July 2004
- [News] Ultima X: Odyssey cancelled Luca Girardo
- [News] Ultima X: Odyssey cancelled Steven King
- [News] Ultima X: Odyssey cancelled Luca Girardo
- [News] Ultima X: Odyssey cancelled David Kennerly
- [News] Ultima X: Odyssey cancelled Derek Licciardi
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Threshold RPG
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Par Winzell
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Threshold RPG
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Dana V. Baldwin
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Mark Mensch
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Luca Girardo
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Dana V. Baldwin
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Michael Hartman
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Derek Licciardi
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Threshold RPG
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Adam Burr
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Scott Macmillan
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Douglas Goodall
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Sean Howard
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Amanda Walker
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Scott Macmillan
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Sean Howard
- CoH Michael Hartman
- CoH Michael Hartman
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Ryan Shwayder
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? cruise
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Oliver Smith
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Koster, Raph
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Oliver Smith
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Koster, Raph
- Instancing (was: MMORPG Cancellations...) Byron Ellacott
- Instancing (was: MMORPG Cancellations...) Koster, Raph
- Instancing (was: MMORPG Cancellations...) Brad McQuaid
- Instancing (was: MMORPG Cancellations...) Douglas Goodall
- Instancing (was: MMORPG Cancellations...) Dana V. Baldwin
- Instancing (was: MMORPG Cancellations...) Douglas Goodall
- Instancing (was: MMORPG Cancellations...) Zach Collins (Siege)
- Instancing (was: MMORPG Cancellations...) Douglas Goodall
- Instancing ceo
- Instancing Douglas Goodall
- Instancing ceo
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Oliver Smith
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Koster, Raph
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- Depth (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Damion Schubert
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Sean Howard
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Ghilardi Filippo
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Michael Hartman
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Michael Hartman
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Amanda Walker
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Michael Sellers
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Amanda Walker
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Koster, Raph
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Paul McInnes
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Andres Ferraro
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Koster, Raph
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Ryan Shwayder
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Amanda Walker
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Koster, Raph
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Mark Mensch
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Mark Mensch
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Derek Licciardi
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Tom "cro" Gordon
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Erik Bethke
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The skyis falling?) Koster, Raph
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The skyis falling?) Tom "cro" Gordon
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Douglas Goodall
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Tom "cro" Gordon
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky isfalling?) Sean Howard
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: Thesky isfalling?) Derek Licciardi
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: Theskyisfalling?) Sean Howard
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: Thesky isfalling?) John MacQueen
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: Thesky isfalling?) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: Thesky isfalling?) Byron Ellacott
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky isfalling?) Aaron Switzer
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: Thesky isfalling?) Sean Howard
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: Thesky isfalling?) Aaron Switzer
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Thesky isfalling?) Sean Howard
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Thesky isfalling?) Aaron Switzer
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Koster, Raph
- MMO Communities (was MMORPGCancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Sean Howard
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) ceo
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Paul Schwanz
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Tom "cro" Gordon
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Paul Schwanz
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Byron Ellacott
- MMO Communities (was [MUD-Dev]MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Matt Mihaly
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) John Arras
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Byron Ellacott
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Douglas Goodall
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) John Arras
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Douglas Goodall
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) cruise
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Douglas Goodall
- MMO Simulations (was MMO Communities) John Arras
- MMO Simulations (was MMO Communities) Douglas Goodall
- MMO Simulations (was MMO Communities) Peter Keeler
- MMO Simulations (was MMO Communities) Otis Viles
- MMO Simulations (was MMO Communities) Malcolm W. Tester II
- MMO Simulations (was MMO Communities) Matt Mihaly
- MMO Simulations (was MMO Communities) cruise
- MMO Communities (was [MUD-Dev] MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Paul Schwanz
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Douglas Goodall
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Zach Collins (Siege)
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Paolo Piselli
- forced grouping/coop play Tamzen Cannoy
- forced grouping/coop play Koster, Raph
- forced grouping/coop play Sean Kelly
