the other avatars present, on a house tour.

We witnessed many of the rooms, and the first one contained the grand piano, and Roderick mentioned that he liked to nap in that room often. Next, we viewed the room where one could sit peacefully. At each location however, I noticed a lack of furniture, which personally, was a bit disappointing. I found that the furniture that was present really added to the aura of the room, and allowed me to make conjectures about what went on. However, I do realize that the House of Usher is still under renovation.

Roderick mentions that Madeline is feeling ill, so I questioned him about her illness. I even suggest that he call a doctor. Coincidently, this was my Usher Task; to find out more about why Roderick is so worried about the doctor. Roderick claims that her illness is a tragedy, but later he mentions that soon both of them will be in a better place as they will pass away. This seems to insinuate that he has pre-meditated their death. Further evidence of this story is demonstrated when Roderick mentions a dream that he had that is an exact replica of the Edgar Allen Poe story.

When I repeat my question regarding the doctor, Roderick exclaims that the doctor has come and gone. When I ask about his diagnosis, he replied that he adjusted Madeline’s dosage and says that she has acute maladies of soul and corpus/delecti. Having no clue what this diagnosis actually means, I ask, and get in response that he doesn’t know what it means either. Roderick quickly mentions that he lacks trust in the doctor. I press on and ask why he feels this way, and he response that he fears tat the doctor may want to take [Madeline] into the lab…. to teach. Given that I know the book, I know he is referring to the fact that doctors would use corpses to teach. The doctor is apparently interested in examining catalyses and has plays beyond medicine.

As the tour progresses, I am left alone with Roderick. When he mentions that Madeline is in her bedroom, I boldly ask him where his bedroom is, and if it is the same room. The reason being that the Edgar Allen Poe story suggested incest. Roderick defends himself by saying of course not, and that his sister is not concubine, but at times the two of them are as close as spouses. This metaphor made me very uneasy. After this moment, I decide to search the house for clues regarding the doctor. One of the clues I stumbled upon is a note about hypochondriacs. In addition, Roderick has seen Madeline writing secretly, which may allude to her mental state of mind.

My beta-test task was to address the issue of building the story up about the frightening doctor. First off, I think it is ideal to have a very fast Internet connection, as I know the lag on my end really dampened the story as I was frustrated and was not focusing completely on my task ahead. Besides adding furniture is would be wise to add more clues as those were fascinating and some of them gave me chills. The sound effects were great though in general. Overall, it comes down to the lack of props.

In conclusion, the House of Usher was a great learning experiences as well as all my other learning experiences in virtual worlds. This virtual reality is truly black and white when compared to the reality we live in every day. Thank you so much.

Why Romance?

And then he exclaims, “Here I one of your favorite romances. I will read, and you shall listen; - and so we will pass away this terrible night together,” (105). Amidst all the terror surrounding them, they decide to read a romance novel? Although understandably it makes sense to read something that might put one in a better mood, does this type of novel really mimic the coincidences that occur afterwards?

In other words, as Poe continues to describe the scenarios in this novel, it doesn’t appear to be a book with a happy ending, or a book that would lighten a mood. Why then not have the book only lying around be a scary book? If the book was intended to lighten the mood, then the book chosen does this injustice, and a happier novel should replace it.

Who Do I Communicate With?

One of the biggest problems facing Second Life is the sheer amount of people who participate. Typically, individuals join interactive social networks such as Second Life to meet others or to keep in touch with friends. Examples of this include Facebook, Myspace, or blogs. Due to the fact that Second Life doesn’t seem to be popular among the college age generation now, there are not many young users. This causes a problem as then the motivation to join this network is low. The motivation behind Second Life now is for educational purposes that are most likely a requirement.

Just like individuals often deny friend requests from people on Facebook that they are not familiar with, individuals are also confronted with unfamiliarity when talking to other avatars. The whole concept of not knowing who is actually behind an avatar can be a bit daunting. I feel that if young users joined to have fun and game together or learn together, then this interactive program would enjoy more success.

From Virtual World to Virtual World...

