So what's it feel like for *you*?

I called it "underwater lucid dreaming", being in SL... but you know, that's just me.

How about for *you*?

I can tell you that for me it has been very nerve racking. As you see I have not got to log in yet. I tried two different Accounts and never recieved an activation email. I think it was my email provider that blocked them for some reason. Thanks to hotmail I was able to get this account to activate and account is ready today. Only one problem.............IT'S
NOT 12:00 yet ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHH.. So I guess I will
be on later today then. Until then I need to go pop some
ANTIACIDS or something...

For me, it feels like the first time the use of the word "avatar" is really justified.

I had the "holy cats!" moment around a month ago, it was along the lines of "Holy Cats! I am standing here, talking to these people, I'm up here in the frozen north, one of them is in the southern US, another is on the west coast, and another is somewhere in Europe. But that doesn't matter we all met "here" and we're just standing around talking."

Stepping into my creation. Taking someone by the hand of their virtual existance and sharing something unique and fun. Melting into my pod of relaxation.


and at times


Stressing out over what to wear! Will my uzi run out of bullets soon?







Happiness is knowing I never have to dust my SL house.

Magic

My first few days in SL I just flew around because it was like on of those great flying dreams you have as a child.

And if anyone in RL saw me I was stuck in front of my computer with my mouth hung open in awe.

fen-

Tetris....

I go around the real world looking at objects and deconstructing them into SL building shapes.

Digital wonderland

Everything, nothing.

I share a lot of Wednesdays thoughts but then that happens with frequency.

Its like a puzzle for me in a lot of ways. I also spend off times looking at and thinking about things and how they would translate. I say everything / nothing because you can do whatever you want but nothing exists really except the other players. That's sometimes difficult to explain to some (even computer saavy) people too. There's a thread Wedsday (?) started about trying to explain to someone he couldnt do something irl because he had to teach a class inworld. It's a good read.

It literally is like dreaming because almost everything i can think of creating/doing i can, Its so great. My first day where you had to stand on that small platform, and then fly over to where the last step was, it really was wonderful hehe. I was like 'wow!'. Now, however, i can't seem to get away from Sl lol..

I should change my description to 'sweetly addicted'

So it's YOU!!! *Adjusts tinfoil hat*

For me it's more of a place to find people with a like mindset.

I find it very hard, in RL, to converse with people my age (18, in high school). They either decide that I'm not worth talking to or I'm just not... making sense to them. Here I can make reference to a semi-obscure novel (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) and know that someone around me will know what I'm talking about. Several days ago, Lee Linden made reference to Eddie Izzard, and until now, I'd only met one other person who even knew who he was. I can reference cartoons, books, televison shows, and plays, and feel assured in the fact that SOMEONE will see the connection. I can talk philosophy and know someone will see my point of view. I've found a better connection with people that live all around the world, who are several years older than me, than I have with any of my peers. I feel a complete freedom of expression, and I love it!

heh Eddie Izzard.
Why is it so many people dont "get" him?
He is SO dang FUNNY!

I likee Eddie Izzard's work, and the answer is 42 (reference to Hitchiker's Guide)

For me, it's like walking into a completely different existence... a place where practically anything and everything is possible. It's almost like being a group of gods and goddesses, being able to craft and shape the world in any way we see fit.

I can never refer to SL as a game anymore, because for me it's much more than that... it's an experience.

Bye bye for now,
Alexis

1st impression: (Back in july before there was much of a "social" aspect) Its a gigantic canvas, and they gave everyone a paintbrush.

Then I started to meet people, and interact with the other painters. THis is when my jaw started to hit the floor. Meeting bUTTONpUSHER Jones not long after they had added health to the system - and spending half the night dropping giant wooden blocks on each others heads. Rolling on the floor laughing (literally, I was out of work, and didn't have any furniture at the time (just cable internet - priorities, huh)). Watching Flyk Escher build, creating things so amazing that even 7 months later, people still ahven't caught up to her.

Then we went to beta. And they wiped the canvas clean on us. Instead of painting around others, painting with them. Creating the island on welsh. Working with these other people, actually getting to know them, signing on every day looking forward to hanging out with them.

It becomes so real - the fact that its on my tiny monitor, a world of triangles and fancy light emulation becomes irrelivant when you start to get to know the people you are "playing" with.

