Dimitri - SL Week 1

From the beginning, I've had a rather severe avoidance towards programs like Second Life. My initial experience with it was that it was slow and unresponsive and unintuitive (at least in the opinion of someone who spends 99% of their free time playing video games of all varieties). I realise my opinion is slightly biased because I come from a background of newer systems that handle large open-world maps with little sacrifice, but Second Life has building capabilities over the sort of programs I'm used to, so I figured I should at least see what has been done in it.

My main interest has always been around Japan, so Darryl suggested the Higashiyama sim, a Japanese town sim. On a trip around the town, I found that even though it didn't directly resemble any Japanese town that I have been to, it had the same sort of feeling as many of the towns, especially like the town where I used to live in Hirosaki, Aomori. Many of the towns in Japan are a mix of almost stereotypically generic Japanese traditional style with modern areas.

The first modern area I found was a bowling alley (a popular passtime especially among university-aged students, alongside pool).

The bowling game was set up to run automatically, with anywhere from one to four players. Although the input lag and video lag made playing the game more difficult, it ran pretty much like an actual in-real-life bowling game (apart from the fact that I actually did well).

For scoring over 100 points, I was also awarded a crown.

Inside the bowling alley, there was also a few vending machines. These are incredibly common around Japan and the best way to describe how common they are is through the experience of a summer day. You will buy a cold drink from a vending machine, and by the time you have finished that drink (regardless of whether you're a fast drinker or a slow drinker), you'll be right next to another one.

This blue on in particular caught my eye. These Boss Coffee vending machines are very common and have this exact layout, including the promotional photos with Tommy Lee Jones (who is the promotional face in every single Boss advert these days). The white vending machine is another typical vending machine design, though I remember normally seeing these almost exclusively as beer vending machines rather than anything else.

 After I was finished in the bowling alley, I began to explore the more stereotypically 'Japanese' areas. The parks and gardens I came across didn't really stand out as 'Japanese', though I suppose this is because a park is a park and only really set apart by what's inside it. The presence of cherry blossoms, shrines or bamboo frames which are used to protect trees from snow in the winter would make it feel more like Japan.

I came across a small ramen cart, and my only complaint was that I could not actually buy ramen.

In a tunnel, I came across this interesting sight. While I don't know where exactly the photo is from, I know that it is from a train station. The yellow sign on the right reads 'Coin Locker', a common sight in Japanese train stations for commuters to store bags in the station so they don't have to worry about carrying them everywhere. These lockers range in size from backpack to suitcase size.

In another part of the sim, I came across a sushi restaurant. By clicking on one of the plates, you were given a menu to choose from. However, all the options are written in romaji (romanisation of the Japanese word). When you select one, it then in chat gave a short Japanese phrase commonly heard when ordering in a sushi restaurant, as well as the English translation of what you actually ordered.

Upstairs from the shop was a small tatami room, a traditional style Japanese room found in pretty much every Japanese house. The purple object in the back is a futon, a mattress bed used in tatami rooms which is folded away during the day to allow for the use of the room.

The most interesting thing I found in the entire sim, however, was this sign. The Japanese rubbish collection system is incredibly complex and follows a rigid system of both separation of rubbish and collection dates, but the systems are also different for every town, so if you move, you have to relearn everything again.

Elsewhere on the island, I stumbled upon a retail area. In the middle of the area was a big courtyard full of cats. There were cats of all different colours and sizes, and even one dressed up as a giant cow.

I also came across a floating bar area on the edge of the sim which feature a piano that played theme music from various Final Fantasy games.

In week two, I will continue to explore around, perhaps in areas outside of Japanese sims if I can't find any others. It has been difficult finding a focus for my SL wanderings, so hopefully next week I'll be able to find a direction of some sort.

Week 4 Ji Yuan Article review

Using Virtual Worlds in Education: Second Life as an Educational Tool

Research aims

The research aims of this paper are as follows: firstly, education in SL, and this part includes getting started in SL and teaching in SL. Secondly, the paper explores both merits and demerits of using SL in education. Thirdly, evaluation and suggestions for using SL.

Research methods

1. Sample and setting

9 students as a group and they attended in a upper level psychology class in SL.

2. Data collection

Collect qualitative feedback from a group of 9 students who attended class in SL.

3. Data analysis

Students who attended the class in SL were invited to give their feedback and those data were analyzed by author.

Research results

According to the research, there are more than 100 universities in US are now using SL. Faculty use these spaces to hold lectures or meetings with students, display digital artwork, hold music performances, host gatherings, and build virtual environments. When it comes to teaching in SL, things get even easier. Teachers can deliver lectures in SL that can be attended by student avatars. Holding online classes thus students don’t have to travel to interact fact to face.