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Andrew L. Tepper
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) HRose
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Douglas Goodall
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) HRose
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Byron Ellacott
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) HRose
- What is an MMOG? (was: MMO Communities) ceo
- What is an MMOG? (was: MMO Communities) HRose
- What is an MMOG? ceo
- What is an MMOG? HRose
- What is an MMOG? Dana V. Baldwin
- What is an MMOG? HRose
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) HRose
- MMO Communities Eric Random
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky isfalling?) Paul Schwanz
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) J C Lawrence
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- MMO Communities (was MMORPG Cancellations: The skyis falling?) Derek Licciardi
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? ceo
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Tom "cro" Gordon
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Thomas Tomiczek
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Douglas Goodall
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Koster, Raph
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Scott Jennings
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Steven King
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Amanda Walker
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? David Kennerly
- Words (WAS: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Zach Collins (Siege)
- Words (WAS: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) kennerly@finegamedesign.com
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? zgj22@drexel.edu
- Is space deep? (was MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) David Kennerly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Tony Hoyt
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Damion Schubert
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Samantha LeCraft
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Sean Howard
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Samantha LeCraft
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Matt Mihaly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Oliver Smith
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Kerry Fraser-Robinson
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Damion Schubert
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Amanda Walker
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? J C Lawrence
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? David Kennerly
- MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling? Michael Sellers
- Sun Game Server Technology Chat Artur Biesiadowski
- Quick Hello Mark Mensch
- Virtual/Real Currencies (was: [MUD-Dev][NEWS]GamingOpenMarket) Jon A. Lambert
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Alex Chacha
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Matt Mihaly
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Russ Whiteman
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Mike Rozak
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Douglas Goodall
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Mike Rozak
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Byron Ellacott
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Mike Rozak
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Byron Ellacott
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Yannick Jean
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Otis Viles
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Mike Rozak
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Erik Bethke
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Matt Mihaly
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) dienw
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Matt Mihaly
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) J C Lawrence
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Matt Mihaly
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) J C Lawrence
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Matt Mihaly
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Erik Bethke
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Matt Mihaly
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Erik Bethke
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Matt Mihaly
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Sean Howard
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Mark 'Kamikaze' Hughes
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Michael Hartman
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Erik Bethke
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Michael Hartman
- CoH and others (was Cancellations: ...) Luca Girardo
- CoH and others Alex Chacha
- CoH and others Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- CoH and others David Eckelberry
- CoH and others Vincent Archer
- COH and others Alex Chacha
- COH and others Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- COH and others Alex Chacha
- Revenues Rafael Seabra
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Koster, Raph
- CoH (was: MMORPG Cancellations: The sky is falling?) Damion Schubert
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Ghilardi Filippo
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Mike Rozak
- [MUD-Dev]: Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Luca Girardo
- Virtual/Real Currencies Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Indie MMOG's ceo
- Indie MMOG's Koster, Raph
- Indie MMOG's ceo
- Indie MMOG's Derek Licciardi
- Indie MMOG's ceo
- Indie MMOG's Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Indie MMOG's Rob C
- Indie MMOG's ceo
- Indie MMOG's Rob C
- Indie MMOG's ceo
- Indie MMOG's Rob C
- Indie MMOG's ceo
- Indie MMOG's Michael Sellers
- Indie MMOG's Michael Sellers
- Indie MMOG's ceo
- Indie MMOG's Matt Mihaly
- Indie MMOG's Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Indie MMOG's Matt Mihaly
- Indie MMOG's Amanda Walker
- Indie MMOG's Jon A. Lambert
- Indie MMOG's Zach Collins (Siege)
- Indie MMOG's Amanda Walker
- Indie MMOG's Derek Licciardi
- Indie MMOG's ceo
- Indie MMOG's Matt Mihaly
- Indie MMOG's Mike Rozak
- Indie MMOG's Scott Jennings
- Indie MMOG's Mike Rozak
- Indie MMOG's Tiago Carita
- Indie MMOG's Matt Mihaly
- Indie MMOG's Derek Licciardi
- Indie MMOG's Matt Mihaly
- Online vs Offline (was CoH and others) Mike Rozak
- Security and cheating in MMOs jmbroyer
- [NEWS] Artifact Entertainment going bankrupt? Luca Girardo
- MEDIA: Multiplayer Gaming's Quiet Revolution J C Lawrence
http://www.mindjack.com/feature/bodylanguage.html
--<cut>--
July 20, 2004
Today's avatars in massively multiplayer environments like Second Life
are giving their users the gift of expression and infusing games with
something more, soul.
