Second Life: Azure Snoodle!
Well, I guess you can say I am pretty new to Second Life. Actually, very new. But as much as I thought I would absolutely hate it, I’ve found that it’s actually a pretty fun place to wonder around. Anyone can visit any place that they so desire, right in the comfort of their home! It’s really convenient and free, which is always a plus in today economy. It’s really amazing that all these different places have Virtual Worlds, for anyone who wishes to take a gander at. I myself have already visited Venice Beach, BGSU of course, Rome, Italy, a Japanese temple, and got accidentally transported to the black market. Needless to say, I have enjoyed my little time in the virtual world, thus far.
A) Communication in SL is different in than in real life, but not far from it. In SL you have to chat with someone by typing messages which you wouldn’t need to do in the real world, but you can also video or voice chat with them which is as realistic as you can get aside from being there with the person. Traveling in SL is really quite exciting. Walking around is boring, but what could possibly be better than flying?! Not to mention that all one has to do if they want to go to, for example, Rome; is teleport right to where they wish to be when not everyone will ever go to those places. It’s not 100% realistic, but most of the bigger things that anyone would want to see there anyway, will be there usually with great details. So in real life you would see the real thing in its shining glory, where on SL it’s copied in a sense. There are a lot of signs dealing with clothing, voting and such, just like the real world.
B) In all standard signs and logos, the most important symbols stand out to be emphasized and get the point across quickly. They’re usually bolder and the color is contrasted with the background for emphasis. While the less important symbols on the entire sign are less emphasized, less bold, and not in a color that would stick out. The most important information is what’s being emphasized the most, and things that are left out are the parts that are obvious and do not need words or symbols to be understood.
C) Signs with artistic flare, so to speak, are way more appealing to the eye. They’re a new and fresh spin on the old signs that we are used to, and I am sure any person would much rather look at them than the normal signs. When putting up new signs around towns and such, councils should really consider putting more artistic ones rather than the plain one’s we’re used to. I think more people would pay attention to them :]
D) Symbols could be slightly clearer on what they have to do with sometimes. Not to mention that if there was some sort of link that we could click on when we’re lost or need to find something specific, that would be really helpful instead of me wondering around, getting lost, and being teleported around the world, just to find where a store is.