An Hour In the House of Usher

I knew soon after I visited the House of Usher in Second Life that the simulation had been effective. I was on my way to the library soon after my visit and hear a duck quack fairly loudly. I immediately jumped and thought to myself, "why is Madeline still screaming?" The virtual world had engaged my mind on such an intense level that it made its way into my real world evening. I admit I got excited when this happened and started to walk a little faster to get to the library to write this blog post.

When I first arrived I set up a private chat with Cinderella Caffarelli, another avatar in my class. This was important so that we were able to communicate about strategies and simply to find each other in the house. It also helped to communicate with her because at one point we were split up and I let her know how Madeline was doing and she let me know the status of Roderick.

After we were greeted we moved into the where a conversation started up. Roderick explained how Madeline experienced unrest due to her sickness. Roderick's concern for his sister came across just as I imagined it in the story. Also their banter back and forth was very appropriate. Roderick revealed things like "Madeline sometimes is difficult to awaken when she does fall asleep and it seems as if she is dead" and Madeline scolded him for telling his guests about this fact.

Next I was able to find out about Roderick and Madeline's parents, which was my "secret task". I received all of my information on the parents from Roderick. First in the library Roderick explained how artistic his family was, which includes his parents. Mentioning of his family allowed a way for me to ask about his parents. Roderick explained how his mother died ten years earlier and ever since then it has been difficult to manage the finances and he is unable to leave the house. Not only was Roderick affected financially, but he also said, "Her death was a terrible blow to me". He then proceeded to move to another room and show us the picture of his mother and the wreath of her hair that hung above the picture. Pictured below is a shot of Roderick showing us these two things.

Not only did Roderick talk about his mother, but I also asked him about his relationship with his father. Roderick stated, "Lord Usher was not one to be warm or affectionate with us." He also explained how his father was more concerned with the family reputation than anyone's happiness. The next piece of information I gained did not fit with the rest of his story. Roderick claimed that his father died 7 or 8 years ago, but he also said that he died before the mother did. Seeing as how his mother died 10 years ago this statement was not correct. However, this was the only flaw that I found in the actor's stories and can easily be fixed. The last fact I found about the parents is that they are both resting in the crypt in the basement of the house. This above all seems incredibly spooky and unsettling.

After speaking with Roderick for a while, I went to explore the basement in order to see where Madeline might get buried so that I could possibly come to her rescue later. I found her empty coffin and then heard her first piercing scream. Not knowing what was going on I quickly flew upstairs. However, on the way up I got stuck in some area. This may have just been Second Life lagging, but I did find some sort of ball that I could click that allowed me to teleport to anywhere in the house. After hearing Madeline's scream I knew I must go to her room. I found her lying on her bed. I waited until she got up and then began speaking with her (pictured below).

The conversation with Madeline consisted mainly of my attempts at trying to keep her calm. I have lots of experience with this after working with kids since I was a young teen. I figured that if I "baby-sat" her, she would be unable to do anything harmful to herself or others. I suggested we go downstairs and she said that their servant could get us some tea (pictured below). Tea seemed like it could hurt! If anything it would calm her down more and allow us to chat. This is when I had my idea of suggesting that Madeline and Roderick come to stay with me for a while, at least until she regained her health. Madeline agreed, but said she would have to ask Roderick for approval. This was exceptional role-playing because women in that time period would never make decisions for the family. Ultimately, Roderick shot down the idea, but this conversation bought us enough time to keep both of them from doing anything dangerous. Given an opportunity to stay longer, however, I don't think this distraction would have lasted much longer.

My beta test goal was to see how the House reflects Poe's tale and what could be improved to make it best fit the mood of the tale. First of all, the stonewalls and also the fabric patterned walls were amazing. They, along with the rugs, really made the house look very authentic. It was really very close to what I had imagined in that respect. I realize that furniture costs money, but there was definitely a need for more of it in some of the rooms. I also think some of the rooms at this point aren't necessary. The feeling of a big house is given off by the size of the rooms and some of the other rooms just make maneuvering confusing. I liked the objects in each room that provided clue, but as a side note, some of the clues were not much help to me. I had no idea what I would do with a pistol with no bullets and couldn't think of another use for it. Also the maps did not orient me very well so I ended up just roaming around and finding things on my own. This may have caused me to miss parts of the house but it was easier. Overall, the mood of the house was spooky and very similar to Poe's tale, especially when I had my avatar in "midnight" mode.