The bleachers at Stage Four in Dore are always a good place to
avatar-watch, particularly during fashion-shows. Dressed as a tree-man,
I am sandwiched between a blue, demon-winged lad and an attractive woman
sporting a revealing red jump-suit. I take a moment to appreciate her
outfit, and realize she's giving me an appraising glance. Her gaze
sweeps from my bark-covered feet to leafy noggin. "Hi, Zero," she
says. I grin. Her blue eyes lock onto my yellow ones and she blinks a
couple of times, the corners of her mouth appearing to turn up
slightly. It takes a few heartbeats before I realize I've been
staring. With a flick of the mouse, I break eye-contact. I've blushed in
real life.
Virtual environments historically haven't given players the ability to
connect in such subtle ways. Although we know what a picture is worth,
it took years before graphics supplemented typed words as a means of
communication. Today's graphics and animation technologies are poised to
irrevocably change the face of human interaction in cyberspace, allowing
us not just to share, but to create wordless, realistic and powerful
moments.
Back in the dial-up days of the early 1980s, text-based multi-user
dimensions (MUDs) relied entirely on user-typed chat, descriptions, and
acronyms to construct characters and scenes within computer-moderated
worlds. One's quality of experience was entirely contingent on the
eloquence, style, and typing abilities of fellow participants. Gestures
such as waving and laughing would remain text-exclusive for years to
come, but the medium was substantially improved when participants began
inserting "emoticons" into their chats. Still in wide use today, these
text-cobbled representations of perpendicular human facial expressions
were the first purely visual method of interpersonal communication in
multiplayer games.
The explosion of emotes across MUDs, chat spaces, and message boards
heralded the development of graphically-enhanced multi-user
environments. "Lucasfilm's Habitat," launched in 1985 on the Commodore
64, was one of the first large-scale cyberspaces to make extensive use
of 2D graphics. Players were represented by animated characters, now
known commonly as "avatars," which could be controlled via a
joystick. Habitat's user-controlled gestures were limited but
significant. In these early days of computer graphics, users saw
something almost magical in even the simplest human shapes. At a panel
discussion held in June, 2004 at the California History Museum entitled
"Graphics- Then and Now," veteran game designer Jordan Mechner, recalled
his experiences playing the single-player Commodore 64 game
"Choplifter": "I was blown away by those little guys that
waved...because they were human, because of the emotion...I actually
felt guilty when I squashed them with my rotor blades..." [1]
In the 1990s, home computers were becoming viable for early forays into
more graphically-intense virtual realities. A slew of experimental 3D
worlds opened up new ways of thinking about how avatars might
interrelate. Microsoft was an early pioneer in facilitating human
expression in cyberspace. "V-Chat," launched in 1995, was an early
contender in the ballooning collection of larger-scope chat spaces that
encompassed both 2D and 3D graphics. V-Chat's avatars, although
primitive, were both customizable and capable of expressing a range of
emotional states. Microsoft's 2D "Comic Chat" built upon the facial
expressions Microsoft had tested with V-Chat. Comic Chat displayed text
in speech or thought bubbles, allowing users to express not only their
public, but "private" thoughts; AI-detection of user-typed acronyms
would cause one of the illustrated avatars to assume an appropriate
pose, such as waving if the user had typed "BRB" for "be right back."
While both the 2D Comic Chat and 3D V-Chat gave users more expressive
outlets, it was ultimately 3D space that would offer the greatest
potential for interpersonal dynamics. After analyzing logs from V-Chat
sessions, Microsoft Research found that "Overall, V-Chat users appear to
be using the 3D features of the program to reproduce the social
conventions of physical proxemics."[2] The opening up of chat to 3D
space allowed users to communicate nonverbally simply by establishing
location and facing relative to other participants.
