Practicum Project: Questions Ivan Ripley

So far I've played a total of 8 hours of Second Life in preparation for mine and Brady's presentation tomorrow about Virtual Communities. At first when I started playing I didn't know how to do much but as I continued I have learned how to do so much more and as a result I am really enjoying the game. I can see how the game itself can become addicting with all the options for creating and customizing in the game world itself.

So far in the game I have gone to different areas, chatted with local avatars, attended live concerts, and customized my avatars appearance to my liking but I would say I am nowhere near close to getting away from my "newbie" status. In order to do that I will have to invest more time into this game and truly get to know people at events, or learn how to earn money and build myself a house or something.

The community in this game is generally pretty nice and accepting and I was welcomed wherever I went even though I didn't know these people. During concerts people were doing all sorts of actions and chatting that I didn't know how to do and it seems like it will take some time for me to learn how to use the more advanced features of the game. There are also games within games in Second Life that you can play with other avatars like Wac-A-Mole and air hockey. These games are pretty shallow but still fun little diversions to play while you are in the virtual world.

Some Questions to think about heading into discussion tomorrow:

Does having actual 3D worlds make a virtual community more of a community? Does it add to the experience or is the imagination element of a MOO more appealing?

How do you know when you are no longer a "newbie" in a virtual community? What are the requirements?

How does character customization add to the experience of a virtual community?