Ushering in the House of Usher in Second Life

The House of Usher is an immersing addition to the educational component of Second Life. Fierce Soulstar and Thumper Starsider visited the house together in order to recreate the storyline omitting the tragic deaths of both Roderick and Madeline at the end. Although the simulation presented an opportunity to create an alternate ending, the avatars portrayed the characters of Madeline and Roderick according to the description outlined by Poe. Fierce and Thumper Starsider had to play roles in the context of Poe’s story. We dressed the part , courtesy of freebies in the Richmond Island Usher portal.



My plan to save Roderick’s life and sanity was simply involved convincing him to go outside the house. In the original story the narrator fails to present the outdoor option as a way to cure Roderick’s untitled illness. Basing my plan on the cliche idea that a person is a product of their environment I concluded a drastic change of environment could cause a drastic change in a person. In this case, a major part of Roderick’s problem, the illness, was the dreary environment surrounding him and all the pressures of function within it. As the friend summoned by Roderick, Fierce took a different approach than the friend presented by Poe in the original text. She approached him in high spirits and maintained a positive outlook regardless to how negative or dreadful Roderick made his situation seem. Even when dealing with Madeline’s “woe is me” type attitude, Fierce never showed signs of pity for the situation. Essentially my strategy was to recreate the “friend” character as a person who did not give into their gloom or entertain their negativity.

I tried to explore the house for clues explaining the cause of Roderick and Madeline’s madness. When in the sitting area I found an entry from Roderick’s journal from Oct. 31, 1847. Oddly enough the entry was written the same day as Samhain, a pagan holiday during which time dead ancestors visited living loved ones. The entry also described Madeline’s frequent sleep walking and how he feared she would eventually bring harm to herself. The final line of the entry said, “I must ask the servants to remove the ladder that leads to the attic from her room.” Previously to discovering the journal Roderick expressed how he felt the presence of his mother within the house. The feeling was distracting to him and often kept him from sleeping. His deep concern for Madeline’s sleep walking also made sleeping difficult. I concluded that the extreme lost of sleep along with constant worry for Madeline’s well being and fear of his deceased mother’s presence was the most pressing issue on Roderick’s health more than a physical illness. His plan to remove the latter in Madeline’s room made it seem like the latter imposed some type of danger. Using that as a clue, I ventured up the latter while in Madeline’s room. Once I climbed up the latter, I found myself in a very large open room with a skeleton and many stacked boxes.



Near the skeleton was another note, a poem by Roderick to his mother titled “Visit of the Dead”. The poem encouraged falling victim to the worry, depression, and fear in order to attain solace in death. The fact that it was located by a skeleton hinted that perhaps the skeleton was his mother's. If that was the truth, then his constant feeling of her presence is justifiable because her remains were resting in the upper chamber of the house. The presence of the letter by the skeleton added to the complexity of discovering the root of Ushers madness. Figuring out how the poem ended up by the skeleton might be more valuable then trying to decode its meaning. The House did not offer enough evidence or clues to explain the presence of the poem so I assumed Roderick put it there himself. If that was the case, then his madness might be contributed to the shock of seeing a skeleton in his own house and not having the sanity to remove it.

The House of Usher was the first time I experienced a beneficial educational simulation in Second Life. Details like the rats and ravens living within the house really played into Poe's gloomy theme and made the simulation more realistic. The distinct fashion of the time period was portrayed vividly in the costumes (Kudos to the designer!). As simple as it sounds, the whole visit was fun, believable, and captivating. I found myself reacting to the sudden screams and surprise appearances of Madeline just as if it were happening outside of my computer screen.



I can't identify any drastic changes that would make it better because I haven't had another immersive experience that surpassed it. Considering all the terrible glitches in Heritage Key's King Tut exhibit, The House of Usher already is at an advantage by providing for a smooth experience without the distractions of technical difficulties. Filling the house with furniture and other items would make the house seem more broken in and old. Making the rats actually scurry rather than glide is another minor detail to work on. While I was in the attic above Madeline's room that rats appeared to be ice skating rather than using all four little legs which I figured was matter of scripting. Even in its early stages the Usher experience was effective in allowing for creativity and flexibility to the story. The most important thing Usher needs now is time to perfect and enhance the base it has already created.

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.