Cyberspace pioneer, lecturer and author Bruce Damer knows firsthand that
position in a 3D world can speak volumes. His most memorable moment
occurred in 1999 after inviting real-life Apollo IX astronaut Rusty
Schweickart to visit a virtual lunar landscape in the versatile 3D
environment "ActiveWorlds." While a crowd of enthralled users looked on,
Schweickart helped a little girl moonwalk for herself, inadvertently
passing through her avatar in the process. Damer recalls the girl's
breathless reaction to this day: "'Oh my God, I have been touched by an
Apollo astronaut.'
"I said 'No, Julie, his avatar just passed through yours,' and she said
'No, you're wrong-I can feel it in my body, I'm shaking, I was touched
by this man, I'll never forget this.'"
Few mediums realized the creative use of "bodies" in cyberspace better
than video games. At the turn of the century, 3D game characters finally
possessed enough detail to display recognizable human gestures. Unreal
Tournament (Epic Games, 1999) featured a wide range of insulting
animated gestures, such as pelvic thrusts, enabling avatars to insult
one another from afar before locking in fierce combat. "Myth: The Wolf
Age," a multiplayer fantasy war game published in 2001 by Take Two
Interactive, allowed player-controlled troops to visibly and audibly
jeer each other into a combative lather. Innovative Mythers would even
go so far as to throw the limbs of fallen soldiers against their
enemies. While tactically-ineffective, these maneuvers stylishly
communicated intimidation, aggression, and humour between players.
As technology improved, the rich graphical detail of multiplayer games
expanded to "massively" multiplayer environments, most of which blended
social activity with group-oriented action. The least violent of these
offerings held communication in the highest esteem. "The Sims Online"
(Electronic Arts, 2002) was based on the hit seller The Sims and built
on the classic version's expressive characters by giving each user a
palette of hundreds of actions with which to control their
avatar. "There," launched the following year by There, Inc., gave even
more power to users through simple means to add emphasis to certain
emotes. Former Thereian "Cristiano Midnight" recounts his experiences:
"[S]ome interactions had their intensity changed by using one to three
apostrophes to invoke the gesture - 'love would produce a little heart,
while ''love would produce a flurry of hearts, and '''heart a bigger
heart...Overall, the gestures are nice, but after seeing custom
animations, I would be annoyed with canned animations all the time." [3]
"Second Life" (Linden Lab, 2003) one-upped other massively-multiuser
environments from the get-go, putting an inordinate amount of attention
and detail into how avatars would interact with each other and their
surrounds. Second Life's avatars were conceived in 2001 with plenty of
hidden potential, rolled out gradually after launch. Linden Lab avatar
customization and animation expert Richard Nelson recalls working with
CEO Philip Rosedale on the foundations of communication development. "We
spent a lot of time...making users' intentions visible to other people,
so we looked at things like where your avatar's head is pointing, how
your eyes move... how you could point to an object in the world and
refer to it to someone else. What we focused on was making the avatar
move realistically depending on what you're doing."
"We wanted to make the experience as immersive as we could," says Robin
Harper, Linden Lab's Senior VIP of Marketing and Community
Development. "Part of that is the ability to interact with another
individual in Second Life as if that person were physically standing
right in front of you."
Linden Lab carved out a bold new chapter in consumer virtual reality
during the summer of 2004 by taking Second Life's palette of animation
from finite to infinite. Already able to upload their own graphics,
sounds, and create their own 3D objects, Second Life users are now able
to define their own visual language by uploading custom animations
they've designed themselves. "Yesterday, we sat on the bleachers and
flapped our arms," wrote Shelle Barton, aka "Zana Feaver" on fan-blog
Second Language. "We flapped as hard as we could, but the concrete
wouldn't budge...Flapping arms in a group has a nice calming aspect that
is hard to explain to anyone..." [4]
Second Life's new canvas of creative communication was planned from day
one. "From the beginning," says Richard Nelson, "we said we'd go with a
standard file format, this motion capture BVH file format, we would use
a cheap, commonly available tool like Poser in house to create all our
animations." The character animation kit "Poser" is relatively
inexpensive, easy-to-learn software, employed not only by industry
professionals, but students and hobbyists. With a low barrier to entry,
and a wide support base, Second Life users have jumped enthusiastically
into the animation pool, playing with a growing repertoire of previously
unseen movement. The results have blazed through Second Life's social
scene.
