MEFT3353: Performance in a Mediatised Culture
Research Project: Case Study
Second Life
Cat Griffiths, Jocelyn Underwood and Jen Youkhana
Our group has taken on the concepts of immersion and interactivity, fascinated by the blur between real life and technology as opposed to its simple presence in the 21st century. To explore these concepts, we are looking at Second Life, the virtual world accessed on the internet that surpasses anything seen virtually and interactively in recent times. It differs in that residents have near unlimited freedom to create and experience whatever they want as long as they agree to its terms and conditions of use. Just like in real life, you can hear the wind blowing, waves crashing on the shore, the call of birds, people talking and music playing. The sun goes down at night and you can see the stars. As well as this you can hang out with friends, not to mention being able to visit casinos, shopping centres, dance clubs and the movies, as well as attend special occasions like art gallery openings and fashion shows. While it is cartoony, it is not the visual that immediately blurs the user from distinguishing what is virtual, and what is not. It is the mental space and interactions that happen between the avatars that dedicated users cannot separate from their real life counterparts.
We intend to show how second life interacts with virtual technologies, as well as discuss the laws and rules that exist within this world. Also, we want to open a forum for immersion, discussing how and why people want to submerge themselves into a virtual world, and how their performance in this world influences and/or differs from their performance in their real lives.
To do this, we are going to set up a profile ourselves in Second Life, so we are able to interact with other avatars and explore the world that is offered. We want a first hand experience into the interactions that take place within the virtual world so we can effectively discuss the life presented online, and how immersion and interactivity are concepts that are only new to the ‘live’ experience in performance. We also look various motivations into creating an avatar on Second Life, and if these motivations help or hinder Second Life as experienced by the user.
Key Questions we will discuss:
- If the Virtual World exists and operates in the same way the real world does, what are the real motivations behind its creation at all?
- The concept of total immersion: Why is interacting with technology purely as a medium no longer enough? Why is a complete ‘one-ness’ (being ‘in’ the technology) with the medium (computer) a necessity?
- How does performance in a virtual world affect performance in the real world?
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