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7/24/2019 Creating Second Lives - Ch 9 - The Event of Space - OCR
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7/24/2019 Creating Second Lives - Ch 9 - The Event of Space - OCR
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First publis
hc
d 2
01
1
h) Romlc:d gc
270
f>.'ladiso
n Ncw York,
NY
1
0016
Simuhaneousl)' >uhlishc
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Contents
is t o{Figures aud Tables
Acknowledgemen s
lnrtoductiorl
ASTRIO ENSS
LJ
N ANO EBEN
MUSE
P RT
Crearing Second Communities
Uberate )'OurAvatar:
Th
e R
evolution
Wi ll lle
Socially
Networked
1.1\Ul S
J10N
ANO
C HARL
OTl
'
GOULO
2 An Imagined Communicy of Avatars? A Tbeo r
etic a
1
lnterrogation of
Second Li(enl as
Nation
through the
Leos of Bcnedicr
Andcrson s lrnagincd
Communiriett
KE
VIN .\
11GU
J LS
HERMA
N
3
Programming Pro
cesses:
Controlliug
Se cond Lives
ELI Z
A8 ET
H
BURG ESS
P RT
Seco
nd
M
nt
ities
4 Embodiment and Gender ldentity in Virtual World:
Recon6guring Our 'Volatile Bodies'
SO N IA f l2.f.K
WAS
ILEWSKA
vii
i x
15
32
54
7
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9
The
Event
of
Space
Defining Place in a Virtual Landscape
benMuse
INTRODUCTION: SI ACE ANO
PLACE
Rut wh:tt is special about place is precisdy th :u
thc unnvoidablc: challc:-nge of negoriating a herc
an
d now (itsdf draw
ing
on
:1 hisrory :1nd a gcogr:tphy of thcns
;1n
d thcrcs); nnd :1 ncgo
ti
:uion whidt musr
cake place wi
th
in and
between
both human nnd
nonhunwn . This in no
W n)
denies a stnse of wonder . . .
Oorcen
Massey (2005: 14
0)
Space and phH..:t: are fundamental to tht txperience
of inttrac..:t iv
e flction,
vi rtual rea
li
ties, and computer gamts. In casual spetch, both these terms
are used a
lm
ost interchangeab
l)
.
Yet,
as
Yi-Fu
Tuan poinu
out
the> con-
note distinct e-xperiences.
Space and
p
lac e are famili
ar
words denoting common experiences.
We
l i
ve in space
Th
ere is no space for anorher building oo rhe lo1
Th
e
Grear
Pla
ins look spaclous. Place is secu riry space is freedom: we are
arrached
to
tite one and long for rhe orher
Th
ere is no place like home.
What is home? Iris rhe old homesread, rhe old neighbourhood, home
town
or
rnorherland. Geographers srudy places. Planners
would
ke ro
evoke a
se
nse o f place . (Tuan 1977: 3)
Tuan
seems
ro
suggesr
rhat space is rhe larger ma terial wirh in which place
can exist. An archir
ec
r crear
es
pl
ace
out of space b> using walls ro cr
ea
re a
void where none existed before
hi
s bo rders. A child crea res a place om of
sp ce by hiding b
eh
ind rhe so fa re
ad
ing a book. An i ta Lei
rfall tak
es the
poi m furt her,
argu
ing that place
can
never exist independent ly o f its spatial
origin (quoted in Aarse
th
2007
: 44). Plac
e,
she argues, is fun
dame
nta lly
spatial an d visual; ir is
des
crlbed as though ir were carved
(H
it of space.
Landscape anisrs working with paint and canvas use the space of the
fr
ame
compose a la ndscape: effectively creating an ideo logical place
out of space .
The
painter or archirect of a
vinua
l wor
ld
, on the o ther
7/24/2019 Creating Second Lives - Ch 9 - The Event of Space - OCR
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The Eve o Space
191
hand, has no framt to work with wh tn crt'a
cing
a place.
Thc
auditn
ct
fo r
virtual worlds (in games or other cnvironmtn ts) tffectively crawls through
the framc: and cxplorc:s the world
in
any
mannn
thty see ht,
fr
om any
p
aspt
ctlvc: and to any pur
post
. The
te n
n 'effecti vely, is usc-d with caution
e, bt
c
au
se
th
e viewer
of
v
ir t
ual
htndscapes
is always
th
c: subjt
ct of
an illusion of dimtnsionality, of d
tep
s
pact
which dots not exist.
lt is this
dfec
t of space and place IVh ich th is chapttr will
tr
y to explore.