"The dance clubs have taken full advantage of all different kinds of new
dance moves," says Harper. "There have been lots of parties and fun
being had sharing the animations they're creating."
"You're starting to see animation sections opening up in various
[user-created] stores where there used to be just clothing," Nelson
adds. "It's all branching out." With the advent of custom animation in
Second Life, no avatar has to walk the same, sit the same, or swim the
same. Performing arts are now not only possible, but completely viable,
from mime to stage acting, from burlesque to ballet. Arm-flapping and
other whimsical, nonverbal activities are blossoming across the virtual
landscape.
We naturally express ourselves through movement, bodily attitude, and
facial expressions. This primal and vital method of communication,
although universal in appeal, has historically been unrealized. The
early days of text-chatting were all about the literal. 2D graphics
changed our way of thinking about expression, offering the potential to
"show" rather than "tell." The 3D graphics found in games and virtual
reality formed a primordial ooze of potential and expanded into the
massively-multiplayer realm. Places such as The Sims Online and There
gave us a glimpse at things to come. The introduction of user-created
animation in Second Life has opened our eyes to a future cyberspace
where technology empowers rather than suppresses humanity.
Bio:
Tony Walsh is a Toronto-based freelance Jack of all Trades,
practitioner of the Arts, avid gamer and renegade digital
anthropologist. He keeps a near-daily journal at
clickableculture.com but lives at secretlair.com.
Footnotes:
1 - Graphics -Then and Now (06/18/04): Hosted by the California
History Museum and nVidia, GameSpot's Vince Broady moderates a panel
discussion titled "Graphics: Then & Now" which features Will Wright,
Jordan Mechner and Rand Miller as speakers.
2 - Smith, M., Farnham, S., & Drucker S. The Social Life of Small
Graphical Chat Spaces . In Proceedings of CHI 2000, The Hague,
Netherlands March 2000
3 - Cristiano Midnight, SLUniverse Proprietor, SLUniverse Forums,
July 9, 2004,
4 - Zana Feaver, Second Language blog, July 11, 2004.
--<cut>--
--
J C Lawrence
---------(*) Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas.
claw@kanga.nu He lived as a devil, eh?
http://www.kanga.nu/~claw/ Evil is a name of a foeman, as I live. - DarkGalaxy Tiago Carita
- (no subject) Ghilardi Filippo
- Community? Erik Bethke
- Community? Scott Jennings
- Community? Paul Schwanz
- Community? Brian Thyer
- Community? Sean Howard
- Community? Zach Collins (Siege)
- Community? (Level Grind) Brian Thyer
- Community? (Level Grind) Sean Howard
- Community? (Level Grind) Damion Schubert
- Community? (Level Grind) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Community? (Level Grind) Malcolm W. Tester II
- Community? (Level Grind) Victor Wachter
- Community? (Level Grind) Douglas Goodall
- Community? (Level Grind) Matt Mihaly
- Community? (Level Grind) Ghilardi Filippo
- Community? (Level Grind) HRose
- Community? (Level Grind) Douglas Goodall
- Community? (Level Grind) Ghilardi Filippo
- Community? (Level Grind) Samurai Cat!