For psychology students, SL provide an interesting platform for research on computermediated social interaction (e.g., Vail et al., 2008). SL makes it possible for students to observe the behavior of avatars in some particular situations within contexts. To the extent that behavior is similar in virtual-world and real-world environments, virtual worlds present an opportunity for research on many aspects of behavior (Bainbridge, 2007).

When it comes to merits of using SL in education, firstly, SL exposes students to a new technology which provide students an experience interacting in virtual world. Secondly, SL increase students engagement for classes. Students who might feel uncomfortable to comment and ask questions in real world feel more comfortable doing so in a virtual world (e.g.,Childress & Braswell, 2006). Secondly, one potential positive outcome of using SL is that SL can provide a platform for more informal interaction between students and faculty. Activities with teachers are all possible and convenient for students in SL.

In terms of limitations, first of all, students and instructors have to invest time on creating avatars and learning how to navigate and communicate in the virtual world. What’s more, there are also technological requirements; SL requires more than a basic computer. SL does not always work as planned and technological glitches can cause problems and delays. What’s more, students and teacher’s willingness to try new technology needs to be weighed. Some students do not enjoy online interaction, and some might have anxiety about learning to use SL. Similarly, instructors vary in their level of enthusiasm for learning new technologies and the speed with which they learn them (e.g., Bente, R¨uggenberg, Kr¨amer, & Eschenburg, 2008). In addition, security issues must be considered. Students need to be informed about appropriate behavior and safeguarding their privacy while interacting in SL.

As for suggestions for using SL, they are as follows:

1. Send students to SL with specific educational objectives.

This means prepare educational objectives for student learning activities in SL, and share these objectives with the students.

2. Be prepared for the unexpected and have plan B.

Engaging in course in virtual world can pose unexpected challenges when the technology does not perform correctly. So plan B will be necessary in such situations.

3. Prepare Students for the Social Experience

Make sure students understand that just as in real life, some people they meet will be helpful and friendly and others will not. Make sure students know how to avoid places or leave unwanted interactions, and that they know how to interact appropriately in the virtual world.

In conclusion, the use of virtual worlds like SL in teaching can bring both benefits and drawbacks. Some of the potential benefits and uses of virtual worlds in teaching have yet to be examined. It is clear that many questions need to be addressed before understanding how this technology can best be used to facilitate teaching and learning.

Reference

Bainbridge, W. S. (2007). The scientific research potential of virtual worlds. Science, 317, 472–476.

Bente, G., R¨uggenberg, S., Kr¨amer, N. C., & Eschenburg, F. (2008). Avatar-mediated networking: Increasing social presence and interpersonal trust in net-based collaborations. Human Communication Research, 34, 287–318.

Childress, M. D., & Braswell, R. (2006). Using massively multiplayer online role-playing games for online learning. Distance Education, 27, 187–196.

Vail, B. J., Cronk, A. J., Crosby, B., Richardson, E., Uffelman, A., Warner, M., et al. (2008, May). The real life challenge of using Second Life to teach experimental psychology. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago.

Week 4 Ji Yuan Journal Second Life

Since I was not explored everywhere at Chinese island which built by Monash University, I decided to continue my adventure this week.

I went to the airport and I was lucky to experience my first flight in virtual worlds. I boarded on the plane and traveled for a few minutes.

Why not try other vehicles in this island? This idea just occurred to me when I finished my airline journey. So I went to the railway station, and because I don’t have money to buy ticket to get into the platform, I moved around and finally found a lower fence and jumped in.

However, I still need to buy one ticket if I want to take trains. I met someone and he offered that he could buy me a ticket. Unfortunately, to some reasons, he failed. But we added each other friends and he is Chinese! Currently he is doing his research about second life in Ohio.

                                          Bus is another vehicle I tried.

I got off the bus at a vegetable market and walked around to see if anyone was there. Fresh vegetables are selling here.

I went to a small park which near by the vegetable market.

I went to the main building of Monash university. The first floor is reception and the second floor looks like a small clinic with pharmacy.

The third floor is Chinese Island Space Centre.

The fourth, fifth and sixth floor are currently empty, and classroom, conference room and library are on top floor of this building.

