Week 3 - Struggles

Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet this week within Second Life. I'm a part of the Red Team along with Rachel and Chenming. Over the weekend, I looked for them through Facebook and Instagram with little success. I messaged some people who I thought might be them, however, they would tell me that I got the wrong person, or they wouldn't respond to my message. As I was searching, I realized how difficult this situation is because none of us know how we look or have any sort of contact with each other besides Second Life. There's also a possibility that they don't use these social media platforms, or they use an alias or a nickname. I didn't realize that this might be an issue until I was manually searching for them. I can't imagine how much of a struggle this is for people who work on team projects over the internet daily.

It might've been more difficult for them to find me since I'm using an alias for class and on my blog, but I don't use the same name other websites. I was quite busy this week, but I did send them a private message on Second Life to ask them what they think of an idea of a group chat on another form of social media so that we can easily contact each other, especially since none of us seem to play the game frequently. However, I sent this message quite last minute so neither of them saw it before class which is completely understandable. I definitely should've tried to send that message earlier just in case they managed to see it before class.


I think the reason why we didn't meet up is that it was hard to get into contact with each other which is essential for a team project. If none of us can communicate with each other that means that we can't start or work on an entire project together. In retrospect, I wish that I realized that searching for my team would be this difficult so that I could've asked them directly after class about the possibility of making a group chat. I'm hoping that from this week onward, we'll be able to sort something out with regards to meeting up and discussing the project within Second Life.

I will definitely make an effort to message earlier in the future so that we can easily arrange when to meet up to discuss the project. This experience made me realize how it can be challenging to work with people that you don't directly know in person. I thought that it might be easier because of how interconnected the world is through the internet, but even in 2020, it can be quite challenging. I'm hoping that it'll be easier once we get into contact with one another. In a way, I'm happy that I experienced this despite it being a bit of a struggle because I now realize the importance of contact in the online work-space and I hope that I won't repeat these mistakes again in the future.

Week 2 - Contact

Our lecturer John told us a fascinating story about an Irish pub being built in Second Life. I find it incredible to think that despite how much time has passed, the pub still continues to have a community of people visiting and enjoying themselves much like a thriving pub in real life. We also learned about the etiquette needed when working online. This week we were asked to make contact with at least three different people in Second Life which was something that I was especially excited about because I wanted to talk to new people and get a new perspective of the virtual world.
                                                                                     

The profile picture that Claire took of me.

Inspired by the story that John told us, the first place I went to was a pub called the 'Blarney Stone' because I figured that people going there would be open to having a friendly chat. When I arrived, I sat down at the bar and Raza, Claire and Kurt greeted me in chat. Raza gifted me a green beer to get into the spirit of the place. I told them about how I'm from Ireland and how it felt strange to visit an Irish pub within Second Life. They were very enthusiastic about that since they were American. Claire personally texted me and gave me a few free dance animations with instructions on how to use them. She also took a new profile picture of me which I really appreciated especially since I didn't have one before. Soon after, Kurt began playing the keyboard on stage. I started to dance with Claire and Raza and we were cheering for Kurt on the chat. He played covers of Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan songs with a fiery passion. I'm not sure if he played on a real keyboard or it was pre-recorded for the show, but either way, I found the experience to be extremely immersive. It was refreshing to see such a pleasant atmosphere. In retrospect, I'm very happy to see that technology has progressed so much to the point that I could watch a show performed by someone on the other side of the world. This has probably only gotten better since the release of Second Life.

Enjoying a green beer as I listen to Kurt's music.

After that, I tried going to a few other bars and clubs, but the majority of the people there didn't respond when I said hello. They seemed to be too busy dancing or customizing their character. I decided to go to a newcomer-friendly server because I thought that I might have better luck there. The world I went to seemed a bit cobbled together as it had French-style furniture, several seemingly random posters, and a disco ball at the corner. One of the guys on the server greeted me, and we began talking about the weather and work. It felt odd to have such a mundane conversation in such a strange world. But at the same time, it was pleasant to see nearly everyone in the world joining the conversation and being included. At some point, we even began to sing the 'F.U.N Song' from the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants as a joke. I think that in real life some people would be too shy or embarrassed to jump into a conversation with strangers which is perhaps why virtual worlds are still relevant to this day. You are able to let loose and say almost anything you want without being judged which is what we need sometimes after being subjected to a harsh, mundane reality.