- Scalabity in MMOG's Rafael Seabra
- Level Grind - alternative Brendan O'Brien
- Level Grind - alternative darksuit
- Level Grind - alternative Brendan O'Brien
- Level Grind - alternative cruise
- Level Grind - alternative Brendan O'Brien
- Level Grind - alternative cruise
- Level Grind - alternative Brendan O'Brien
- Level Grind - alternative Corey Cauble
- Level Grind - alternative Sean Howard
- Level Grind - alternative Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Better Combat cruise
- Better Combat Ghilardi Filippo
- Better Combat cruise
- Better Combat John Buehler
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat John Buehler
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat John Buehler
- Better Combat Amanda Walker
- Better Combat John Buehler
- Better Combat cruise
- Better Combat Michael Hartman
- Better Combat Yannick Jean
- Better Combat Koster, Raph
- Better Combat HRose
- Better Combat Michael Hartman
- Better Communication [was: Better Combat] cruise
- Better Communication [was: Better Combat] Michael Hartman
- Better Communication [was: Better Combat] cruise
- Better Communication [was: Better Combat] Koster, Raph
- Better Communication [was: Better Combat] Michael Hartman
- Better Combat Paul Schwanz
- Better Combat Douglas Goodall
- Better Combat Darkwolf
- Better Combat Dana V. Baldwin
- Better Combat Matt Mihaly
- Better Combat Koster, Raph
- Better Combat Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Better Combat HRose
- Better Combat Steven King
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat Paolo Piselli
- Better Combat Zach Collins (Siege)
- Better Combat Douglas Goodall
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat John Buehler
- Better Combat HRose
- Better Combat Koster, Raph
- Better Combat HRose
- Better Combat (keywords: downtime, socialization, UI) Eric Random
- Better Combat Mark 'Kamikaze' Hughes
- Better Combat Amanda Walker
- Better Combat Yannick Jean
- Better Combat Yannick Jean
- Better Combat Tom "cro" Gordon
- Better Combat Alex Arnon
- Better Combat Douglas Goodall
- Better Combat Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Better Combat Douglas Goodall
- Better Combat Douglas Goodall
- Better Combat Michael Hartman
- Better Combat Douglas Goodall
- Better Combat Michael Hartman
- Better Combat Dana V. Baldwin
- Better Combat Michael Hartman
- Better Combat Dana V. Baldwin
- Cognitively Interesting Combat (was Better Combat) Paolo Piselli
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Derek Larson
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Paolo Piselli
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Derek Larson
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Paolo Piselli
- Cognitively Interesting Combat cruise
- Cognitively Interesting Combat ceo
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Byron Ellacott
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Ben Hawes
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Ben Hawes
- Cognitively Interesting Combat KaVir@t-online.de (Richard Woolcock)
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Mike Rozak
- Cognitively Interesting Combat
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Zach Collins (Siege)
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Peter A. Harkins
- Cognitively Interesting Combat Paolo Piselli
- Cognitively Interesting Combat (was Better Combat) cruise
- Better Combat Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- [DGN] Designed Downtime (was Better Combat) David Kennerly
- [DGN] Designed Downtime (was Better Combat) Ryan Shwayder
- [DGN] Designed Downtime (was Better Combat) Ryan Shwayder
- [DGN] Designed Downtime (was Better Combat) Michael Hartman
- Better Combat Alex Arnon
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat John Buehler
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat John Buehler
- Long-Term Rewards [was: Better Combat] cruise
- Long-Term Rewards [was: Better Combat] John Buehler
- Long-Term Rewards [was: Better Combat] Matt Mihaly
- Long-Term Rewards [was: Better Combat] Otis Viles
- Long-Term Rewards [was: Better Combat] Ben Hawes
- Long-Term Rewards [was: Better Combat] John Buehler
- Deriving Self Esteem from one's MMORPG avatar [was: Long-Term Rewards] Michael Hartman
- Deriving Self Esteem from one's MMORPG avatar [was:Long-Term Rewards] Vladimir Cole
- Deriving Self Esteem from one's MMORPG avatar Corey Crawford
- Deriving Self Esteem from one's MMORPG avatar Byron Ellacott
- Deriving Self Esteem from one's MMORPG avatar Vladimir Cole
