Saturday, April 10, 2010

Yoville

virtual world: Yovile
avatar name: curbsidetreasure
description: curbsidetreasure is a fairly ordinary looking girl. she has black hair, blue eyes, and likes to wander around and observe the world around her. she can cook well, likes to make art and is friendly. however she finds living in virtual world boring, which is a fault because she's stuck there. other talents include swimming, creative writing and home decor. she can be kind of cynical and sarcastic, but is generally happy.



the event she attended was Kelley's election day. curbsidetreasure likes politics but is kind of apathetic and won't run for president. in fact no one else will run either. one person wants to run, so if no one else does they will win by default. the experience of being in the event was okay. people were talking all at once, often about random topics. however as i didn't know anyone in the room it was a rather dull discussion. one man sitting in the room looked like her was in charge, but even he wasn't running. other people were talking about the weather, which is a safe topic so curbsidetreasure joined in.


1. 3 components that provide text based info
when i use my cursor over an arrow it tells me what location it will take you to. like one arrow will take you into the kitchen.
another component are pop up alerts, they will say "friend mission" and it tells you that you can give a gift, or visit a friend or some other action
the 3rd is a button that says get cash and coins, in virtual worlds, like the real world, you need to make money so this text info directs you to places for you to get money

2. 3 components that are image based info
at the lower part of the virtual world, you have buttons, one is a house, another is a globe of the world, another is a party hat, a chair is to edit the room and the sunglasses is where you go to change appearances.

these buttons are image based you can quickly go to different places and are a simple way to convey info.

another aspect is the rooms/spaces that make up the world. they mimick the real world and you can step inside them, and you can "talk" to other people. the images try to look 3d but aren't really. and the avatars are really flat.


3. the virtual world simply mimicks the real world in the way it's built. the roads are grey, there are coffeeshops, nightclubs, clothing stores. the design of the places use color like the coffeeshop has wooden furniture, green letters spelling out coffee and it's obviously taking a nod at starbucks.

the avatar also moves around. she can turn her back toward you and move forward on a path. when the avatar talks there is a speech bubble on top of her head so you know what she is saying.

4. tasks such as earning money have been communicated from the start with pop up messages to go to work. also human interaction is important with visiting friends and giving gifts to them.

5. features such as having a apartment and being inside shops or rooms for events are more immersive. but when you leave the room you have to wait for the next room to load.

6. talking to other avatars can be with small talk, like the weather which is rather boring. saying hello, asking questions helps. in the world, it feels like no one really knows anyone else so there isn't much good conversation.'

7. the economy in yoville seems like it's based on the factory. you go to work there and you have to get/buy widgets to make something. the other part of the economy seems like buying/selling goods and services

8. my favorite in world activity is visiting a friend and giving them a gift. it's also fun to talk to them rather then some random person

9. in world objects are highlighted. when i brush my cursor over an object like a chair, my avatar will walk over there and sit on that specific chair.

10. yoville is related to the article about HOH agency chapter because in order to be a fully functioning member of yoville, you need to find ways to earn money. otherwise you can't buy things. spatial interactivity is also a part of yoville. the article says the more realized the immersive environment is, the more active we want to be in it. i think yoville attempts to be immersive, but to be it's kind of dull because it's kind of a ghost town? and it takes time to go from room to room.

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