I Learn to Dance

It might be impossible to do globe trotting in matter of hours but in Second Life, this is very much possible. After wrapping up my visit at an art gallery in Greenwich Village of New York, I entered the subway station. I was waiting for the train when Karlos invited me for a train ride.

This sounded interesting and I teleported myself there. This was not an ordinary train ride. Firstly, we were not inside the train but sitting on the top of it. Secondly, it was magical because I was driving the train. There is nothing much one can do but just sit on the top and looking around as the train goes around in circle. After a complete round, we dismounted and said our good byes.

The structure of Greenwich Village made me inquisitive about the different cities and their lands in SL. I teleported to Paris and after doing some sight seeing, I searched for Mumbai. Out of the couple of searches displayed on my screen, none were of the real city. I clicked on one of them and landed in an exotic arcade. There were shops selling Indian dresses and accessories. I strolled in the area. At the centre of the arcade was a hall with dome ceiling. I entered the hall and saw it had a podium for performances. I came out of the hall and looked around. There was no sign of other residents. In search of new lands, I reached a place called, ‘Club Habibi- The Middle Eastern Oasis.’

In the center was a canopy decorated with beautifully free falling curtains. A Persian Carpet was laid in the center and it was the dance floor where the belly dancers were performing. Around them were residents, some were dancing, some watching the belly dancers. I can barely move my hands in SL and these belly dancers were moving their hands and legs in perfect coordination. As I thought about it I noticed several icons titled dance. I clicked on one of them and found myself dancing. I took a snapshot of the dancers and logged out feeling jubilant that at least in SL I didn’t have two left feet.

Getting words across….

After the failure to enable my voice function in the first class, I had a series of visits to ‘help island’ to have my voice heard across. Now, the ‘Help Island’ is swarming with residents. In the middle of the crowd, I saw a resident with a small bubble on top of her head, ‘Second Life Mentor.’ I approached her and typed.

Me: Hello, Could you please help me set up my voice chat?

I could see her typing something. But it was not for me. There were several other messages hitting my screen. These were the residents around me chatting with each other. Few were talking to the mentor. I waited patiently. In SL it is quiet confusing to figure out who is speaking to whom, if you are in the general chat window. Sometimes, the answers to your questions are generic and there is no way of understanding if the answer was for you or for some other resident. 

After a brief pause, she replied, ‘sure’. I could not comprehend if this sure was for me. Only when she began to run me through the set up, I understood that it was for me. However, at the end of it all I could hear was the sound of water. I mentioned this to her. She typed back.

‘I am not that familiar with the voice chat. I have never tried it. This is all I know.’

I said thank you to her and logged out of SL. 

The next day, I signed in again. This time I meant another mentor. I repeated my request. He too began taking me through the whole process. I interrupted and said,

‘I have done all this and all I can hear is water. In ‘Help Island’ I hear people talk but on other lands, I cannot.’ 

‘You hear others talk? What do you hear? Do you hear people giggling or saying random things?’

‘Yes’ 

‘Oh. This means you are hearing gestures. Your voice chat has not been enabled yet.’

Gestures are the automated responses available in SL. Whether or not voice chat is enabled, one can hear them, if the speakers are on. The experience is that of loosing oneself in a noisy crowd, while keep silent. 

We went on for few more minutes, but nothing seemed to work. In the end I decided to log out and log in again. 

That’s when a thought occurred to me. May be my PC’s security administrator is blocking the voice option. I checked the security options and my guess was right. I unblocked SL voice option and logged in again.

Back in ‘Help Island’ I approached another mentor. And spoke some lines into the microphone. A resident nearby replied, ‘Yes, Destiny, I can hear you.’ 

At last, I could communicate in SL, or at least that is what I thought. On the day of the class, I signed in and found I could not voice chat. This was frustrating.

Two weeks of my efforts had just been into vain. This time it was not blocked by my PCs security. I could not figure out why it was not working. Would it ever work when I want it to, I wondered. Voice chat is one of the simplest functions today in the computer world. And yet for me it has been the most time consuming. 

I logged in again and ran the voice set up wizard. I could see the talk button blinking. Fingers crossed, I teleported to the class. I could hear one of my classmates, expressing his viewpoint on one of our readings. I smiled. My professor asked me.

‘Destiny can you hear us?’ 

“Yes” I replied. ‘Loud and clear,’ hoping that for my next class too this is the case.

 

 

 

 

In Search of an outfit

My explorations of Second Life continue.

It has been quiet some time since I went shopping for clothes. For me getting dressed takes matter of minutes. It has always been one look at myself in the mirror and a quick brush through the hair.  When I go shopping, it is all about choosing a couple of good clothing, trying them on and buying the final choices.

I decided to get some new clothes. Only this time, the new clothes were not for real me but for me in Second Life. On a quiet afternoon, I began my search for a new outfit. This was not going to be as simple as I thought.

I enter SL and click for editing appearance. In clothing I see some folders. I can choose ‘the look’ I want. The only problem is I don’t know what look I want. Had I known what I wanted, I think it would have been easy. But then, it would not have been a process of exploration and increasing acquaintance with SL. I wondered if people logged into SL knowing exactly what look they would adorn. After browsing through the endless options, I realized that if I did have a look in mind, it is plausible that the final look would have defied my preconceived look.

 I began exploring my options by first altering the design and texture of the clothes I was wearing. The options were as myriad as in the real world. I decided to ‘make an outfit’ using these options. I had not immersed myself completely in my fashion designing skill when I decided to check the inventory for existing looks and there the fun began.

