Chestnut Tree: Virtual worlds have unique perspectives and proportions.

Harbin ethnography:


Virtual worlds have unique perspectives and proportions. And Second Life has its own avatar/bird's eye point of view, and is its own unique space for digital construction of virtual 'physical' objects, as a consequence of the Havok Physics Machine which informs this virtual world software, and makes virtual objects appear as if they have gravity. Many people who participate in my virtual Harbin in Second Life, have also participated in other virtual worlds, as well as in much other media on the World Wide Web, so this context limits limits the novel experience of virtual Harbin. By engaging both actual and virtual Harbin Hot Springs for ethnographic comparison, and having ethnographically built the virtual Harbin, my research focuses exclusively on these two interwoven field sites. Because actual and virtual Harbin are so closely related, I limit my ethnographic focus on virtual worlds to this comparison. Both actual and real Harbin share an openness, a focus on pools and freedom, and even on soaking. And how this will emerge in virtual Harbin makes for a fascinating study, and comparison. The language of these Harbin field sites here is also especially richly comparable. I thus intentionally narrow my field sites to aspects of these two Harbin, and related language.

Everyday Actual and Virtual Harbin. ...















(http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2010/02/chestnut-tree-virtual-worlds-have.html - February 28, 2010)