The fact that new users can now have free mesh avatars when they join Second Life™ is actually a very
good thing.
Also, those
who already use Second Life can find these new mesh avatars on their Inventory,
under “Library/Clothing/Initial Outfits”. That is actually great.
However,
although these new mesh 'human' avatars are fairly well designed, will they help users
(especially students) feel less like ‘cartoon characters’ when they enter SL
for the first time?
Because the
bad thing about these new mesh avatars is that they allow almost no customization.
The avatars themselves cannot be changed, and the mesh clothes that come with
each avatar are not ‘fitted mesh’, making it basically impossible for any users
to create a different, customized look for themselves.
 |
| Notice what happened when I tried to wear the avatar Sarah with Zoe’s suit… The result was quite bad. |
The problem
with this lack of customization – which by the way is not a problem with the
‘classic’, prim-based, old avatars – is that we (i.e. people interested in the
use of virtual worlds for education and training) know that avatar
customization can play an important role in the way students engage with learning
activities.
And the
ugly? For me, stereotyping
is always ugly. Unfortunately, I see a bit of stereotyping in the design of
these new mesh avatars, especially when it comes to the way non-Caucasian
males, and females (regardless of their ethnicity) are portrayed.
I’m quite
aware that there can only be a few free mesh avatars for new users to choose
from when they join SL, so some degree of stereotyping was probably unavoidable
when designers created these avatars. Previously, with the ‘classic’, prim-based
avatars that problem could be solved by the users themselves, through
customization of their avatars, and the ‘mix and match’ of clothes.
Regrettably, the fact that these new mesh avatars are not customizable turns
their stereotyped look into a more complicated issue to deal with –
particularly in a learning context.
Hopefully,
Linden Lab’s new CEO Ebbe Altberg will understand this and a greater level of
customization will be added to these new mesh avatars.
About the
author: C. M. Elias (Camie Rembrandt in SL) is a professional trainer, and has
a Post Graduate Diploma in Education
(E-learning Pedagogy) from Aberta
University, Lisbon (Portugal, EU).
For more on the subject of Second Life and Other Virtual Worlds, please visit:
http://www.scoop.it/t/second-life-and-other-virtual-worlds
P.S. – This
article’s title is an obvious homage to “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (Il buono,
il brutto, il cattivo), a 1966 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by
Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the
title roles respectively (quoted from Wikipedia), and to its amazing main
theme, composed by the talented Ennio Morricone.
