Cole’s published an interesting account on her take on Second Life.
Although I don’t quite agree with it, something about it struck me as interesting – many SL residents are very constrained in terms of creativity. Don’t get me wrong though – there are thousands of extremely creative people in Second Life, but the whole concept of the grid falls back on a virtualised version of reality. A version which was made by Linden Lab through creating a default humanoid avatar, land, sky and water. It takes the basic essentials of First Life, and assumes that in our user-generated utopia, we would want to replicate the real world.
I find that concept interesting, as it is what guided Second Life to what it is today. Certainly there are more abstract avatars on the grid, and sims which suspend your focus on reality, but the vast majority of the grid could easily be placed in the real world and nobody would bat an eyelid.
Being an architect, buildings are naturally the first thing I notice in either life. It’s interesting to note that in Second Life, a massive proportion of structures are effectively simple box shapes. My design ethos in the virtual world has always been to break away from that, and to create a design ethos which showcases what architecture in SL can really be. But the fact of the matter is that people don’t design and build pretty boxed shaped dwellings because it’s easy. They do it because it’s what they’re used to in the real world – people are often constrained to a room with four walls, a house with four walls, an office with four walls. Show a person a box all their life, and it’s what they grow used to. Never mind that there’s no gravity or need to have structural stability – most people will build on the ground, and have a house which looks like it could be build in first life too.
In the virtual world, we have the ability to create an environment as we so wish, which doesn’t have to replicate anything from the real world.
And yet we still still mimic the real world – in architecture, fashion, equipment, poses, furniture, right down to sex and love, as well as how we conduct ourselves in conversation.
The thing is, when you don’t know anything else, then your second life is naturally just going to become a variant of your first life.
It’s all we know.
It’s all we’ll ever know.
zigadena gabardini on October 20, 2009
Yes! And though I like and try to create a more nonrealistic, or at least a more colorful and more free fashion (in my case)
:)
Not a lot wants that
They want realistic autum fashion—
I refuse
Thanks for posting!
Banana's Hubby on October 20, 2009
LOL Prad. I just quoted the same post on my blog. It’s wasn’t intentional I swear!
Ann Otoole on October 20, 2009
More like it is all most people’s mental framework will accommodate whilst others can still conjure up that imagination thing and live a fuller First & Second Life as anything they choose to be. Remember when you were a kid? Your mind was not constrained by a 9 to 5 suit job and the role play of what is socially acceptable in the social circle you swim in.
The fountain of youth is the part of your brain that generates stem cells. The day you stop learning, imagining, and being what you dream is the day you start the decline. This is because you stopped generating copious stem cells of the variety needed to prolong life.
Why be boring?
But then when “I” call out this RL fashion thing I am damned for it. Good article Prad. Nobody damns you for pointing out the obvious that people don’t want to admit.
Prad Prathivi on October 20, 2009
Heh.. you should see what happens when I type out the word “freebies”.
Sian on October 20, 2009
Agreed.
There a few issues missing from the article that would be interesting to stir up, but I shall refrain.
Lizzie Lexington on October 20, 2009
But sometimes you need a box to make life easier. You put stuff in the box you don’t need and store it for a later day. Or in terms of second life and my number one hobby, shopping, camming around a box helps me find pretty things a lot quicker. Therefore a boring box helps me find things that make my second life much more exciting
.
Kitty O'toole on October 20, 2009
Great post as always Prad. This is a subject that really fascinates me, and something I’ve long said myself is that it’s amazing how, when given an environment to live in and create as we see fit, we tend to follow the framework that our everyday lives already follow. We’re strange beasts, us humans, and I think we really do struggle to escapse the confines of our comfort zone. We do it without thinking: echo our reality because after all, that’s all we know how to do..it’s a psycho-analyst’s wet dream really:)
=^..^=
SecondLie Scribe on October 20, 2009
To think otherwise would be like wearing a bag over your head without any holes in it.
Glad you’re finally seeing the Truth… that it’s all one gigantic lie.
(Let me know when you realize that everything else is a lie, too.)
Lewis Luminos on October 20, 2009
I was talking about this exact thing the other day. I saw someone with a really amazing avatar (a tiny fairy in a floating glass jar) and I wonder why it is that so many people (myself included) just stick with regular human. Aside from furries, it’s unusual to see really imaginitive avatars like this one. It’s like… why do our SL houses have kitchens? Or stairs? Or even roofs? We don’t NEED any of these things but we build them that way anyway, because they’re familiar.
Banana's Hubby on October 21, 2009
I think there are 2 main ways to interpret SL. the first one is..when people try just to be someone else, someone they wish they were, doing things they cannot do in RL and then realise it’s all a big fantastic lie. ‘cos they are lying to themselves. Second one is..people who try to be themselves SOMEWHERE ELSE, using SL to enrich their RL and have fun with guys from all around the world.
Emerald Wynn on October 21, 2009
This post makes me feel kind of proud of myself, because even though my AV is now kind of a generic gal — albeit with perfect makeup, violet eyes and stunning cleavage — I did start my SLife as an ice blue harpy. It was my original intention to be a mystical creature and snub the humans.
I gave up on that dream in about a month. There were no Stiletto Moodys that would fit those huge feet. (kidding)
In all seriousness, I became a human AV because it was hard for me to connect with like-minded people in harpy form. Unlike some people, I still see SL primarily as a vivid form of social networking — I wanted to make real friends, and the other fantastical creatures were too into role-playing their parts to communicate as the real people behind their mythical AVs.
But hey, also in real life I am FREEKIN’ terrified of chickens. But in SL, I can scream, “BRING IT ON, YOU BITCH-ASS CHICKENS!” and they will scamper in fear.
So there’s that at least.
Faery Sola on October 21, 2009
What is this box thing you speak of? *scratches head*
Great post Prad. I love that SL is a place where you can do anything, the possibilities are endless… I never can understand though why people want to so closely emulate RL though. But maybe I’ve just never been one to let my imagination be constrained in RL or SL.
I love my SL, it’s a fun & friendly place to be, but then I guess I’ve made it to be that way for me
Guen on October 21, 2009
Interesting that you bring this up since I had someone ask me the other week, “Why wouldn’t someone want to be more attractive in SL since you can?”
My response was, “It was their personal choice to have their avatar that way, and what you may consider attractive is completely different to them.”
Thanks for the post as always, Prad
Mowgli Soy on November 10, 2009
Preachin’ to the choir here, dear friend.
Ham Rambler on December 28, 2009
I find it fascinating how much we yearn for the ” familiar” in SL. I built an Irish Bar in SL because I travel the REAL world in my job, and always enjoy the familiarity and friendliness of an Irish Bar. I think, amidst all the wonderful creativity, people still seek an anchor point ( even if it is a virtual one)!