The assumprions with in traditional di
sco
urst in visual art regarding per-
specrive, frame, fore, mi ddle-, and background no longer work as they
once did, beca use the viewer can move rh rough the landscape. The logic and
effect
of
th is experience may be discussed in terms of the gra
phic
technol
ogy
be-
h ind ir, bu c l'h iS:
p
rovides
a limired sour( t
of
de b
ate tha t
is
cons
tal\rly
pushed out of date as graphic techuology deve lops. Th is cha pter cousiders
a spatialtempo
ra
l model thar builds space a nd place out
o
experience and
design. lt ex plores the possibility tha:, like the physical space described by
Massey earlier, space of a virtual wo rld is crealed by evems, rarh er rh a n
being merely a
lo
car ion where evenrs occur.
AURALSPACE
One way to avoid the issue of the spati alisat ion of space a nd place is 1 shu t
our eyes and listen, fo llowing the le< d of R. Murray
Sc
ha fer in his st udy of
au ral landscapes, The Souudscape. Sch< fer attem pts to class ify the pHts
of che environm em created by sound and identifies three aspects
of
what
he efers co as che 'soundscape: key note sounds
1
soundmarks, and so
und
signa ls. He rhe concepr o f che key note from musical comp osition:
Key note is a musical term; it is the note rh ar identifies the key
or
to na l
iry
of
a pa rticular composition. lt is the a nchor
or fu
ndamental tone
and a l
rh
o
ugh
the marerial may modul
ar
e around ir, o
fr
en obscuring irs
imp on a nce, it is in eference to
ch
is poim rhat everything else takes on
its special meaning. ($chafer '1994: 9)
Sound mark and sound signa) are cacegories of sound which dema cate
pl
aces. Sc hafer describes a soundma rk (a reference ro the more tradirional ,
and rypica lly visual, landma rk} as sound that gives a place irs unique
idemity. The sou nd may be unique co that place, but is more likely to be
uniq ue in irs rehn ion ro o
th
er sou
nd
s a
nd
ro the lisrener. The sound o f a
village bel l ringing o m
ch
e hou r migh: be a so u nd nt ark, indic
ar
ing for so me
trav
ele
r he or she has arrived home.
The second demarcat ion sound is che sound signal; less emorive rh an
the sou ndmark, sound
si
gna has a speciflc message to
convey-a
police
wh
isrle, for in
sr
ance, ora teacher's innruction. Clea
rly
rhese
tw
o caregories
a1e denned on
ly
indistinctly. The 1ioging bel l sig
na
ls time; t he teacher
s
7/24/2019 Creating Second Lives - Ch 9 - The Event of Space - OCR
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192 Eben use
in
struct
io n dtnotes a l
oca
r i
on.
Schafer
furth
er dis
tin
guishes
thcm by
s
tn:s s
-
ing that a soundma rk is a 'cornmunity sound & speciaJiy rcgarded or
notked by tht ptoplt in t hat community' (274); it is essentially tmodvt
in charactc:r. Sound signals, in contrast,
an:
' listened to consciously' (275)
anU ha
v
a :>ttong
ognitivc dcmcn
l. 1 owcv-n he to
tvoup thcm
rogetha in opposition ro keynore. He rd ates the tenns ro the visual equiv
a-
lents of figur and background, defining figur as tht
so
undm
ar
k
or so
und
signa , background as the keynote. The same sound may be a keynote, a
soundmark ora sound signal, depending on tht context and the lisrene
r.
\
f herher a
so
und
is
figure
or
ground has
pa rr
ly ro do wirh acculcura-
tion . . . , partly w
it
h the individual's srate
of
mind . . . , and par
rly
wlrh
che in
d
iv
idual's relacion
ro
the
field
. . . . Ir has noching ro do with
rh
e
physical dimnsions
o
the sound. (Sc haer 1994: 152)
Jn
ch
e acousric envlr
on
menr,
sou
nds shift berween
so
u n
dmar
ks a nd sound sig
nals
as
rh eir cogn iri
ve
and
en
lO
t ive loads shifc Sound
ma
rks are more highly
emotive, while sound signals are cognitive. This subjective aspecr means
ch
ey
n1ust also
sh
ifr according ro the lisrener (the walker,
rhe
ka
ya
ker, and so on).
lr
is
rhe rela
ri
on berween
sounds and
lisreners rhac d
efi
ne
ch
e
and
sig
nals. For
ch
e
purpose of
rhis ro
account
for rhis murab il it)', borh
marks and signals wi
ll
be subsumed ioto a
c:Hegory
of placema rk. This will
also expand its use beyond the aural./>. placemark may be a sou nd, but ir may
as
likel)' be a visi
bl
e such a tree,
diff, ora
no trespassing sign.
