Second Life Comparative Field Note #3: Two untraditional environments in Second Life
Time Travel in Second Life
Chapter 1: Avilion
I have never thought that I would travel back to my previous life through dreams.
I wake up in a medieval land named Avilion in the middle of the night. Quietly, I fly around the market square where there are dozens of stores selling all kinds of fantasy tools. The patterns of the pavement stones are so familiar to me and the voice of the nightingales are so soothing. When I see the dragon statue fountain in the middle of the square, I am totally in tears because this dragon used to be my pet! He was cursed and became a cold statue.
I encounter a fae in the market, but she is so shocked that she starts to call me “your highness”. At this moment, my unawakened memories flash back in my mind. I used to be the princess of this land, but the invaders took over this country. Unfortunately, I was the only royal member alive and was exiled twenty years ago.
The fae tells me that there are two rules set by the new rulers in this land: no strange clothing and no flying. She guides me to the misty store which sells all kind of medieval dresses, cloaks, and jewelries. I purchase a set of white and fluffy dress and try to act more like a medieval girl. There is one place I must revisit, the Avilion Grove Ballroom!
Following the glowing breadcrumbs on the ground, I find my way to the ballroom. After climbing hundreds of stairs, I have to take a rest at a platform. Looking downing from the platform, I see a huge garden covered with snow and a maze where I used to play with my brothers and sisters.
After climbing another few stairs, I finally arrive at the balcony of the ballroom. This place is still as gorgeous and majestic as it used to be. The golden and shiny handrails are delicately engraved; the flourish wisteria hangs down from the roof; the light yellow and blue carpet absorbs the sound of footsteps; the hallway staircase is truly beautiful and intricate.
I walk to the ground floor and find a harp and a piano at the corner. When I was little, my mother used to teach me playing them. Full of sweet memories in my mind, I sit down in front of the harp and start to play. The melody hovers in the empty ballroom and lingers on.
I walk to the center of the ballroom and start to dance. The floor is as clear and smooth as a mirror. The large rose fountain next to the window reminds of the classic scene in “Beauty and Beast”. Everything is so fantastic and real.
I speed up my dancing steps, turn round and round and lose myself in this fantasy atmosphere.
Chapter 2: Space Station
“Commander, all data are checked and everything is working normally in this space station!” I am suddenly woken up by this staff who is wearing a dark grey uniform. I look at my name card on my chest and find out that I am the commander of this space station named “Thea” and it is now in the year of 3201!
I am sitting in the headquarter control room, and in front of me there is a huge screen and an operating panel with buttons of different colors and sizes. Standing behind me is a clone trooper.
“Wait! Am I in the space station in Star Wars movies?” I talk to myself. Suddenly, I see a scooter near the panel. “Why not ride on the scooter and take a quick tour of this place?” So I quietly take the scooter and sneak out of the control room joyfully.
Because of my position, I can go anywhere I want. The first room I enter is the atom smasher room which is guard by a clone trooper. The atom smasher is a five-floor object standing in the middle. The room is fully built with glass, so I can get a clear view of the outside. I see a firing planet floating in the mysterious dark sky, some small sized spacecraft parking outside the station, a garden located in the greenhouse and the rest of the station buildings. The view is so fascinating that I cannot wait to check out all the places.
Riding on the scooter, I go into another room. It is a spacious monitor room with large screens in four walls. I am so excited to see Chewbacca and a real Darth Vader standing in front of a screen. At the center of the room, there is a 3D virtual operation panel and two crew members are talking. I walk up and join their conversation. “It is so cool! I have never seen such a high-tech machine in my real life in 2018!” I am so excited that I almost speak out my thoughts.
After a brief talk with my subordinates, I ride on my scooter and continue my tour. Next to monitor room is a warehouse. Two R2-D2 robots are sorting some boxes. When I pass by, they stop their work and start to talk to me in a language which I do not understand. I have no idea what they are talking about, but their voice and their appearance are so adorable. Whoever created such lovely robots must be a genius!
I say goodbye to these two cute robots and proceed my tour. Then I visit the flight deck, captain’s office, and the garden. I am surprised to know that there also is a ballroom in the space station. But obviously, dancing in front of the serious crew members is very awkward.
Duty calls, and I have to head back to the headquarter right away.
Chapter 3: Afterword
Now, I wake up in my bed and ponder on the experience in Avilion and Space Station. What makes them are so intriguing? What messages do the builders intend to deliver to visitors? What novel interactions do they have? How can educators adopt the useful elements into their virtual educational worlds?
I think that one common feature of these two places is the storytelling. There are specific settings and rules in the places. Avilion takes place in a medieval fantasy and has strict dressing code and no-flying rule, while Space Station is situated in Star Wars setting and has hierarchical organizational structure. When visiting the places, participants become the characters in the stories. With the help of the special environment and socializing activities/events in the places, participants start to interpret the places with their own perception, and the places start to make meanings for them.
Another feature that can be adopted by educators is the environments full of imagination and details. The environments arouse people’s curiosity and inspire people to explore more. People can never find such creative places in real life. What people cannot experience in real life, they can realize it in virtual worlds. Above all, details are the key to an immersive environment. In Avilion, the sound of the harp, the reflection of the ballroom floor, the floating water plants in the underwater castles, the snow on the maze, and the spalling pillars make the experience more vivid and impressive. At Space Station, the patterns of the lanes, the ventilation sound, the buttons on the operation panel, the voice of R2-D2 robots, the guards at the door, and the irrigation canals in the garden create more involvement between the environment and participants.
Educators can visit the adventurous places more often in Second Life to broaden their mind and get implications and inspirations for their own virtual worlds. Setting a storyline for the place and paying more attention to the details may help to improve participants’ learning experience.
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© Wenyi Gong 2018
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