I finished my Chinese island journey this week, and I am looking forward to my next adventure for next week

Nick Week 2 - Photo blog

It's no secret that I haven't been a fan of second life, and honestly, I'm still not, but today I figured I'd give it another go and try and find something to interest me personally. I decided, that with all the dramas I've had previous regarding the game (glitches, getting blocked from areas for no reason, falling in the ocean etc), the best thing would be to go relax somewhere. The Mediterranean Garden sounded good to me.

I began by taking a walk on the beach. Very quickly however, my walk was interrupted by perhaps a precursor to the typical strangeness I have encountered in this bizarre social media game. A snowman, made of sand, wearing a santa hat sat on the grinning maniacally at me. Slightly unnerved, but not one to give up over something so easy, I decided, the best thing to do would be to just do some sunbathing.

Now, this would typically be a relaxing time for me in real life, sitting in the sun, lying back in a deck chair, catching some rays and listening to the waves roll in. Yet, I couldn't shake something strange. A tiny thing, a very small issue, but one that irked me none the less - inexplicably, my feet were sticking out of the bottom of my boots! Now, maybe it's my fault for wearing doc martins to the beach, or perhaps the soles have been worn out, regardless, the same social anxiety that makes me run away from other second life players when they try speak to me, caused me to get back up out of my chair and try to fly the hell out of here!

Breaching the horizon, I cam across this scene. What looked like several glowing plastic bags floating up into the air. At first I thought people were littering, but then I recognized them to be paper lanterns. While looking quite pretty, I found this odd, as from memory (and I may be wrong), paper lanterns aren't typically thought of as being a Mediterranean thing. It was time to find another world!

It started out nice. I sat down with some cute dogos in this sunny, peaceful looking world. The problems came when I tried to pat one of the dogs and their head fell off. Unfortunately I was unable to catch that on camera. I was also unable to catch the upside down dog that tunneled through the surface of the earth in front of me right after the head dropping moment. I was however able to pick up this photo, in which so many of the dogs are upside down. And not lying on their backs upside down either, just... upside down.

And then the Rabbits started doing the same thing:

Finding the animals a little too unnerving, I decided to go for a walk. Unfortunately my next encounter was with some sort of ghost swing...

So, after encountering santa themed sandmen, discovering my shoes had holes in them, a load of floating plastic bags/lanterns, and then meeting some screwed up animals and a couple of ghosts, I figured I best get myself to Church and pray for guidance:

But I couldn't even do that right...

Yet all this weirdness created an idea in regards to my exploits in Second Life. So, gear up, from this point on, my photo blogs are going to be a tour of the uncanny, a road trip of the weird in second life. Here's hope I last long enough....

Nia Week 1 - Literature Review

The Story of my (Second) Life: Virtual Worlds and Narrative Identity.

A virtual world such as Second Life provides users with an interactive social online environment with no real objection. Using this somewhat boundless platform then offers users differing motivators to join and furthermore free expression or pursuit of interests. For example some users choose avatars that closely resemble their real life selves and have interests in the same hobbies such as genre of music or art and some join for adult entertainment and satisfactory educational activities. This idea of personal expression then brings into light the idea of Second Life (SL) and how ‘real’ it can be to its users.

This study by Schechtman (2011) examines whether this idea can be true – using a narrative account of personal identity.  

The procedure in this study is divided into 4 sections.

1.     Formulate particular question.

2.      Outlines an account of personal identity.

3.     Applies account to SL.

4.     Sketch the basic contours in understanding of identity in SL and beyond.

The question as Schechtman (2011) formulates in terms of SL is what is really ‘real’ and how this idea can expose empirical discussion on the complexities blurred between what is virtual and what is reality. Schechtman further explains, “…for almost all of these (SL) users, ‘real’ does not so much indicate a state of authenticity or genuineness as it indicates both ‘that is experienced’ and demarcates ‘those experiences that occur offline…the word ‘real’ does not have any deep ontological implications in this context. Even the term virtual, doesn’t encapsulate online experience. For these participants every experience is as real as another.” This notion of reality within the context of SL can imply personal experience overall as no different from another real life experience whether online or offline. However there are boundaries to be accepted by the user in order to distinct real life occurrences from second life. This can be further discussed in the second section.

The second section conveys a narrative approach to personal identity and uses a ‘Father goes to Vegas’ narrative to explain a somewhat similar insight into what some Second Life users experience in terms of what can be felt as ‘real’ in a virtual world context. This approach also uses a Narrative Self-Constitution View (NSCV) that as Schechtman (2011) argues, “…Is a sameness of consciousness rather than sameness of substance that constitutes personal identity.” By using the approach of ‘Father goes to Vegas’ it implies that a father goes to Vegas for a experience with his friends at least once a year to express fundamentals of his personality that do not function in every day life. Instead it can be seen as an escape from reality insofar as no longer governing action and experiences in the same way as if he was at home, however still resembling correct and appropriate behaviors in Vegas that do not impede on his reality.