Poe in the Present

Descriptions of dark rooms, rich red colors, and heavy fabrics fill the pages of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. After reading a number of them and also his poems, I've become familiar with the setting that Poe uses as the backdrop for his stories. The places seem haunted, old and mysterious. They aren't places I'd see in my day to day life unless I went to a museum. This makes me wonder, if Poe were alive today, would he keep his stories set in these Arabesque style, antique homes?

The setting of his stories adds a great deal to them. The lit candles add a spooky element even though that was the necessary means of light during the time period. I'm not one to enjoy anything that is remotely scary so even these small details alarm me. However, Poe's stories captivate me with their level of description of the setting. If the stories were in present day, in a normal setting, they lose much of what makes them so remarkable. There would be too many easy solutions to the problems the characters face if they were in a present setting. If it is a dark, scary night, just turn on a light and watch a movie. If there is a question about a woman in a coma, take her to a responsible doctor instead of burying her in your spooky cellar. If your friend is going crazy, simply call the police. These simple solutions would take away the scary aspects of Poe's stories. Even though it would solve all the characters problems if the stories were set in the present time I can't help but think that this would cause them to lose much of their drama and mystery.

Revamping Poe

I'm all for fairy-tale happy endings when it comes to movies or books. Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" ended far from my ideal cheery conclusion or even a pleasant one for that matter. You can imagine that after reading about a man losing his mind and his twin rising from the dead, I wouldn't exactly be experiencing my ideal ending to a story. I'll admit, had the ending been less frightening, it would have taken away some of the drama from the storyline, but I'd like to think if I had been there I could have saved the night from being such a disaster.

Had I been a participant in Poe's story, I would most want to change the book the narrator read to Usher at the end. This may seem like a minute detail that wouldn't have had any affects, but I beg to differ. Reading "Mad Trist" of Sir Lancelot Canning just doesn't strike me as a well thought out book choice to read to someone exhibiting mad behaviors. Although, I do understand the idea to read to Roderick in order to calm him down. Had I been in the story I would have offered two simple solutions to the unfitting book selection. First, I could simply run and grab another book. If time did not allow for this, I would have taken the Sir Lancelot book and instead of reading from it, just pretend I was reading the words on the page and make up my own storyline instead. That's a trick my mom used on me when I was a child. Before I could read she would not read the words on the page, but instead provide her own shorter version of the story in order to get me to bed earlier. Needless to say, Roderick was not a child, but in his mental state it might have been possible to make up a new story that would be more calming and alleviate some of the stress of the night.

I think this simple task of not reading "Mad Trist" of Sir Lancelot Canning would enable the characters to relax. When in a stressful situation many people panic or react in different ways than if they had just taken a moment to relax and reevaluate the situation. Maybe if the story that was correlating with all of the scary noises in the house were different, the scary noises would be perceived in a different way as well. Maybe Madeline would even appear and be intrigued by the story and sit to listen alongside her brother. My hope for a fairy-tale ending may be a stretch, but it seems almost anything is possible in The House of Usher.

Second Life's Achilles' Heel?

Second Life may be a great place to meet new people and form online friendships, but as far as it being an everyday communication technology, like the telephone, I have my doubts. The biggest problem holding Second Life back as a communication technology is the lack of knowledge about the avatars you meet. You may think you met a fun, Pink Floyd loving person with an age similar to your own, but how would you ever know? Walking up to someone and chatting with him or her does not give you tons of information about that person. How do you even know they are being genuine or if they are lying to your avatar's face?

I find it hard to believe Second Life communication could lead to communication outside the virtual world. How would you ever know which avatars to trust enough to meet in real life? Even though there are safe and non-violent people on Second Life, potential predators do exist. It would be difficult to build up enough trust to meet someone in person if Second Life were the only means of communication.

It could be argued that Second Life would not lead to people wanting to meet in real life; they would just maintain online communication. There is no danger in this, but what happens when people start feeling real emotions of friendship or love toward their online friends? I personally would be miserable if I could online chat and walk around with an avatar of a person that I considered my true friend. Being face to face with someone creates different feelings than being with someone virtually. At least with AIM and texting you have met the person in the past and know them outside of that specific means of communication. That other form of interaction eliminates the problem of deception that Second Life encompasses. How Linden Lab addresses this problem could potentially change Second Life drastically, but it may be worth it to know the truth about those who you are encountering in order to make this communication technology stronger.