After experiencing such a diverse virtual world such as Second Life, I find myself disappointed in the virtual world of Heritage Key. Given that this world is substantially smaller in size, I wouldn’t expect as much lagging when teleporting or when graphics are trying to become clearer. Unfortunately though, these graphics never reach their full clarification as I have often received messages warning me that my graphics card is incompatible with the program.

Besides technical issues, it is hard to fully personalize your avatar. As strange as this may sound, I often feel “naked” when walking around. The clothes on my avatar seem to resemble the tightness of spandex and really outline the curves and lines of the female body. After picking out new clothes, this effect still occurred, and the choices to actually customize my avatar were limited. Coming from Second Life, I now feel the need to have my avatar resemble and represent me; but was unable to do so in Heritage Key.

In terms of finding places to go, I am impressed at the neat educational destinations such as King Tuts Tomb, but feel that traveling is very inefficient. Often times, I am unsure of where I will be teleporting when I enter what appears to be a portal. I would encourage Heritage Key to make this aspect more clear and accessible. However, once I navigated to King Tuts Tomb, I was in utter fascination at all the paintings.

Overall, Heritage Key provides great educational resources, but the technical part of the virtual world really needs to be more extensively developed.

Dancing Anyone?

Ryan and I embarked on our adventure in Second Life and went to Burning Life on Saturday. We first attended a techno dance club entitled Nlight Noonan, which proved to be a bit scary. Never having had audio on when others communicated in the chat box, ghost-sounding voices pronounced their words. Not only did the sound of the words come as a surprise, but also what the avatars both said and how they dressed.

The majority of the avatars at this club talked in a very sexual manner often using profanity with one another. Some avatars were even scantly clothed. This was a part of Second Life that I had never witnessed. After reading the directions on how to dance, I still could not figure it out as I could not locate a dancing ball. On the contrary though, I was successful in walking around without bumping into anyone.

Next, Ryan and I decided to go to a party at the Wormhole (?) and this was a much more successful adventure. The theme at this dance was Star Trek, so it was interesting to see what the other avatars were wearing. After I was still unable to find the dancing ball, I built up the courage to just ask. To my surprise, the avatars were kind to me as a newbie, and told me how to dance. I was shocked to see my avatar dance, as the moves seemed quite risqué!

Overall, I learned how to dance, and learned that there is much diversity in Second Life. The type of avatars you come across really does depend on your location.

What Defines Society?

Society consists of all the individuals that make up a community. These individuals differ in race, views, appearance, and background. However, morals can corrupt this society, or cause it to have flaws. It is these flaws that have a negative effect on particular individuals.

Insecurity often leads individuals to follow the norm of society. This “norm” however is based on corrupt morals. Certain individuals who possess self-confidence often act or dress a certain way. When these confident individuals look down on others, who possess a lower self-confidence, the people who have this lower self-confidence often conform or change in order to be accepted by this confident individual. When all these people conform, they form what is known as the “norm.” Morally, if you are happy with your decisions, you should not feel the pressure to conform to be accepted. It is through derogatory glances or excluding individuals that these confident people gain the power to lead the norm.

I consider this a “flaw” of society. Individuals like those who decide to dress differently in Second Life, feel uncomfortable expressing their true self in reality. They feel uncomfortable because those in the “norm” treat them in a negative way. This is a flaw because I feel that in a community, everyone should be accepted regardless of how they choose to express themselves, given that this expression is safe. Thus, when everyone does not feel comfortable expressing himself or herself because of this norm, this is the “flaw of society.”

Embarking on a New Adventure...

Deciding to be courageous and adventurous, Ryan and I have chosen NliughtN Nootan, a techno themed dance to attend this Saturday at 2:00 SLT.

I am extremely excited to attend this event as I hope to interact with many avatars. After having a positive experience with the avatars at Luskwood, I am anxious to see how the avatars at a dance differ. I am a bit nervous as I am unsure of how to dance well, but I love techno music so hopefully if all else fails, I can at least stand and listen.

Before I embark on this new adventure however, I will be walking around Second Life to practice walking normally before attending Burning Life. Recently, I find it hard to navigate and walk in a straight line without walking into anyone. I definitely need to solve this problem, as I don’t want to look too much like a newbie when I walk in!