creating second lives - ch 9 - the event of space - ocr

7/24/2019 Creating Second Lives - Ch 9 - The Event of Space - OCR

1/21


2/21

First publis

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3/21

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


4/21

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


5/21

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


6/21

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.


7/21

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


8/21

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


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.


10/21

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

creating second lives - ch 9 - the event of space - ocr

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