#IDT1314:WEEK 11

Virtual Worlds

In week 11, we concentrated on articles by Taylor, Yee, Rama, Vasalou, Peterson, Warburton and Milton and we were able to learn that the virtual worlds have been in existence in some forms since the start of the early 1980s; however there has been an argument about its definition. This focuses the general nature of the term that creates on several writings of the virtual as well as the difficulties in their attempts to fix the descriptions in a specific area that is going through continuously technological development.

Virtual environments permit people to change their self-representation dramatically. More essential, researches have proven that individuals infer their anticipated attitudes and behaviors from observing the appearance of their avatar which is a phenomenon referred to as the Proteus effect. For instance, the users who were provided with taller avatars negotiated aggressively than those who were provided with shorter avatars. According to the two researches which were conducted on this ideology established that both attractiveness and height of the avatars in any online game could easily help in predicting the performances of the players. Besides, it established that the behavioral changes that stems from the virtual worlds transferred to the subsequent one-on-one interactions.

Virtual environments, for instance the Second Life provide students of foreign languages the likelihood of widespread language use which was only possible previously by the visits to any foreign nation. These sites are usually patronized widely by the non-native speakers however the language gains that occurs, if any, has not been discovered. Therefore, this entry pays a definite attention about the current project whose main aim is to examine the language gains which emerged from the dedicated Second Life language study environments (Taylor 2002: 321).

It is a maxim of studying foreign languages that an optimal technique to undertake this is to spend sometimes working and residing in the nation in which the language is communicated. A comprehensive immersion in foreign states permits optimal exposure to any foreign language and open opportunities for a communicative use of foreign languages as the students undertake their everyday duties. Nevertheless, this is not a choice for most foreign language students, especially the young children who study at school (Yee 2009: 123).

a)      Game like environments

Specifically, virtual environments give the opportunity for the real-time verbal interactions in a range of comparatively normal-looking settings while using the foreign language of the learner. This need not to be a surprise in case the virtual travel in the 3-D environment stimulates the interest of both the learner and the teacher similarly (Rama 2012: 365). Majority of children will know the possibility of a 3-D environment through the use of computer games. According to these computer games, the environment is always confined quietly and the users move the avatars or characters around this environment to resolve the battle or puzzle aliens. However, the other 3-D worlds are much broader in capacity. They run online and also provide adults with the opportunity to move around the virtual world meeting the other avatars and conversing with them in actual time (Vasalou 2009: 308).

The present multi-user virtual environment (MUV) shares certain common features that replicate their origins in the gaming environment of a multi-user dungeon as well as a multi-player online game (MMO). These have been made famous recently through the titles, for instance the World of Warcraft and Never Winter Nights. Both of these are based on the Dragons and Dungeons genre of a role-playing game (Peterson 2010: 342).

b)      The role of avatars

Based on the context of virtual environments, the avatars play essential roles in the online computer games. These roles are unique with each one of them based on the attributes of the avatar. Some of the roles of avatars include the following:

Avatars enhance immersion.

They also supposed to role-play and take any potential risks. This is where they play some essential roles in the virtual world games. They are also the ones that take risks that may occur during the playing of the games (Warburton 2009: 412).

Besides, they also minimize inhibition as well as any social context cue. This is an important role that avatars play as it helps them reduce any shyness during the online gaming play.

The avatars also form one of the main points in which the users do intersect with the technological objects and personify themselves. This makes the varieties of phenomenon and then virtual environments that it represents real.

At times, they play the role of fighting, intimacy or friendship. This is usually portrayed when the bodies of the avatars touch indefinitely; however they only touch each other when there is a friendship that the user feels or even more than simply a casual connection that is between the other individual.

They are also used in digital bodies to illustrate an act of engaging in sexual acts. The creativity to play this role is astonishing since there are other basic restrictions in the virtual world.

Avatars are at times used to act as a method of personal expression which is worked over consistently. This action plays a key role in making the body of the avatar real and becoming an individual (Milton 2013:300).