A 'LACE: IUVER
W LK
As
1
walk down a
dve
1b
an
k,
1
ide:uify a
numb
el' o f places- sunlic spots,
pl
ac
es wirh a 1ock to sit
on,
and
t
pla
ce
wi
ch
a view of
[h
e rapids. T
hey
are spatially delimired and d
efi
ned by rhe bo,ders rhat arise a long
rh
e
river. \Xfhen 1close m
yeyes
and
ch
e cha nge is subtle (a
pan
from the
in
creased danger of walking into :he d ver). T he sound
of
r unning water
is a conscant
(a
keynot
e)
.
Ar some
poinrs rhe sound becomes suong
er
as
che rapids rise to denote sections of
rhe rive
r (sou ndmarks). For paddlers
(who a lso creare sou ndmarks as rhey paddle or shout), rhe sound
of
r
ap
id
s is more likely to be a sound si,gna l, warning
of
faster o r rockier warer
Ocher sounds are even more highly cogn irively loaded, as in a
sudden wh istle
ora
call of 'w:uch our ' as l nearl srep off rhe bank and
inro rhe
In a soundscape rhe disrinction berween s
pa
ce and place quickly dissolves
int
o 'ghosclier
dem
a
rca
tion
s
(ro
borrow
a phrase f
ro
m
Wa
llace Scevens's
poem 'The Ideal of Order at Key Wel ' (1990:
"128)).
Sounds are ra rel)' cut
off the
way
visuals a re, so m
oving
from pla
ce ro
p la
ce
is a gradual c
han
ge.
7/24/2019 Creating Second Lives - Ch 9 - The Event of Space - OCR
7/21
heEvento pnce
193
As 1 walk down
rh
c r
ivcrbank
. 1
do
not cross clearly
dcm
a
rc
a
rc
d
au
ra)
borders; sound fadcs oway gradua lly instcad of stopping suddenly. l
cann
ot
cross a
wa ll
of sound. Vlsua
lly,
in
concrast,
1constand)
movc
from o
nc
vis -
ibly dcm arca tcd l
oca
t
io
n
ro anothcr;
[ litcr:tHy cross from onc sidc of a wall
to anothcr, and thc visual landma rk 1narks out thc tcrritory.
l I vicw my dvcrbank from thc
vautagc
of a moving car ora hillsidc ,
these visible dcmarcations of place may blur and bknd togcther. Thc visible
distinc
ti
ons disso
lv
t as
di
dthc aura l
oncs.
1continuc, howtvcr. to note rhc clc
ar
dc m
arca
ri
on
of
visblc
ph 1c
7/24/2019 Creating Second Lives - Ch 9 - The Event of Space - OCR
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The Event
o
Space
195
sirn
ilarity ro thos( which also
use
th
t
Sdmitar game eng
in
L such as
Assassin s Creed
(Ubisoft 2007). 1t is a style defincd by colour
paktt
e,
u
se of
tc:xtu r
c
and paint
tt-chniqu
e, an d by st
ylc:
of drawing
fo
r
charac tns
an
d locations. This visual style
rem
a
ins
consistent
thr
o
ugh
om the game,
aldougl dc
pa
l u
o.Hll.l
Li glting dfc..,l:, may dnlllg
7/24/2019 Creating Second Lives - Ch 9 - The Event of Space - OCR
9/21
196
b nMuse
Th t
naturc of space is no t
re \
ea
kd in
th
is stpa
ra
tion, and t
ht
result-
in
g
prod
uct, wh
ilt fab
rica
ting
a s
pa
tia l rc preSt lltat ion , in uses
th
t
rtduction as a means to achitvc: tht
obje
< :t of ganlt play, since tht dif-
feren(.;e between tht spatia l rtprest
nt
ation and real spa
c.:
is
what
ma kes
ga
me
pla
y-b)
-automatic-rule possi
ble
. In real space, there would be no
automatic ru les, only socia l ru l
es
and
ph
ysica l laws. (Aarseth 2001:
45
Ir may be worth query ing this definirion of space (both real and virtual).