A dream, maybe - but a shared dream. One you know you are sharing.

I was awe struck when I first logged into SL. I immediatly imagined a future version of SL being totally VR 3D.

Or something like the matrix where we plug in to the computer and experience SL as we see RL.

Imagine the concept. But for now a 3D world on a 2D monitor is just fine for the time being. As I get into it everytime I log in RL seems to fade out and I feel "IN" world. (this could breed complications ya think?)

I hope my RL situations will afford me the ability to subscribe to SL as it goes gold, cuz I'll definatly be bored if I can't.

I have never had such a game/experience in any piece of software that grabs my attn. and holds it like SL does.

It's different things to me at different times of the experience. The first time I met someone was amazing. Trying to find land to build a house on is frustrating. Lag time is aggrivating but on the whole it is one fantastic world!

Hmmm. Frustrating. Enlightening. Exhilerating. Sorrowful. Prideful. Insane.

Hmmm.

Sounds a lot like the First Life.

Really, it's been very interesting watching it grow and frustrating with the little issues like my account never gets a stipend (it says that my next stipend is in September of 2002!) and things like that. But I think there's a lot of potential here and it "feels" like stepping off into a quagmire of altered reality and possible futures.

I've been making digital art for many years, and I find satisfaction in a lot of the stuff I've done, but I'm almost more attached to what I've made in SL. To me it's like being able to create art, and then hang out inside it with other people. It's art that I can live inside.

The next step to the holodeck. *Invests in full-body VR suits*

It was a real revelation for me. I have read sci-fi stories about people walking around in VR landscapes since I was five feet tall, and... there it was! Right in front of me! Then I got to thinking about where this technology would be in five years. In ten. I'm picturing those Olympus LCD glasses wrapped around my head, with a Power Glove-type device on each hand, each one programmed to recognize a plethora of gestures. A virtual keyboard that can pop up, so I don't have to take off the glasses to look at my real one. That kind of thing. (I know that technology is available NOW, but integrating it with SL is another question.)

I figure, one or two generations down the road (i.e. a year or two), we'll have:

1. Subtractive geometry. This solids-only stuff is okay but not having subtractive brushes is a real drag. It makes doors and windows a real chore, especially if they are not made out of perfect 90-degree angles, and costs extra money in object taxes. I suppose it's a speed issue, but in a couple years I have no doubt that it won't be a concern.
   
2. Complex lighting and shadows. Again, I think CPUs and graphics cards will be beefy enough to do this real-time and have it look absolutely fantastic.
   
3. Roads and freeways. I can't drive 100MPH in real life without putting a lot at risk, but in Second Life it would be a lot of fun!
   
4. Airports. I want to fly jets.
   
5. Airfoil physics. I want the jet to act like a jet.
   
6. Water zones. I want a pool out back without having to build at sea level.
   
7. Watery water. I want to SWIM!
   
8. Much more open land. High population density leads to frayed nerves and general A-holery. In the future, SLers will not be as likely to have their view ruined because someone just HAD to build a junk heap next to their house or place of business.
   
9. A better economy and more things to do. Lots of public works projects to get a real infrastructure (roads, bridges, marinas, airports, town halls and other meeting places, etc) going. In the private sector, there will be a better intersection between supply (labor) and demand. I'd love to see a couple full-scale shopping malls here and there.
   [/list=1]If anything convinces me to upgrade my CPU/video card, it will be Second Life. I can hardly wait to see where this goes!

Hamlet, I read your blurb about underwater lucid dreaming several weeks ago when it was posted and the phrase has stuck with me ever since as the perfect way to describe the SL experience. While the "underwater" part is something that I think is unique to SL, the "lucid dreaming" part actually works for describing the experience of moving through other MMOG's.

Psychologist John Suler also makes a direct connection between the experience of virtual worlds and the dream state. (although he references The Palace - a 2D predecessor to SL) Here's the URL for anyone interested:

"Cyberspace as Dream World"
http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/cybdream.html

I think the lucid dreaming metaphor works particularly well for SL but I'm still trying to figure out exactly why. The ability to fly is a big part of it. I also think the look and feel of SL is so much like the Surrealist paintings of the early 20th Century it's remarkable. And those were direct references to dreams and the dream state. That may explain why I feel like I'm flying through a Dali or a Magritte painting whenever I'm in SL.

Anyway, thanks for a great metaphor.