COLLABORATION
Upon merging the design, we had to ask ourselves a few questions; how can you combine these spaces? Are we going to compensate each space equally? Are we going to sacrifice one in order to achieve something greater and more meaningful? After merging, does it tell the story? And what is the story?
So we had to consider the different strengths and weaknesses of our spaces and the best method is to work with all the strengths and its most appropriate (and applicable) area, and maybe perhaps improve on those weaknesses so that they may become the strengths.
Dance Club
Strengths
- A strong sense of enticement and gathering
- Heavy interaction between people
Weaknesses
- In the virtual world, limited to only dance
- Enticement does not last long
Hell
Strengths
- Strong establishment of tone
- Outside of the ordinary street community
Weaknesses
- Low level of interaction
- Cannot be defined as a social space
Zen Garden
Strengths
- Peaceful nature
Weaknesses
- Limit interaction
There were several ideas like a Haunted House, Scary Garden and the Halloween Dance Club, featuring a roller coaster and a combination of the aforementioned, which was ALMOST the hands-down decision. However, because the ideas were so weak, we had to break it down to less literal and direct approaches. Rather than Hell, Zen Garden, and Dance Club as a whole, we broke it down to the very small aspects of each, resulting in Fear, Peace, and Gathering respectively. Using these ideas, along with a story I have written recently, we were able to come up with a sacred space with a maze, as mentioned previously. During designing of our space, we communicated, mainly using MSN and IM Chat in Second Life. Also, we would hold meetings in-between breaks and sometimes on Wednesday, our day off.
SOCIAL INTERACTIVITY
The social interactivity between avatars can be determined by the number of avatars present and how the avatars experience the space. For example, if there is only one person there, the fear may be maximized, but it may give them a sense of adventure. If there is a group, then the fear would be minimized and asks avatars to collaborate with each other as the paths taken would affect one another (described below).
INTERACTIVITY
So, what is so interactive about this space? The top space features a ritualistic dance which alludes to sacrificial ceremonies or worship within the indigenous cultures. The multiple pads along the ground allow avatars to dance as part of these ceremonies. For this reason, they become a part of the ceremonies and hence become more attached. The allusion here also, is because some people may not know the ritual’s purpose; they do not know why they are really dancing or what they are getting themselves into. The second interactivity is the spheres above the flame. Avatars that use these circles will be automatically transported to the underground maze. There is a symbolism in the flame and it is commonly seen in movies and sometimes reported by real life figures. The action here is the sense of epiphany. Instead of so, the “soul” is given a test of courage, given with the maze which used fear as an incentive to complete it. The third interactivity is the walls of the maze. With each touch, some walls are able to move away but at the same time, block off other passageway. The last one, which is unnoticed, is the collision of the transparent walls. A collision of these specific walls would activate sounds. But because these are transparent walls, the experience feels as if the sound occurred from within the space, and hence intensifying the fear.