Aarseth u
ses
the a lready classic game
ll
ys
l
(Miller and Mi
ll
er
1993)
to posit
that the util itar ian basis for game sp
ace
means it ca nn
ot be
a
real
place.
The- landscap e in .Myrh , lor all its
nd s
compute-r
game landscapes,
me
rely looks like a landscape,
bu
t is rea
ll
y a t hree-
d
im
ensional
sc
heme carefully designed ro offer a balanced challenge ro
the player. (Aar
se
th 2007: 168)
1 wou
ld
argue that both
th
e f
or
m of the landscape a
nd
its
or
ig
in
are of
less
si
gni 6cance t
han
Olll. m
ed
ia{ed ex per ience
of
ic Presence is frequendy
described as the
ex
perience of being there
(Goff
man
197
4; Pinchbeck and
Stevens 2005; l.ombrd
nd
Ditton 1997; Heerer 1
992;
jacobson 2
2;
Rettie 2 4, Seegert 2009). Following Rettie s lead, we ca n
se
Goffman's
(1974) cheory of framin g ro refi ne th is defin i on fu rther:
lf presen
ce
is being ch ere , involvemem rehn
es
ro being and rhe frame
exphtins wh ac is m
ea nc
by chere, ir de
fin es
rhe siruacion or environ
me
ne.
The rer m involvemem is noc t1sed in
rh
e sense
of
imeresc in the
co
nc
e
nc
of
an exper ience, but ro descl ibe ch e allocation of anent ion.
F
or
ex
am
ple, rhe ex
pe
l i
en
ce
of pr
ese
n
ce
in a
th
earrical
pe
l forman
ce
m
ea
ns that one is f
oc
u
se
d on an experien
ce
rh
ar
is fram
ed as
be i
ng
a
play. \ fhe n som
eo
ne is e
ng
rossed in a situ:1tion or exper ien
ce
ch ey
feel
present; hames define the natu re of this presence. (Rettie 2004)
P
rese
nce chusbecom
es
a process in
wh
ich rhoughc and f
ee
ling act cogerhe
to
creare
a
se
n
se
of pl
ac
e (assuming M
assey s [2
5) spar iotemporal deti
nirion of
pla
ce).
Th is
sense
o
presence or p
la
ce m
ay
arise when
li
srening
ro a srereo { jusr like be ing in a
co
ncer t ), warching a bigscreen telev i
sion (
ju
st li ke bei ng in the movies
),
or re
ding a book ( ju
st
l
ik
e being
in che characcers shoes). lr ar ises wh en ch e divisions berween tirst order
a
nd second
order medi
acio
ns a
re
merged in che
audi
en
ce
s mind (alrhough
th
ere
is no reason
ro
e
xp
ecc
rh ac ch
e d
oes
nor recognize rhe dif
fe
rence) . Daniel Pinchbeck poinrs ouc
th
ac pr
ese
nce creares disp
os
irion
towards a ser of srimul i/r
es
ponse couplings within rhe domi
nant Ira me
of
spatial con
sc
iousness (2005).
Wh
en a
se
n
se
of presence is
high, rhe pi aye r is more willing ro o bey the soci l rules and ph
ys
ical laws
of rhe virrnal environme
nc.
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Tl e Eveut of Space 19
7
A
PLACE
:
ZE
N GARDEN
My Seccmd ife
M
sits or. thc rivcrb:wk (anua lly he
sccm
s ro
be siuing in thc rivcrbank). T hc grass is gr
ccn
and smoorh, thc fauna
though
sm
oo
th l
y d r
awn
wi
th
S
ecom
l
i
fe
prims. I a m acutcly
awa
rc that 1 a m s ta ring ata com pmcr sc rccn , onc in which ver y l
ittlt
is
happcning.
l this
a sc
cn
c
io
a
fi
lm ir would
be
watchablc.
But 1 in fact a nd to rny suq:risc,
f
cding contcnt and comfortabk
hn
t. 1
am
happy to stay a while,
siuing
in
rh is rivt-r
and
wa t