Gettin' Down in Burning Life

Attending Burning Life was a virtual blast! I've never had so much fun staring at a computer screen. Technical difficulties installing the latest version of SL almost prevented me from attending my schedule events. Although I missed the Chang High Trinity Sisters Fireshow of Light, Life and Love I made it to the "DJ Iknow Party." I was thankful to finally see SL residents who looked much more mature and accustomed to SL than myself. The avatar dancing was very impressive. There were multiple floating balls which offered a wide variation of dance styles for the avatar to wear. I picked "random" just to see what Fierce would do naturally; she really had some moves! I also learned how to partner dance in SL with my friend Jozi. The DJ took requests which was surprising. After playing a series of rock tunes I requested a hip hop song called "Stanky Leg" just to see if he would play it. He gave Jozi and Fierce a shout out for making the request and played the song. The other avatars at the party danced along unchanged by the drastic genre change of the music.



Maybe it's just me, but it seems as though avatars in SL have a scandalous quality about them. Pictured above are Fierce and Jozi dancing to "Stanky Leg". When we selected the "random" style of partner dancing and the avatars automatically began grinding on each other. I observed a similar sexual undertone in many of the other avatars mannerisms and dancing. Nevertheless, I fulfilled my dance curiosity by watching the avatars break it down at the dance party.

Once I had enough of the Fierce's erotic dance technique, I explored other areas of the desert. Many of the structures were random and didn't appear to have any other purpose than to be visually appealing. Like this for instance..


I also ran into Taiko drums. This was ironic because I recently studied Taiko drumming and had the chance to play one in First Life. Fierce was awarded the same opportunity in Second Life, courtesy of the Burning Life festivities.





Pictured below, Fierce boldly sits at the base of a volcano. With each new adventure her actions continue to be manifestations of her name!

Sorry to Decline but I have Plans.. in Second Life!

A big concern and question by myself and many of my other English 103 classmates in regards to Second Life is where are all the people? Luckily, the next assignment offers the chance to encounter and socialize with the residents of Second Life. After browsing through a variety of activities scheduled for Oct. 17 in SL I decided to attend two events hosted through the Burning Life festival . In the process of making this decision I learned a fun and useful fact: Second Life operates on SLT- Second Life Time which is equivalent to Pacific time in First Life.

I plan to attend the Chang High Trinity Sisters Fireshow of Light, Life, and Love event as well as the "Pop/Soft Rock DJ Iknow Tomorrow" party in the desert of SL. I'm curious to see what virtual fireworks will look and sound like. The firework show is also the "welcome" event of the festival so I predict Fierce Soulstar will get much needed resident social experience there. The party in the desert is being hosted by Miss Bridget's Dance School. As a true lover of the art of dance this caught my eye because I wasn't aware dance schools existed in SL. I'm excited to get information about it; Fierce Soulstar would look great in virtual point shoes! Plus, I would love to see how "partying" appears virtually and determine if the virtual fun my avatar experience actually is enjoyable to me too.

Jozi Oakleaf will be accompanying me at these events; he's fierce enough to role with a soulstar. For the first time ever, I will have to decline any First Life social invitations on Oct. 7 between 3-5 pm because I have virtual engagements to attend instead!

Fierce in the Sistine Chapel

The adventures of Fierce Soulstar continued in Second Life when a fellow classmate explained his entrance into the "Uncanny Valley" after a trip to Vassar Island's re-creation of the Sistine Chapel. He really encouraged visiting the Sistine Chapel to see just how "real" virtual reality can become. Once Fierce Soulstar entered the chapel, I understood why my fellow classmate entered the "Uncanny Valley" of SL so quickly. I remember reading about how Michelangelo slaved at perfecting the images that grace the walls of the chapel, painting the ceiling with paint dripping into his eyes, while I was in high school. I never imagined I'd have the chance to visit it, even if it was enabled through a virtual world. The paintings were truly stunning. Soulstar's ability to fly helped enhance the visit, allowing for a view one ordinarily couldn't get unless the real Sistine Chapel provides courtesy manlifts for curious visitors.


The virtual chapel also gave information about each section of images; by clicking on an area of images, an information bubble appeared giving the title of the area or name of a particular saint.
Below, Fierce Soulstar stands in between Anacletus and St. Alexander I.




The benefits of flying came in handy when I wanted to get the "up close and personal" view of Michelangelo's work.



The above image features God Giving Life to Adam. I googled the actual image and compared that to my saved pictures from SL. I was shocked at the vivid resemblance between the two. This experience was yet again proof of the enriched learning opportunity presented through Second Life.