‘I need a new shirt,’ I said to myself. I chose the city chic female shirt. The crimson looked good on my avatar. ‘A skirt should go well with this.’ I tried a couple of skirts and returned to my jeans.

More exploring brought me to other ready outfit choices.

‘Should I be a night life girl or an Irish woman?’ I asked myself as in real life I have been none.

The more I explored more the combinations I could make. In the end I spent equal time on my virtual shopping as I do for myself in real world. Then I met a SL friend who gave me more clothes and accessories. I decided to save them for forthcoming days. The freedom to change my look as often as I want and the freedom to be what I want is a different experience from everyday dressing up.

In second life, what distinguishes one resident from another is clothing. The clothing becomes an expression of self and it is truly reflected in the various styles of people in SL. I have not come across similar looking avatars. The similarity begins at the start of avatar creation, when it is required to choose a look. It ends the moment one clicks to edit appearance. For me SL is a platform to channelize one’s latent self. It is an expression of self. I can look to compliment a place I am and for that I don’t have to carry an extra bag of clothing. The options are endless and the cost is zilch.

I concluded that exploration is the key to knowing and enjoying SL. The more I explore, more I learn about the platform. The learning is not restricted to the realm of the software. It extends to the learning of myself in real world. As I undertake conscious decision making in SL, it leads to exploring of real me- my likes and dislikes, my preferences in choosing friends, environment I want to be part of etc. Personal preferences are endless and so are the options in SL.

I modified my city chic shirt to suit my Irish woman look and continued my exploration.

 

MY FIRST SECOND LIFE

How many times we think to ourselves, if only we could undo or delete or be something or behave in some manner in our real life. How many times do we construct our dream world where our fantasies come alive? The answer is ‘countless’ or rather, in this case could be ‘Second Life,’ popularly known as SL.

Second Life is an almost perfect rendition of the real world. Men and women tread carefully on an unfamiliar ground. Some move more confidently than the others. Some are dressed chic, some are ready to party while some have ‘our next door neighbors’ look. Quiet a few look strange with their animal heads. It is a virtual replica of our real world.

My first encounter with SL was indirect. I had read about it during its press coverage during its launch in late 2006. There had been a boom in the development in the area of graphics and it was about time to have such a platform. The idea to have a virtual self sounded mystical. The reconstruction of our real world in SL including almost all the aspect of our real existence appealed for trail. However, honestly, I would have never tried this experience.

Then there are things, which became inescapable. I had a similar experience with social networking. After quiet successfully refraining myself from being a member of one such site, I was compelled to join it when I discovered half of my world was there and other half was on their way. This was not Facebook. Facebook happened to me after I came to New York. Till then I was happy orkuting, which honestly I enjoy more than Facebook.

Coming back to Second Life, I would have never become a part of it had it not being my course- Research Methods for Media Design. And the next thing I know, I had downloaded the software, made my avatar and trying hard to walk.

Logging in from a comfortable couch in the real world, it was ironically that I was trying my best to walk in a straight line in SL. This is the paradox of SL which surely all first time resident’s experience- the unlearning of self for new learning. It is like going back to basics, learning everything as if for the first time just as it is for a child.

Every step and choice in my SL experience has been conscious be it the name, avatar or land. When I was to choose my SL name, there were hundreds of choices and with deliberate permutations and combinations, I am sure I would have come up with a good one.  Yet I chose to name myself- 1Derfulliefe Destiny. Is this what I want, I asked myself before the final click. Yes. Life’s wonderful. It is real. It is not a lie. However, it is different in SL. In SL, life’s still wonderful. But it is neither real nor a truth. It is a lie. I had to convey this in my name. This is the reason I chose wonderful and substituted lie for ‘liv’ in life.

The next big step was making of the avatar. SL gives plethora of choices to design one’s avatar and it is fun exploring the endless options. Completion of each tutorial made me feel good that I was getting better at this virtual play.

Being a new resident, I spent most of my time on the orientation island doing the tutorials trying to get acquainted to the different services available in SL. The other island I visited was a money island. Since the time I had read about SL in the press coverage, I was curious to find out more about its economics. It was a small island with a money tree. To earn money, the resident has to shake the tree and then the money falls. I did not earn any money but understood how to make easy money on SL.

For me SL interface is like a video game, only difference is that there are no enemies to kill or end to achieve. It is continual just like real life. The simplest activities of real life become complicated and the most impossible activities became possible. It is an eerie experience to walk through other avatars, walk below the water or fly from one place to another and yet I cannot wait to explore more. The most fascinating aspects for me have been flying and teleporting. It is like magic- to have an unrestricted movement across lands.

My first interaction with the class was hardly an interaction. In spite of enabling the voice chat, it refused to function as a result of which I could not be a part of the class. The constant unsuccessful attempts to connect were frustrating and it proved that sometimes, we just cannot understand a machine.

Nevertheless, the lands visited in the two hours of the class were very interesting. The land I found the most interesting was the museum because of the paintings on display and its design. There was a part where I had to walk over from one part of the gallery to another and the ground was transparent. For a moment, I thought if I walk over this, I will fall down. But I realized in no time that it was the amazing design that was creating this illusion. The entire land was simply amazing.

Although, I could not participate in the lecture, I think SL is a good platform for the class to meet especially because the course does not provide any interactive platform. To have every one together at the same time in SL is like an on site class. It is a way to connect to the fellow students, share, strike dialogue and have one to one interaction. SL is more than social networking. It truly stands for its name and embodies almost perfectly the real world.

In the end, I am waiting to be an active participant in the class.