Immersion, Avatars and Virtual Worlds

New digital media permit users to fulfill the ages-old wish to escape and immerse in fantasy worlds, but in a new and more participatory way, Janet Murrow notes in Hamlet on the Holodeck (1997, p. 98).

Whereas 18th-century readers immersed themselves in the fantasy world of novels, today users can escape into participatory augmented and virtual reality spaces.

Second Life is one of the earliest, best known, and most popular virtual worlds.



Creating a personal AVATAR, a digital representation of one's virtual self, is the beginning step in navigating virtual worlds. In the virtual world, through the Avatar, you can be whoever you want to be. What happens to identity in a world populated with self-constructed avatars?

Do You Want to Date My Avatar? (The Guild)


And this humorous remix response:
I'm Too Busy to Date Your Avatar


And this digital to analog remediation: Humans playing Avatars!



What does it mean for society that we can escape into these immersive environments? Are we at risk of blurring the line between virtual and real?

IBM: Avatars


And what about relationships? Does the ability to be whoever we want to be in the virtual world reduce our ability to have real relationships and make real connections in the real world.

Coke: Avatars


What makes immersive worlds seem "real"? Here are some interesting insights from James Cameron, director of AVATAR, about his own question to make the immersive world of that movie believable to the audience.

Avatar: The Movie (Discover Networks)

11-11-11: Visual-mapping of Tweets

Tweets mentioning 11-11-11 on the day.

Philosophy and The Matrix

The Matrix is much more ambitious than a traditional movie, attempting to combine explorations of religious, philosophical, and political themes across multiple platforms, all while still delivering an action-adventure thriller that worls within each 'screen.'

Here's a remarkable documentary detailing the philosophical themes woven within the Matrix.
Philosophy and The Matrix

And of course, any transmedia storytelling effort with such grand ambitions will elecit parodies, and perhaps none was more detailed (and star-packed) than this from the opening of the MTV Movie Awards in 2003.

Audio Remediation: Student Project Examples

"iPod of Discord," by Todd Hartsfield, Alyssa Blanton, Erin Kelley, Sarah Robison-Mathes, and Laura Velarde

Hansel and Gretel, by Dom Ramunno-Johnson, Joshua Lovejoy, Anaya Martella, Joshua Roberts and Lindsey Esch

Lisa Strata, by Jennifer Wheeler, Heather Martin, Chad McClure and Alan Olson.

"Three Pigs," by Mary Liu, Jacob Burton, Sandi Oja, Zak Steltz and Cassie Watson.

"A Predicament"
by Nic Wilson, Erik Cummings, Terri Mason and Eduard Nagornyy.

"The Importance of Being Earnest"
by Alyssa Andersen, Andrew Rajigah, Rick Fisher and Geoffrey Wallace.

"A Christmas Carol"
By Ashley Gonder, Cathy Manwell, Rebecca Fraser and Ernie LeDuc.

"The Scarf"
by Henry Ortega, Jon Perry, Aida Koric and Elena Mahrt.

Audio Remediation: Resources and Examples

Here are a list of helpful resources and examples related to audio theater and audio remediation.

Audiotheater.com

Crazy Dog Audio Theater
(Including this helpful piece on the basics of writing for audio theater)

Chatterbox

Radio Drama Revival

The largest broadcasting company in the world, The BBC, still invests heavily in audio theater. Some of the best modern pieces are coming from here. There are three channels producing this kind of work:

BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 generally offer drama and more serious fare.

While BBC Radio 7 offers sci-fi and comedy as well as other miscellaneous programs.

The Wireless Theatre Company

Example 1 from WTC (banter, character development and sound effects, including silence): The Importance of Shoes

Example 2 from WTC (language and communication): Laying Ghosts

Example 3 from WTC (framing): The Fun Tom Menace

L.A. Theatre Works (We heard a clip from its version of "Pygmalion")

Many samples of L.A. Theatre Works plays on this site, including the Tony Award-winning play "Art" by Yasmina Reza.

The Mercury Theatre (Orson Welles's troupe, which created the infamous "War of the Worlds" broadcast

From the Rick Emerson side project, "A.Z.," an action piece about when zombies take over the world,

Episode 6: "No Mercy"

And a big list of all sorts of radio theater on the Web