Stepping out

First impressions can be deceiving.

When I first arrived in Second Life at Orientation Island, I was overwhelmed by the possibilities in my surroundings. What can my avatar do? Who are all these people? How can I change my appearance?

Thankfully, things have started to settle down a bit for Whymog. I've given him a neat (albeit garish) t-shirt with a photo of a sunset on it as well as some creepy black gloves.


His fashion sense is deplorable, but we've all gotta start somewhere in Second Life.

And where is that place? Why, it's right here, in the middle:


That yellow dot in the middle is me - well, it's Whymog, anyway. That cone-shaped blurry thing protruding from the yellow dot off to the lower-right corner of the screen is called the field of view (or FOV.) It shows what my avatar can see from where he's standing.

Like many massively multiplayer online games, Second Life includes a detailed map that its residents can use to navigate their way through the world. Locations I hear about, either in SL or on the Internet, can be entered and stored here to quickly jump to them.

Doesn't look too intimidating, does it? You can ever see details like roads and bridges on the map.


. . . Wait. There's a lot more than I'd anticipated. Note that I'm still indicated by the yellow dot in the middle. But surely it can't . . .


. . . be much larger . . .


. . . I think I'm in over my head.

I've traveled throughout Azeroth, I've explored much of Norrath, and yet I've never seen anything remotely as massive as Second Life. But in a sense, it's exciting - I'm able to explore a world that's constantly changing, and be a part of that change.

Sounds like it's time to throw caution to the wind and dive in head-first.

Birth

Tonight, at 10:38 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (GMT -8), Whymog Troglodite was born.

Of course, he's not an actual person. (What cruel parent would burden a kid with such an abhorrent name, anyway?) Whymog is a Resident of a virtual world called Second Life.

Here he is:


Clearly, he hasn't developed a sense of fashion yet. His hipster clothing and unfortunate goatee do little to ease his integration into Second Life.

Fortunately, it's all malleable. Right from the outset, Second Life's governor gives advice on how to walk, how to dress, and how to change one's appearance.

It's kind of like the director's cut of life. Nothing is static in Second Life - not even gender.

Whymog is happy being male, though, thanks.

There is a purpose to Whymog's existence, however. He is a student of the Metaverse.

Actually, to be more accurate, he's an avatar for me - a college student named Nick Cummings, who is currently studying at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. You can find my website here.

I started this blog to chronicle my experiences in Second Life to complement the formal research that comprises my Honors College thesis on Mass Communication in Virtual Spaces - in this case, Second Life in particular.

My hope is that this blog will offer several key benefits to my work:

• The blog will serve as a travel journal - it will offer me a chance to chronicle the character, shape, and environment of the virtual world. Witnessing it firsthand is the most authentic way to understand this new medium.
• Blogging presents a chance to flex my creative writing abilities while maintaining a legitimate journalistic quality.
• It embodies the very spirit of Web 2.0 and Second Life by acting as a public contribution to the wide-open space of the Internet. By writing about my experiences, I can hope to educate and connect with other people interested in Second Life - thereby acting as part of the community.

I anticipate my foray into the world of Second Life will last about six months, from the beginning of my research to the presentation of my thesis.

We've got a lot of traveling to do before then.