Dancing at the cafe.

Lastly, I went to a country-themed bar because I really liked the rustic aesthetic and I thought that maybe I could connect to people over that genre of music. There was a live performance of a lady singing original country music. I had a lot of sympathy for her because there were only five or so people at the server at the time. Even though it was a virtual world, I didn't want to dance by myself, so I sat by the bar next to a girl named HaloStar. I asked her what brought her to Second Life, and she told me that she joined to make new friends and reconnect with old ones. She was explaining that she still logs on for chatting and sailing. I was really surprised when she mentioned sailing because I didn't know that it was a feature in the game. She offered to take me sailing which I accepted because I was curious. She teleported me to a dock in her home country of the United Kingdom. She was incredibly patient with me as I kept falling into the sea. But eventually, I got onto her yacht. She showed me the villas across the shoreline and explained how people still live them to this day as they keep being bought and sold to different people. I found sailing to be very relaxing, especially since HaloStar treated me more like a friend than a stranger. I don't think it quite captures the real feeling of sailing because of the lack of weather, but I think that it's a good experience for people who aren't able to do it in real life.

Relaxing on the yacht.

Journey to another land.

Villas across the beach.

Week 1 - Beginning my Second Life

I chose this module because I've always been fascinated by the idea of virtual communities and how digital media has shaped our modern world. I enjoy playing videogames in my spare time and I noticed that sometimes I would subconsciously search for particular groups to play with. I always wondered if other people could relate to me in that regard.


I created my Second Life account a week before class because I wanted to have the time to customize my avatar and explore the virtual world. I found it very hard to design a character that I could connect with because the customization options were very complex and I couldn't find a free skin that I liked on the marketplace. As such, I decided to go for a default character; a mage with a black cat. In retrospect, I find it interesting to think that I spent so long trying to create an avatar that suits me when it seems to be a trivial issue. Out of all of my options, why did I connect with this avatar in particular?

       
                                                                                    

On the 6th of February, at 8pm I arrived at the Second Life TU Dublin campus. My first impression was that it seemed like a cozy, but formal building. At first, I was having some trouble setting up my microphone, but after adjusting my cables and sound settings everything was perfect. After a few minutes, our lecturer John outlined our module and answered a few of my classmate's questions. It felt surreal to have a class within a virtual environment as I'm used to talking on a mic for informal occasions with one or two people. I felt a bit shy, but I hope to improve and participate more in future classes. I noticed I was also one of the few people in the class who chose an alias as my username instead of my real name. I wonder why I felt compelled to do that? I never truly thought of that before.
                                                                                    

John asked us to go to three different locations within Second Life. After class, Rachel, MacJacc and I picked random locations to explore. The first place we went to seemed to be a Cinderella themed world. There was a white carriage that would travel across the flowery plains. There was also a villa in the distance, a waterfall and a small corner of the map that had constant snow. I feel that the design of the location could be improved, but the concept has potential.

Cinderella's carriage circles around the plains.

The next area we went to was an American style shopping centre. I felt almost out of place in a way because of my character's mage attire because the world itself was very down to earth. The architecture was very modern and sleek especially the fountains outside. There were several posters for elegant dresses and suits posted on the walls. Oddly enough besides us, there were no other players which made the shopping centre feel abounded.

The beautiful yet abounded shopping centre.

After that, we went to a huge tropical villa by the beach. There were about twenty players on this map so it felt very lively in comparison to the previous worlds we explored. Some players were dancing while others were drinking cocktails or simply walking around and enjoying the scenery. I explored the area and found several wild animals hidden in the jungles beyond the beach. There was a laybacked atmosphere there that was reminiscent of my holidays in Brazil.

Beaches, beverages and wild beasts.

Finally, we decided to go to one extra area which was a beach that had an extensive skyline in the distance. However, unlike the previous map, there were no other players besides us which gave a normally cheerful place an almost creepy undertone. There were several beach chairs lined up along the beach as well as a lifeguard station. There was also an amusement park towards the end of the beach. I really admired the attention to detail as it felt very much like a real holiday city, I only wish that there were more players online at the time.

Enjoying the clear skies at the beach.

Overall, I enjoyed my first experience in Second Life and I'm looking forward to having more
in-depth discussions with everyone next time. Next time I will try to participate more in class and possibly try to talk to new people within the virtual world so that I can hear their stories.