The familiarity in SL is that some users can express and experience parts or elements of personality online to the point of realness insofar as not hindering RL. Such as father goes to Vegas narrative it is expected that the father will not likely spend the mortgage on gambling. With this in mind, Schechtman (2011) concludes rather than distinguishing both user and avatar as separate narratives, it can be looked at more appropriately as one single broader person narrative. This idea is also relevant in Anstadt, Bradley, Burnette and Ashley (2013) study which concludes data results that indicate “…interests of the individual in SL may to some degree reflect the interests they enjoy or once enjoyed in RL, making SL an opportunity for them to re-experience interests or accomplishments. SL has the potential to provide role plays for clients to enhance their RL social groups, communities, activities, and experiences.”

To conclude a user can bring ones expressions and experiences and further pursue these in SL which can ultimately motivate and somewhat satisfy part of one’s personality or identity, of course not hindering RL but somewhat improving those less than imperative experiences.

This study is useful to gain an insight into what could motivate a user to continuously use Second Life and it does somewhat distinguish what is reality and what is virtual reality. As in what is defined as virtually real, it is real in the users time or presence and consequences. 

Reference 

Anstadt, S. P., Bradley, S., Burnette, A., & Medley, L. L. (2013). Virtual Worlds: Relationship between Real Life and Experience in Second Life. International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning, 14(4), 160-190.

Schechtman, M. (2011). The story of my second life: virtual worlds and narrative identity. University of Illinois. 

DOI 10.1007/s13347-012-0062-y

Article Review - How Can The Oculus Rift Enrich The Interactive Storytelling Experience?

For my second article review, I actually was lucky enough to read an entire thesis from Victoria University in Wellington that was written in 2016 by Mohsin Ali, who was completing their Masters of Design Innovation in Media Design.
Their thesis looked specifically at how the VR system - the Oculus Rift can enrich the tradition of interactive storytelling found in traditional PC and Console based video games.
As Virtual Reality continues to develop at rapid fire speed, so too does the need for strong interactive stories, so Ali's thesis is an important contribution to not only the world of technology but also the world of narrative design. Ali begins by stating that:

"The technology of today, such as the Oculus Rift, can provide immersion in ways that were unachievable in the past... ...Unlike television, computer and mobile screens, a virtual reality headset digitally transports the user into the environment... ...(providing) immersion unlike anything experienced to date." (Ali, 2016)

Their research project aimed to develop "...an application where interactive storytelling is compatible with the Oculus Rift, and (test) that application with participants." before finally drawing a conclusion from "the data collected by participants." (Ali, 2016)

I didn't have the opportunity to actually play the game that Ali developed, but even just observing their research was fascinating enough and highly applicable to my own work.

At the beginning of their research, they created several points of investigation in order to narrow down their field of study. These points fell under two larger points creating as follows:

"Determine the amount of interactivity that interactive stories have.
- Define what is considered ‘interactive’ in interactive stories. 
- Test what interactive elements are present in current interactive projects. 
- Determine the influence of interactivity on the narrative structure. 

Determine if virtual reality can enhance story experiences.
- Determine the design strategies used to harness the Oculus Rifts capabilities. 
- Produce a platform where virtual reality coincides with the interactive narrative. 
- Test my interactive application with participants." (Ali, 2016)

Moving on through that they gave a literature review of relevant materials from other academic sources. Their purpose in doing this was to create for themselves some guidelines to follow with the creation of their own interactive narrative. Beginning with a look at what makes an interactive narrative interactive, they found that:

"...1) There is a clear distinction made between reaction and interaction. (referencing a quote by theorist Chris Crawford in which he explains that "passive mediums" like film are reactive, where as interactive mediums require the story to cause its audience to react to it and then have the story react back to their initial reaction) 2) Narrative interactions are not restricted to character-based interactions. Environmental interactions can also be used to influence the story." (Ali, 2016)

After this conclusion, they moved on to analyse literature on Emergent Narrative Theory (a theory which arose to try deal with the inherent contradiction between complete player freedom and author control regarding the imposition of a plot) finding that for their project:

"1) Interaction and narrative must complement each other. 
2) The decisions that the user makes will advance the story. 
3) Future decisions will be limited to the user’s own story choices." (Ali, 2016)

Once these rules had be created, Ali reviewed a few narrative-rich games on console and PC (Game of Thrones: A Telltale Series, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt) before analyzing a VR game (Back to Dinosaur Island) in search of further examples of what worked and what didn't.

