Sep 7, 2020
Wk 2- Activity- Virtual: Worlds
Last year, I was a senior in high school and experienced part of my semester in the physical place but unable to have any senior activities. In Zoom University and the physical place, I had trouble meeting new classmates for each class. Another similarity is that there is a strict policy on attendance and quizzes. Some differences are, you could see everyone from the physical world but on Zoom University you may never get to see a person’s face, only voice. You are able to eat in class and go to the restroom without asking, while in person we were not allowed to eat and would have to use bathroom passes.
Some similarites between these platforms are to reach out to one another and hopefully develop a friendship in the process. The sites are also able to have you talk to each other in real time. Some differences would be the genuine reactions. During a game you could hear their true emotions in the moment rather than simply reading a text in your mind. On Instagram, there is more focus to maintain a flowing conversation that is detailed. On online platforms, you may be having fun but deep conversations would not occur because you both are focused on winning. I personally prefer an online game because I get to call them and hear their voice. I prefer talking instead of texting because I usually take forever looking at a text wondering if my sentences make sense or if I gave too much information. Once I finally am happy with my text I send it but I feel guilty because I edited my response to the point where I am now conveying a new personality and not my own.
At Long Beach and in Club Penguin you will be able to explore around while interacting with others. In Club Penguin you have your own igloo to decorate and live in much like the Long Beach dorms. At both places, you can visit your friend’s home to relax and talk. Long Beach allows for everyone to be in the same time zoom making this easier to communicate with one another. Club Penguin is open for anyone to join. They may be living across the world but is able to access the site. Due to this, playing together with a huge group of friends is extremely difficult. The time zones are super different causing for most to be unable to play with others from other regions.In Club Penguin, there is a strict policy on what words are allowed in chat. Your character may get banned if there is a use of swearing. At Long Beach everyone is able to speak their mind even if someone disagrees.
In conclusion, I thought about how “your place” is anywhere you feel safe/comfortable to be yourself. You are able to experience different emotions through any online place and not lose that factor in “your place”. Even though we are still adjusting to the change of everything being online, this skill can help you in the near future to develop your communications skills. You are having to reach out more and lose any fear of asking questions. The idea of “your place” can be found anywhere as long as you are able to receive that positive and fun energy back.
I would say that Instagram or Facebook are not like MMORPGs because it’s based on yourself. You focus more on what you want to see and when you want to see posts. You can get in a call and play a small game but after a while you end up scrolling through your feed. You are able to text one another about certain games but you are not in an actual game scenario meaning you can choose to ignore the message. I believe these apps are more towards connecting with one another instead of going online to play a game.
In a way I feel like we are in an MMORPG because you are in your own world making your own decisions that factor out options. No one else is able to “log in” to your player and live your day to day life. We are able to hide our true identity when talking to others. However, if you do pass away you don’t have a second life and can’t restart the “game”. This is the degree of which I believe RL is an MMORPG.
