I found a number of things interesting in this article as I am a ‘gamer’
with a few avatars myself. I play very little “first person” anymore, as I’m
addicted to one awesome racing game, Blur, at this time (I’m represented by a
Grim Reaper avatar…so scaaaarrrryyy 8-0) and I’ve never been involved at all
with “Second Life.” But I certainly followed the ‘a lot like me’ results they
found in the article with the virtual style, first person games I have played
in the past.
with a few avatars myself. I play very little “first person” anymore, as I’m
addicted to one awesome racing game, Blur, at this time (I’m represented by a
Grim Reaper avatar…so scaaaarrrryyy 8-0) and I’ve never been involved at all
with “Second Life.” But I certainly followed the ‘a lot like me’ results they
found in the article with the virtual style, first person games I have played
in the past.
The one quote which caught my attention and I’d like to touch on is this
one: “The aesthetic reference for Second Life does not appear to be, however,
exactly the same as that that prevails in the media, in particular, that that
rules in fashion.”
one: “The aesthetic reference for Second Life does not appear to be, however,
exactly the same as that that prevails in the media, in particular, that that
rules in fashion.”
One of the cool things about online gaming is the normal rules of media,
fashion, heck acceptance and judgment even, don’t apply anymore. So it’s not surprising
and definitely a plus in my book that this holds true. When we already have to
deal with the pressures of regular life’s regulatory rules of what’s cool and
what’s weird, I think it’s fantastic to have a virtual place to escape that
exact kind of thing and go just be me…only faster! Go Grim Racer Go!!
fashion, heck acceptance and judgment even, don’t apply anymore. So it’s not surprising
and definitely a plus in my book that this holds true. When we already have to
deal with the pressures of regular life’s regulatory rules of what’s cool and
what’s weird, I think it’s fantastic to have a virtual place to escape that
exact kind of thing and go just be me…only faster! Go Grim Racer Go!!
I was really interested in this article as I find a personal interest in understanding how people connect to one another in online environments. it is interesting to note that although this article is specific to virtual environments where you use an avatar to represent you, the same conclusions could be drawn for Orkut, Facebook, or even the real life. when do we ever show the real version of ourselves? and isn't the 'real' version of ourselves completely dependent on the situation that I am in? Sometimes I get angry but i would not consider myself an angry person; however if i were to be introduced to someone in a moment of rage, that would be their impression of me. Sometimes we build different masks of ourselves for different groups. people say they are "tired of wearing masks" and i remember an assembly in middle school that talked about getting rid of yours masks. I disagree, i think masks can be useful and important as we travel to different circles. it is always going to be YOU but you just have to highlight different aspects of yourself to operate within other social circles. I am not going to talk as a teenager to my grandma just so that i am not "wearing a mask"
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