Upon creating their game - a project they called "Agi" the author conducted surveys of participants with the following questions:

"1. On a scale of 1 – 5, how difficult was the application to use? (5 being very hard) 
2. How did it feel to view this story through an Oculus Rift? 
3. Did you like or dislike being able to make decisions in the story and why? 
4. Would you consider to experience more stories like this in the future? 
5. Did you have any technical problems with the application? 
6. Additional feedback?" (Ali, 2016)

Most importantly, from these questions they were able to collect data on how participants reacted to the story. They discovered a "trend found amongst all the participants was the extra care when making a decision. This was identified through slight hesitation or a large pause before selecting a decision. 86% of the participants verbally commented after the selection of their decision." (Ali, 2016)

Further, the research brought up through the comments of participants in the survey the topic of "user freedom verses author control."

“I liked it but wanted some more control over the characters decisions. Eg: make quick decisions while walking a chosen path.” (Ali, 2016)

“Like, opens up the possibilities of the story, multiple endings keeps replayability. Some feelings of linearity with player choices feeling limited.” (Ali, 2016)

“Great approach to interactivity. If it is developed to a point where everything you say effects a plot point that would be amazing.” (Ali, 2016)

Through this information, the author pointed out "An interesting comment was made about being able to make quick decisions while progressing through another decision. This will give the illusion of additional freedom however the end result will remain the same." (Ali, 2016)

Concluding their thesis, Ali states that: "not only does the Oculus Rift enhance the story experience, the Oculus Rift is also the relevant technological platform for interactive storytelling... ...The evidence is presented in this research where 100% of the participants did not struggle with the interactive system. 17% of the participants are aged between 40 and 50 years old which shows that the interactivity is not limited to the younger audience. Interactive storytelling does not require the multiple complex interactions that video games necessitate. The core of interactive storytelling is presenting the user with a decision at a point in the narrative that influences how the story advances (Lissen J, 2012, pg. 3). Combining the core principles of interactive storytelling with a simple interaction provided by the Oculus Rift, creates a system that can appeal to audiences from the film and video game territory." (Ali, 2016)

Overall, the thesis was informative regarding storytelling in VR, however it didn't touch on certain issues exclusive to VR that has a huge effect on immersion, such as VR motion sickness involved with movement in the virtual world. Ali's research, although informative regarding interactive narrative, could have been researched via traditional gaming consoles without much change in their storytelling conclusions. That being said, the author has offered a wealth of information regarding immersive and emergent narrative in games.

REFERENCES:

Ali, M. (2016). How can the Oculus Rift enrich the interactive storytelling experience? (Master's thesis, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand). Retrieved from http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/6154

Linssen, J. (2012). Discussion of Interactive Storytelling Techniques for Use in a Serious Game (Master thesis, University of Twente, Enshede, Netherlands). Retrieved from: http://doc.utwente.nl/80054/

Week 3 Ji Yuan Journal Second Life

This week, to begin with, I explored Renaissance Gallery, which is one of the hot destinations. Before I teleport there I thought I may find Mona Lisa there because Mona Lisa is the representative painting of Renaissance. However, this gallery disappointed me a little bit.

This gallery is not very big and furnishings inside is very simple.

When I was in college I once learned British literature for one semester so I roughly know some basic information about paintings in Renaissance. Unfortunately, I cannot tell the name of any paintings in this gallery. 

An idea just occured to me when I visited all the paintings in Renaissance, why not try and find a Chinese art gallery? So I came to a Chinese painting gallery.

 I’m so lucky because the painting exhibition is still opening when I got there.

But when I entered in I was disappointed again. Compared with Renaissance gallery, to some degree this exhibition is less competitive and less attractive. As far as I am concerned, paintings are cannot represent and show the quintessence part of Chinese painting.

I hang out on the street and I realized this Chinese island was built by Monash University and I guess the purpose of this island is for language learning as well as culture exchange

According to the signboard this is a small library but when I entered in I believe this is a museum.

 By the guidance of signboard I went to the exhibition room of Jiang su(a provincein name, located in south east of China), but I found Terra-Cotta Warriors here! In fact Terra-Cotta Warriors should be set in the exhibition room of Shan Xi, that’s where Terra-Cotta Warriors were actually found. I believe Monash University made a little mistake about this.

By the way I also found the language study center, and even a bank on the street! I will keep exploring more about the island this week.