The Magic Circle Realistic Expectations for Virtual Worlds
May 17, 2015
The Magic Circle
Realistic Expectations for Virtual Worlds
Before We Start (We Move Really Fast): Definitions & QuestionsSim(ulator), Region, 16 acres... 4 by 4. 256x256m.
65,536sqm. Eight Football Fields.Rez (from Tron, 1982): Resolution; making something.Avatar: Hindu Deity; Ultima IV; BBS; Social Media; SLVirtual Reality: (coined by Jaron Lanier) “Almost” Reality
Who here knows they have an avatar?Abstract concept of Avatar? Our concept of the Avatar?
What makes an avatar?
What is the Magic Circle?
The Regular Rules Do Not Apply
Part I: Evolution &the Avatar
Who are you?Timothy AllenUniversity of PennsylvaniaClass of 1996School of Arts & SciencesIndividualized Major:Combined Psychology &Computer Science...
...and now...
Who are you?Timothy AllenWharton Computing Wharton ResearchData Services (WRDS) ...and virtually...
Who are you?FlipperPA PeregrineFounding Member,Second LifeCommunity Convention
SLBoutique.com
Who are you?FlipperPA PeregrineFounding Member,Second LifeCommunity Convention
SLBoutique.com OCCASIONAL BANANA
Who are you?FlipperPA PeregrineFounding Member,Second LifeCommunity Convention
SLBoutique.com STILL THIN ROCK STAR
Who are you?FlipperPA PeregrineFounding Member,Second LifeCommunity Convention
SLBoutique.com PURPLE FERAL FOX(Why not?)
The point being...THE AVATAR Ultimate Blank Canvas Self Expression Unleashed
A Path to Freedom
Safe, Anonymous Self Exploration
Imagination, dreams, “Inception”, blank canvas,
evolution, Facebook, Second Life, Twitter? Avatars are
everywhere.
Get used to it.
More on that later!
Part II: Perception,Participation &Public Space
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:1975 to 1980: All in the Mind
Colossal Cave Adventure, Zork & MUDs: Text & ImaginationMUD: Multi-User Dungeon
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:1980 through 1990: @ is for @vatar!
Rogue / Hack / NetHack: The Genesis of Visual Representation
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:1990: MOO Bring Persistence; "Not a Game"
MOO: Mud, Object-Oriented; Permanently Stored Objects
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:1993: Virtual Places & the Web Revolution
Virtual Web Pages; Start of Graphical Revolution
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:1993: The Palace
Social Chat: A Virtual Comic Strip, “2.5 Dimensions”
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:1993: WorldsChat Space Station
Actual 3-Dimensional Perspective
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:1994: ActiveWorlds
The Dawn of UGC: User Generated Content, “E-Motes”
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:1999-2002: Linden Lab Founded; Second Life
The Dawn of UGC: User Generated Content, “E-Motes”
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:July, 2003: The Tax Revolt
Doing the logical thing, SL Residents set themselves on fire to protest the “prim tax.”
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:November 14th, 2003: IP Rights
Linden Lab grants rights of creations to the creator; covered in SlashDot; FlipperPA Peregrine is born.
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:BTW, this WAS before Youtube, Facebook, Flickr, Digg, Twitter & more had traction; in fact, SL's users became their early adopters!
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:December, 2003: Avalon & Rivers Run Red
London based Rivers Run Red opens the Avalon region; the design and branding firm soon brings Adidas, the BBC, Hermann Miller, Avril Levigne, and more to virtual worlds.
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:January, 2004: Land and Prim Limits
Land “bought” from Linden Lab; more land meant more primitives, which meant more detailed content. Full simulators (16 acres of space as 1 CPU) begin being sold.
A Brief History of Avatars & Virtual Worlds:January, 2004: The Crompco Virtual Station
Crompco Corporation becomes the first company to use Second Life for corporate training; reduced time of apprenticeship cycle from nine months to six.
Concepts of virtual space... are *almost* always public.
Virtual Starwood == The Shining.
Private Space == “Security”...hehe
Like privacy in Facebook, Twitter, or the Web, does it really exist?
Part III: Hyperbole,Hysteria & Heroes
Remember the 2002 map? 16 total regions (also know as “sims”, short for “simulator”)
In 2005, the hype is in full swing...25,000 sims (each being 16 acres)
2005: The First Second Life Community Convention (SLCC): 150 attendees in 1L;1000s more in 2L. “Mixed Reality”
The Gartner Hype Cycle of Technology
The Media Blitz: Major Hype
SLCC 2006: 450 attendees......and Mitch Kapor keynoting!
2007: Peak of the Positive HypeNBC, CBS, and CSI: New York
SLCC 2007: 1000 attendes, lots of press, and time for us to retire!
The Fallout: Hype Swings Both WaysCompanies didn't engage the SL community.
Companies believed their brands were cool enough, people would come flocking to their locations.
A community of creative minds isn't easily wooed by marketers.
Successful examples: Coca-Cola, Pontiac, IBM, Cisco, Intel
Busts: too many to list... but American Apparel was the first.
The Pope and Virtuality
Pope Benedict XVI has warned that people are in danger of being unable to discern reality from fiction because of new technologies, and not old books. "New technologies and the progress they bring can make it impossible to distinguish truth from illusion and can lead to confusion between reality and virtual reality. The image can also become independent from reality, it can give birth to a virtual world, with various consequences -- above all the risk of indifference towards real life," he said.
The Pope and Virtuality
Pope Benedict XVI has warned that people are in danger of being unable to discern reality from fiction because of new technologies, and not old books. "New technologies and the progress they bring can make it impossible to distinguish truth from illusion and can lead to confusion between reality and virtual reality. The image can also become independent from reality, it can give birth to a virtual world, with various consequences -- above all the risk of indifference towards real life," he said.
WTF, REALLY?!
Simon Stevens: Breaking the Rules
Independent Disability Issues Consultant • Cerebral palsy affect speech,
balance, hand control• Author of "Normality", a play
about his experiences in mainstream education
• Passion, commitment and determination
Simon Stevens: Breaking the Rules
Founder of Wheelies Dance Club in Second Life • All are welcome!• Fun support center for
those with disability issues• Some disabled choose to
create avatars with disabilities
• Some choose to walk, dance, and fly
• ...and some...
Simon Stevens: Breaking the Rules
...and some... CHOOSE TO BUILD AWESOME ROCKET POWERED WHEEL CHAIRS THAT CAN DANCE AND FLY!
Part IV: The Slope of Englightenment & the Future
Google Apps: Are They Virtual Worlds?Colors as Avatars, Spreadsheet as Space
2010: Second Life / Vws in the Web Browser:Viewer “in the cloud” and Canvas Appear
OpenSimulator: Free, Open Source Option“Host it Yourself”, Cost-Effective, & Alpha
...and in conclusion...
Unleash your imagination
Break the rules
Avoid the hype
Nothing lasts forever, embrace change
...and most importantly, have fun with it!
And Now: Starry NightTimothy Allen
Contact Me:FlipperPA Peregrine in SL (FlipperPA in just about every other virtual world since 1995 out there)[email protected]://www.PeregrineSalon.comhttp://wrds.wharton.upenn.edu
You'll find me hanging on PANMA and SLED:http://www.PANMA.orgThe Philadelphia Area New Media Association
https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/educatorsSecond Life Educator's Mailing List
Slides will be available on PeregrineSalon.com!