So I joined Second Life officially, instead of playing as Curtin Mumfuzz. "I" am Mirella Chunes, the closest thing to a French name I could get. (Does anyone want to talk about how "foreign" the last names are?)
I must admit that I don't/didn't like it. What's the purpose of driving around, flying, or seeing all of the objects? Is there a mission or something? I felt like I was playing "Kings Quest," except that game was WAY better, and you could actually take stuff. It was cool. I was frustrated, confused, and a bit irritated at the lack of instructions the SL people give you. As Trevor and everyone else have said, it'd be better if I were with friends. But then again, what would we do? Chat? I'd prefer an IM, thank you!
The most interesting part of the whole experience was creating my avatar. Not only did I like choosing her from a list of possibilities (though those were very limited and stereotypical), but I loved being able to play with makeup, coloring, face proportions, etc. To me, this is a facelift without the knife! I am wondering how many women use these appearance adjustments to represent who they "really" are, or who they would like to be. I tried to stick with my usual appearance, though I gave myself aquamarine eyes. And I was disappointed that there's no selection for hair! I wanted my curly hair! :)
How, then, does appearance play a role in how you/we interact with the many environments of Second Life? Why does it place such a high importance on it, yet allows us to choose any representation? Is it an exercise in fantasizing or dysmorphia? I wonder if, as you progress through the "worlds," you can add different features, clothes, or options. I am also curious to know about the degree of performativity (I never, ever thought I would cite Judith Butler. Go figure) that SL engenders, encourages, or resists. Overall, how does SL help us think about, or interact in, our "real" life?
Questions: Can you have a "job" in Second Life? Can you do stuff other than walk, drive, or fly around? Again, the biggest hurdle for me is still the point of the "game." And who, really, is the target group for Second Life?
As for technical difficulties, none. I just got a new computer in December, so it has all those spiffy cards, memory, etc, etc.
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One SL job is to hang around to welcome newbies!
I spent a bunch of time tonight talking with someone who is building an island for science education. So he has a job, too -- and was describing how they've had conferences on their island, with 50 to 100 people there to talk about science education issues.
But the point of being there with others... THAT we will be discussing on Thursday.
Meanwhile, I made it to one of the quite a few CCCC panels on SL. Unfortunately, the people were presenting were mostly enthusiasts, so there wasn't much criticism or development of ideas.
But one person at least mentioned how a woman she knew at first made her 2L body be as stocky as she is in 1L -- and then very quickly dialed it down to be as barbie-ish as everyone else. That was all the presenter said; she didn't question the place of this visuality or felt-pressure, so it was frustrating... but this is also something else to discuss on Thursday.
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