Independent Focus on Second Life

This week our assignment was to research an aspect of Second Life that we found interesting and wanted to find out more about.  I decided that I wanted to find out more about Machinima and its uses in Second Life.

Machinima is defined as "the use of real-time three-dimensional (3-D) graphics rendering engines to generate computer animation."  Put simply, its making movies in a virtual environment. 

One of the first tools that you'll need is some type of screen capturing software.  Some of this type of software costs money to purchase (like Camtasia) but there are other alternatives that are free to download and use (like Windows Movie Maker or FRAPS).  Upon doing some research into the free versions, I wanted to find out more about FRAPS.  It is free to download and use but if you want the unrestricted version, you'll have to pay for it.  The free version "puts an unremovable watermark at the top of every video, and each video can only be 30 seconds in length."  Screenshots are not watermarked in the free version but can only be taken in BMG, TGA, JPEG and PNG.  Also, in order for FRAPS to work, users have to have DirectX or OpenGL on their computer. 

FRAPS is a benchmarking software that "shows how many Frames Per Second (FPS) you are getting in the corner of your screen."  You can "measure the frame rate between any two points."  Another advantage of using FRAPS is that it has screen capturing software.  You can take a screenshot by pressing one key and your "screen captures are automatically named and time stamped."  There is also real time video capturing software that "captures audio and video up to 7680 x 480 with custom frame rates from 1 to 120 frames per second."  If you are interested in downloading FRAPS, please go to http://www.fraps.com/download.php.

Videoing in Second Life
 Before videoing in Second Life, it is important to be aware of the Linden Lab policy on taking snapshots and making movies using machinima.  Here are the rules:

• Snapshots - if you are on a private island or a homestead property, you must check the covenant and if it says nothing, then you have permission to take snapshots.  If you are on the mainland, there isn't a covenant in the land menu, so you automatically have permission to take snapshots.
• Machinima - is the same as taking snapshots where if you are on a private island or a homestead property, you must check the covenant to see if you have permission.  It is important to remember that there are some places on the mainland where permission must be obtained from the land owner.
• Avatar Consent - If you are just taking a snapshot then there is no permission required.  If you are recording in machinima, you have to obtain permission from every avatar that will be involved in the movie.

For more information on this policy, please go to:  http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Snapshot_and_machinima_policy.

The advantage of using machinima is unlike making movies in real life, there is no equipment to gather and set up and no actors to pay to hire.

In the process of doing research on machinima, I came across a guide that listed how to record a movie in machinima in 19 steps.  I thought that these steps were useful and very thought provoking and wanted to share them:

1. Decide what type of movie that you want to make.  Think about the genre.
2. Do you want to use dialogue or narrative?
3. Where will your source text come from?  Will you be using your own written text or use text from a coursebook or story?
4. Write an outline of the movie.
5. Write your screenplay.
6. Make a storyboard which includes minute by minute, second by second, or anytime you plan a change.
7. Write the actual text that will be used if you plan on having a conversation in your movie.
8. Find a suitable location and scene to record your movie.
9. Find actors (avatars) and outfits to use in your movie.
10. Decide if you will or will not use voice in your movie.
11. Record a sample scene to make sure everything works.
12. Make arrangements with actors (avatars) about when to show up to record the movie.
13. Record your movie.
14. Convert your recordings and audio files so that you can edit them in a another program like Windows Movie Maker (free) or Camtasia (costs money).
15. Edit, cut, snip and combine.
16. Add voices, music and edit.
17. Add a title, names of actors, etc.
18. Upload your movie to YouTube.  Use MachinEVO as a tag for ease in locating your machinima at a later date.
19. Post in the Ning.

To learn more about using machinima in Second Life, there is a tutorial at:  http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Making_movies

My thoughts on Machinima
I can see the benefit of using Machinima in Second Life for both business related projects as well as educational projects.  Businesses can benefit by not having a lot of cost involved as they would in real life.  Educational institutions could benefit by being able to make short movies to be used in class as an educational tool.  These movies can be uploaded to YouTube so that students could watch them and use as a guide in how to do a project such as how to build an object in Second Life.

Other web sites consulted while reserching Machinima:

http://marisaconstantinides.edublogs.org/2012/01/14/making-a-machinima-in-second-life-in-19-steps/#.UAreRJHhc8g

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Tips_and_Tricks:_Ten_Tips_on_Creating_Machinima_in_Second_Life

http://forums.techarena.in/guides-tutorials/1139661.htm

http://www.vizworld.com/2010/01/life-video-production-machinima/ 

Other Virtual Worlds

This week our assignment was to read some articles written about Second Life and their potential in an educational environment.



