Come into the Light Roderick!

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher presents an unimaginable death; being buried alive. The story is twisted and involves a mentally mad man, Roderick, burying his ill sister, Madeline, alive within the walls of the house after mistaking her as dead. The setting of the story really plays into the unfortunate tragedy that occurs. As a participant in the story, I would recreate the setting disregarding all the gloom and doom attributes Poe includes in the original story. Part of the mystery in the story, and perhaps even Roderick’s madness can be correlated to the dark and dreary essence manifested through the physical House of Usher. Had this story taken place in the middle of a bright spring day rather during the course of dark, stormy nights perhaps the events would have occurred differently. Maybe all Roderick needed was a kiss of sunlight on his forehead to cure the deep madness that had overcome his entire being!

Weather has a tendency to effect human emotions and in turn encourage how we act for that day. Consider the emotions that overcome you when waking up on a bright Saturday morning versus a dreary rainy Monday. Even in movies or other literature, psycho killers, zombies, or raging criminals are more inclined to act in light of their given persona in the comfort of the night. Tragedies traditionally occur during a storm just as the ideal wedding occurs on a clear sunny day. Roderick’s actions may not be directly blamed on the setting and the weather but the overall “feel” of the story would take on a new tone if placed in the middle of a sunny day in April in a beach house. The ultimate outcome may be altered entirely as a result of this slight setting modification.

"Let's Give them Something to Talk About"

The biggest problem SL faces as a communication technology is justifying itself as a valid means of communication to an extent far enough to gain equal or even greater popularity, respect, and use as a social network to that of modern competitors such as Facebook, Skype, or Twitter. Although Second Life has shown itself to be a more developed and thriving virtual world in comparison to Heritage Key, it still is not well established in the real world of technology users.

The credibility of virtual worlds is not yet known by the mass public, especially among the instant message- texting- Facebook generation, which I am apart of. I had to explain the existence of Second Life to every friend I mentioned it to because they didn't have any knowledge of it. This shows a serious disconnect between virtual worlds and the real world. Word of mouth is not nearly enough to promote its existence and potential as an educational and communication technology.

Before Linden Lab even begins to perfect the various communication features such as live voice, note sharing, and instant messaging, it must first target the audience that presents the most users- young people! SL needs the people who utilize multiple forms of communication because they can best appreciate the visual and communal innovation of Second Life.

Heritage Key, Far from a Perfect World..

Fierce has taken form in the developing virtual world of Heritage Key under the name Fierce Heritage. Perhaps Second Life has made me look at virtual worlds through a "diva" point of view. Second Life instilled a certain standard for virtual worlds which I measured Heritage Key upon- no comparison! Heritage Key was not only difficult to load, it was difficult to function in. After countless entry denials on the start up page, I finally gained access into Heritage Key. At first my avatar appeared wearing what i assumed to be traditional "newbie" clothing, green pants and a white shirt. Less than 20 seconds later Fierce began to metamorphose into an avatar with rainbow leprosy!



Exploration was hindered by lagging and difficulties with the avatar maintaining one appearance. The "skin" was constantly recreating itself with more colors and random patterns on the avatar. The transition into Heritage Key was neither smooth or easy but rather frustrating and painful on the eyes. Even simple commands like walking resulted in the wrong action; my avatar was gliding as if she had on ice skates. At one point the floor acted as quick sand, sucking up and hiding half of Fierce's entire body while Iggy, my teacher's avatar, stood on top of the floor with his whole body visible.


When I picked the "sit" command my avatar ended up like this..



The initial glitches in HK hindered my ability to explore and embrace it to any measurable degree as SL. How can Fierce exist in a world where basic commands like sitting, walking, or simply maintaining "skin" continuously malfunctions? Experiencing so many malfunctions during the first few minutes reveals the extreme immaturity of HK. The welcome area of Heritage Key essentially made me want to leave the entire world. I'm sure Heritage Key has a lot of valuable educational sources, however I don't know if I have the patience to overcome all the annoying technicality failures blocking my ability to benefit from those sources.