Spoiled by Second Life?

I'm very aware of the fact that patience is not a quality I possess. This was a problem in my first few minutes in Heritage Key. I had specific places I wanted to go, like the Nile River and became frustrated when I couldn't get there right away. While trying to find my way, I checked out the different layers of King Tut's sarcophagus. I enjoyed seeing the differences between each layer and the audio was very informative. However, in attempts to sit in front of one layer in order to take a picture, I ended up in some virtual space that had nothing to do with King Tut (pictured below). I'm not sure where I was or why I couldn't fly out of the area, but I do know that I had to teleport home and begin my journey once again. My ride on the hot air balloon may seem like it would be relaxing, but I would have much rather simply teleported to the location I was headed.

Despite my initial frustration, I finally found a place I could choose where I teleported. I'm glad I found this before I gave up on finding the Nile River. Once at the Nile I flew around looking at the different animals. Hippos, ostriches, and alligators all sat around in the area added to the river setting by making it seem more real. The plant life also captured nature in a way that I have not yet experienced in a virtual world. After exploring the area I went in a building and was able to change my clothing into Egyptian looking clothes which put me more into character and made my trip that much more enjoyable. Once I get more familiar with Heritage Key I'm hoping it will become easier to maneuver and I will be able to enjoy the cites and information more than in my initial experience.

Storytelling Experience

I've come to realize that I need to expect the unexpected while logged into Second Life. When I heard the title "Story Hour: West of Ireland's Shandon Loring" I expected to see something much different than what took place. The word "Ireland" automatically made me think that there would be a man dressed in Celtic attire, maybe cracking a beer while he told his story in a dim lit bar. Boy was I far off! When the space ship arrived and an alien creature walked out I laughed out loud at how different this event was than what I had pictured in my head. Shandon's voice was the only thing that was exactly what I had expected. I was worried that since he was storytelling via Second Life there would be a disconnection from the audience, but his humor and the interactive chat during the performance made for a unique experience. Definitely not one that I would have had in the real world!

This also was the first time I had been around a fairly large group of avatars. I had another preconceived notion that some of the avatars would be rude and uninviting. I had this terrible scenario in my head that I wouldn't be able to figure out how to turn on the sound in Second Life and no one would help me, therefore causing me to miss the event. Again, I was completely wrong. The exact opposite occurred actually. As soon as I arrived I was greeted and felt very welcomed. I was also given a very organized instruction sheet on how to turn my sound on in the appropriate manner. That wasn't all though; once the storyteller arrived he was sure to ask numerous times if we were able to hear him. I suppose this makes sense because he would want anyone attending to be able to hear his performance, but it put me at ease and made me realize if I had needed help it would not have been hard to find. The more I experience Second Life, the more I can learn form my experiences and allow my ideas about it to change and develop.

*Special thanks to Ignatius Onomatopoeia for the photograph

Second Life Field Trip

I've always been a fan of hearing stories. Whether they are made up, folklore, or true, they are very entertaining. There are so many different ways to tell a story. People can share their stories and experiences in any way they choose, which makes story telling expressive and much like an art form. My love for stories made me want to attend the story telling of "The Lifeboat Mutiny" by Shandon Loring. This particular story sounds especially interesting because in the description it describes a "lifeboat that runs amok". This indicates to me that there will be humor in the story. Who doesn't love a funny story? I hope not only to be entertained, but also to learn from this event how stories can be told in a Second Life atmosphere. Is it possible to still engage with the audience when the storyteller is only virtually present? I think its possible but it seems it could be more of a challenge. The audience would not feel rude getting up and walking away from their computers when they might have stayed because they felt obligated at a real life story telling event.

In addition to learning about and experiencing the actual event, I'm interested in observing others that also are attending. I love to "people watch" and haven't been able to do that yet on Second Life. Having more people go to this event would enhance the experience so I'm hoping there will be others there. I'm excited to see if once the storytelling is over if discussion occurs between the avatars on whether they enjoyed the performance or not.