Games Like Second Life
http://www.virtualworldsinfo.com/games-like-second-life.html 

This article discussed how Second Life can be considered as a game.  Then there's the aspect of non-competing and no prizes to win, so it really isn't a game.  It is a place to be whomever you want to be and discover what you want to.  Although there is role playing in Second Life, that aspect does not appeal to me.  I am more curious about the educational aspects of it and what it has to offer from a worldwide view.  I think that Second Life provides a "game-like" atmosphere through the use of an avatar, but the possibilities are endless when it comes to what can be learned in a virtual environment.


Army Virtual Worlds Expert Forges Ahead Without 'Second Life'
http://www.afcea.org/signal/articles/templates/signal_Article_Template.asp?articleid=2990&zoneid=353
This article discussed how MiLands has now been moved to MOSES (Military Open Simulator Enterprise Strategy).  I was not surprised at this as any branch of the military would want to work in a secure environment.  I'm not saying that Second Life is not secure just that it appears that branches of the military would have more control over their security by having complete control over their own virtual environment.

Virtual Worlds Are Getting Second Life
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jul/29/virtual-worlds 
This article discussed the growth of Second life and the amount of users it currently has.  I was surprised at the comparison of how girls that used to grow up with dolls are now growing up with Second Life.  I had never really considered how much of an impact Second Life has with girls.  I would have thought that it was more popular with adults.

Mayo Clinic Explores the Virtual World of Second Life
http://medcitynews.com/2010/05/mayo-clinic-explores-the-virtual-world-of-second-life 
This article discussed the advantages of using Second Life for health conferences, hospital simulations, etc.  I think that this is a great way to educate people about health matters and can see why so many people in the healthcare industry are turning to a virtual environment to teach people about healthcare.  There is also the advantage of people from anywhere in the world being able to access the same information.

Virtual Worlds Give Musicians a Chance to Showcase Music Around the World
http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2011/10/virtual_community_second_life.html 
This article showcased how musicians are taking advantage of what Second Life has to offer when it comes to playing music in a virtual environment in real time.  I do believe that playing in a virtual environment truly has its advantages over playing in a real environment.  In a virtual environment there are no instruments to drag to different locations.  Music can be played from the comfort of your home.  Building a fan base is also easier due to performers being able to interact with every fan instead of hoping to meet a performer in real life.

After Frustrations in Second Life, Colleges Look to New Virtual Worlds
http://chronicle.com/article/After=Frustrations-in-Second/64127 
This article discussed how colleges seem to be abandoning Second Life in search of other virtual environments to educate students in.  Although I can understand why they would want to find another virtual environment, no matter where you go, there are always bugs and these bugs will have to be worked out.

My exploration of another virtual world
I tried to find another virtual community to join to compare it to Second Life.  I came across a virtual community named, "ActiveWorlds."  I joined as a tourist and found that you had to be a citizen to take advantage of all that it had to offer.  It costs $6.95 monthly to be a citizen.  I did not want to pay to be a citizen so I quickly looked for another virtual world to join.


I came across a virtual world called, "Meez."  I was able to create a user name and password and was then instructed to give my cell number so that they could send me a pin to finalize set up.  I did provide my cell number but never received a pin so I moved on in search of another virtual world.


I found a virtual world called, "Gaia online" and was able to join for free.   Here is a picture of a community that is in my Zipcode.  I did wander around but wasn't able to interact with anyone or figure out anything.

 

Here's what it looks like when you go to town:

One of the first things that I did was to create a fish tank.  You can add backgrounds and fish and feed them daily.  Here is a picture of that tank:

There is also a gaming atmosphere here.  There are several types and kinds of games to choose from.  Here are pictures that I took while playing Blackjack and Jigsaw:

There is also a "car rally" that users can go to to show off their cars.  I did try to interact with other users but received no response.

Overall I was not very impressed with this virtual world.  I think that it would be better served by teenagers as compared to adults.  I much prefer Second Life to this virtual world as it is much more straight forward to me.

 

Creating an Educational Game

This week our focus was to create an educational game and utilize a cloaking script.  At first I had trouble coming up with a topic but that is the usual case for me.  I finally decided to teach students about the Tower of London by creating a visual display that features photos of actual Beefeaters that live and guard the Tower of London.  Once I created my display, my next challenge was coming up with questions to ask and ensure that the cloaking script worked.  I had a little trouble in making the script work but in the end, I figured it out.  Thanks for the pointers Cheryl!

Here are some photos that I took of my display which I titled, "The Beefeater Game."

I hope that you enjoyed my tour of the Beefeater game.  I can definitely see the potential of introducing a gaming idea like this in a classroom setting.  I think that children would enjoy playing this game and they would learn at the same time, which is the overall goal of the exercise.

All photos were free from the web @ http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/beefeater.html  and all questions were created using reference material from Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London.