The grander plan of my final year project is to transport elements of the Idat community into this virtual world and allowing students to have the opportunity to create projects within SL for free, forming a virtual Idat community within SL. After our recent meeting with B Aga, Jeff and the out reach department, we hope to be working with c6.org a collaboration of artists who have been commissioned to take the Plymouth University Portland square building into Second Life.

Within SL there is a modelling system that allows users to manipulate simple objects into a more creative form. Connecting these objects and cutting away from them similar to 3d max it allows you to create sophisticated objects, coupled with the coding aspect your capable of producing working models, for example guns, cars, robots, armour etc.

Expanding on my project ideas I plan to create a building that has 2 rooms book able via the university room booking system, each room will have the facility to display video/PowerPoint presentations and a ventrilo server for peer to peer communication. These rooms will be a meeting room and lecture theatre, book able to both students and staff to hold virtual meetings/lectures. Within my design there will also be a third room explaining how to install and use the required software. To accompany this there will be a running blog and RSS feed, containing coordinates for the location of the Idat building within SL, and a link which will teleport your avatar to the location.

Finally as proposed the Idat building initial design has been completed, see below for images:

After my primary research of SL I created “Jiz Source” my online presence within SL, the tools within the virtual world of SL are extremely powerful allowing residents to customize every aspect of there Avatars look and characteristics, from the size of the nose to length of eye lashes.

After many weeks of feeling my final year project wasn’t really gaining any more information of the idea of online identity being an extension of our Cartesian reality, I planned to explore other routes. In essence I want my project to push the boundaries of current research, that’s what prompted me to get involved with Second Life.

I propose to take part or all of Idat into Second Life; Second Life is a privately owned, partly subscription-based 3-D virtual world, made publicly available in 2003 by San Francisco-based Linden Lab. Users can visit this virtual world almost as if it were a real place. They explore, meet new people, participate in individual and group activities, and, if they decide to visit often, they learn new skills and mature socially (in the sense of learning the culture of the virtual world). A Second Life client program provides its users (often referred to as Residents) with tools to view and modify the SL world and participate in its virtual economy. The economy operates as a real market. Residents buy and sell to one another, and the virtual currency is exchangeable for US$. As of December, 2006, between about ten and twenty thousand users are in SL at any one time.

Jiz; my world of warcraft Avatar wants to be involved in my final year project, hmm but how? And what is an Avatar? It’s an Internet user’s representation of himself or herself, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, a two-dimensional icon used on Internet forums and other communities, or a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. The term “avatar” can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.

After an awful large amount of Research I and Bhaven defined a synopsis and our Narrative;

We aim to follow our character through a several day period where your introduced to his/her some what detected life style, socially deprived he/she attempts to define this sense of loneliness, via philosophy and exploring life’s mysteries. Whilst understanding the effect on her subconscious state.

After our second meeting with Mike we have acquired a screen play written by Annabelle O’Donnell, similar to our own, and we propose to work collaboratively with her to re work our proposal and incorporate her screen play. Emails have been sent and discussions are underway.

After getting sent home from my presentation slot due to lack of time, I put my presentation to the rest of my peers; oozing confidence and mildly angry after being sent home, the presentation went perfectly, even though there was no Audio in the lab. Time wise I nearly went over but all in all, I was happy with my presentation. Earning me 64%

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After many hours, my first term project for Chris speed’s space module is finally completed. The DVD features an interactive and animated menu system detailing the thought process of 6 of my peers, as well as a “space” interpretation by Mr Chris speed himself. Moving between menus, you’re capable of progressively viewing my peer’s project progression over a 3 week period. 

Moving away from the traditional model of Cartesian space, technology provides the platform and architecture to explore the relationship between our life activities and objects around us, whilst understanding the social networks that join us within these hype surfaces.
To widen my scope of the architecture of social Networking I have fused with face book. Come have a look and encourage this form of networking to grow, let’s move away from the Cartesian space module together.

Exploring the development of ideas and thoughts provided by several members of the “Production of space” module, how are these ideas connected and constantly expanded?

Following 6 students over the course of three weeks as they develop there individual project ideas and prepare for the productions of space presentation. Starting at the “Torpoint Ferry” an interesting social, architectural and physical space, aimed to be the launch pad for student’s project ideas.

“Torpoint Ferry” illustrates the complexities of physical space and provided students with an example, aimed to encourage, expand and nurture there original ideas outside of a typical learning environment.