- Deriving Self Esteem from one's MMORPG avatar Mark 'Kamikaze' Hughes
- Deriving Self Esteem from one's MMORPG avatar Mark Mensch
- Better Combat Brendan O'Brien
- Better Combat Zach Collins (Siege)
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat Brendan O'Brien
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat cruise
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat Byron Ellacott
- Better Combat Craig Huber
- Better Combat Matt Mihaly
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat Byron Ellacott
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat Byron Ellacott
- Better Combat Paul Schwanz
- Better Combat Michael Hartman
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat Matt Mihaly
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat Eric Random
- Better Combat Eric Random
- Better Combat Corey Cauble
- Better Combat David Kennerly
- Better Combat Corey Cauble
- Better Combat Brendan O'Brien
- Better Combat (long) Paul Schwanz
- Better Combat (long) Douglas Goodall
- [DGN] Music (was: Better Combat (long)) Zach Collins (Siege)
- Better Combat (long) Koster, Raph
- Better Combat (long) Matthew Dobervich
- Better Combat (long) David Kennerly
- Better Combat (long) Koster, Raph
- Better Combat (long) David Kennerly
- Creating a Player Narrative Ben Hawes
- Creating a Player Narrative Douglas Goodall
- Creating a Player Narrative Tim Schubert
- Creating a Player Narrative Dana V. Baldwin
- Creating a Player Narrative John MacQueen
- Better Combat (long) Matt Monaghan
- Better Combat (long) David Kennerly
- Better Combat (long) Byron Ellacott
- Better Combat (long) J C Lawrence
- Better Combat (long) Freeman, Jeff
- Better Combat (long) cruise
- Better Combat (long) J C Lawrence
- Better Combat (long) Kwon J. Ekstrom
- Better Combat (long) Vincent Archer
- Better Combat (long) Matt Cruikshank
- Better Combat (long) Kwon J. Ekstrom
- Better Combat (long) Zach Collins (Siege)
- Better Combat (long) David Kennerly
- Better Combat (long) Zach Collins (Siege)
- Better Combat (long) Paul Schwanz
- Better Combat (long) David Kennerly
- Better Combat (long) Ben Hawes
- Better Combat Byron Ellacott
- Better Combat cruise
- Better Combat Brendan O'Brien
- Better Combat Dana V. Baldwin
- Better Combat Byron Ellacott
- Level Grind - alternative Sean Kelly
- Level Grind - alternative Mark 'Kamikaze' Hughes
- Level Grind - alternative Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Level Grind - alternative Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- [mudlist] MMO Communities (was [MUD-Dev] MMORPG Cancellations:Theskyisfalling?) Morgan Dodge
- New combat system Cameron Zemek
- MMO Communities Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- MMO Communities Randolf Richardson
- MMO Communities Ashley Penney
- MMO Communities Damion Schubert
- MMO Communities Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- MMO Communities Byron Ellacott
- MMO Communities Freeman, Jeff
- MMO Communities Byron Ellacott
- MMO Communities Dana V. Baldwin
- MMO Communities Byron Ellacott
- MMO Communities Freeman, Jeff
- MMO Communities Zach Collins (Siege)
- MMO Communities Brendan O'Brien
- MMO Communities Matt Mihaly
- MMO Communities Brendan O'Brien
- MMO Communities Brad McQuaid
- MMO Communities Matt Mihaly
- MMO Communities Brendan O'Brien
- MMO Communities Matt Mihaly
- MMO Communities J C Lawrence
- MMO Communities Freeman, Jeff
- MMO Communities Brad McQuaid
- MMO Communities Freeman, Jeff
- MMO Communities Matt Mihaly
- MMO Communities Mike Rozak
- MMO Communities Matt Mihaly
- MMO Communities Tom Hunter
- MMO Communities zgj22@drexel.edu
- MMO Communities Tom Hunter
- MMO Communities (keywords: commercial influence) Eric Random
- MMO Communities Brad McQuaid
- MMO Communities Michael Hartman
- MMO Communities Tom "cro" Gordon
- MMO Communities Paul Schwanz
- MMO Communities Michael Hartman
- MMO Communities Paul Schwanz
- MMO Communities Byron Ellacott
- MMO Communities HRose
- MMO Communities Freeman, Jeff
- MMO Communities Michael Sellers
- MMO Communities HRose
- MMO Communities Freeman, Jeff
- MMO Communities HRose
- MMO Communities Morgan Dodge
- MMO Communities Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- MMO Communities Freeman, Jeff
- [DGN] Socialization against the fun Eric Random
- MMO Communities Koster, Raph
- MMO Communities Michael Sellers
- MMO Communities Yannick Jean
- MMO Communities Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- What is an MMOG? (was: MMO Communities) ceo