Online Caroline

The article “How I was Played by Online Caroline,” by Jill Walker was rather interesting in regards to simulated worlds and what effect they have not only in the simulation but to the viewer.    I personally never would’ve thought that a simulated world could have so much control and be able to hide that from the person taking place in the simulation.  It makes you curious enough to join the simulation yourself just to see exactly what Jill was speaking of, this sense of loss and grief for something that she never had control over in the first place.  

In a way the simulation shows a truth in the real world around you.  Sometimes you don’t have control over another’s decisions.  They ask you for help, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to take your advice, or input.  It was an article that involved decision making, sharing information about yourself, as well as emotional attachment to the character, Caroline.  Obviously it was just a game, but there was still that attachement to this fictional based person.  It brought a different perspective on how the simulation effected the one playing it.  Even though Jill found out that her actions were being controlled, and that a game like this would have a certain blue print for this in the first place, there was still this feeling of guilt when Caroline was obviously no longer there, or dead for all she knew.  It brings a very dark outcome which obviously would make anyone a bit upset even if the person was fictional.  Take reading a book, you enter into this fictional world with words alone; if a character that you grew attached to, died, there would be grief.  The only difference is that the viewer in the simulated world with Caroline, actually caused this to happen.  So in turn they felt responsible.  Regardless of knowing there was no control in changing the outcome, there was still this guilt of sending the character Caroline to her demise.

Overall the basis for the simulation was very interesting and proves to involve more attachements towards the viewer then reading a book.  Due to this action based wondering, while reading and effecting the character, it brings a different outlook of a story and its inevidable outcome.  The essay that Jill wrote was very informative not only of the storyline of Caroline, but also the interaction that a viewer would go through within this fictional world.  If you want to read the essay for yourself, I posted the link below. 

http://jilltxt.net/txt/onlinecaroline.html

Labyrinth of Loss

Just messing around in Painter IX.  Lots of layers and different brush strokes.  I like what I came out with, even if it was just a fun little doodle of sorts.

“Blogging From Inside the Ivory Tower”

 

 I was reading the first chapter of, “Blogging from Inside the Ivory Tower,” and it poses a good question on whether blogging of any kind will take the place of regular writing on paper.  Will blogging become such a large part of everyone’s lives, not only personal but academically, to the point where all traditionally written papers will be done away with?  I personally can only hope that won’t happen.  I love being able to write something down whether it be for myself or for a class assignment.  Even if it’s a typed paper, it’s different then say, turning in a blog of some sort.  There’s a quality and characteristic all it’s own with paper whether it’s typed or handwritten. 

It’s not only blogs that are taking away from the traditional, but software in general these days.  You can now paint on a computer using specific software, doing almost the same as if you were to do it by hand, traditionally.  You can draw, manipulate photographs, make movies, and all kinds of things now with all the new technology.  It makes you wonder if all the traditional arts will soon be snuffed out by all these new technologies.

I heard from one of my professors that paper companies have lessened the kinds of paper you can buy for developing your own photographs.  And that the silver content in paper has lessened for whatever reason, whether to save money, or due to it not being used like it used to be.  It brings wonder as well as disappointment that all these new things could effect how they were done previously.  It’s one thing to test out new things and add them to what’s being done, it’s a whole other thing when these new things start to take the place of others.  Photography, or even painting in the traditional fashions have a quality completely different from that of digital photography or using software such as Photoshop or Painter.  I hope that due to the fact that these are different from each other, that this will prevent the new media from taking over the more traditional arts.  There’s no reason to do away with something just because something new comes to take its place.  Technology is wonderful, but there should be a limit of some kind.  I don’t know what that would be myself, but it would be nice to think that we will still be writing papers on paper, or painting with a brush on canvas rather than using strictly the computer alone.  Those are just my thoughts…

The article I’m speaking of:

http://www.williamlmoore.com/blogging%20from%20inside%20the%20ivory%20tower.pdf