Bouncing Between Roles
Me and my droid
I’ve spent the last few days in Second Life SL finding a world with mostly Jedi and fewer Sith. At last I found Yavin IV, a place that is warm and welcoming.
A few friendlies and a Jedi Master explained the game playing HUD to me that I had to get for this place and other Star Wars worlds. In addition, I was shown where I could fill out the application to become someone’s Padawan and learn the ways of the Jedi order.
Role playing in SL is serious business and there are many rules to follow. I’ve hardly scratched the surface, and felt a need to find some safe sanctuary where I could soak it all in and make sense of the many files I have to read.
So, of course, one of my first questions was where I could find a rental. The place I found is more expensive than I’d like, and it’s near the top of a high rise. I’m hoping to find something cozier in the forest, but I have a month’s rent paid in this place while I search out something more fitting for me. In the meantime, I purchased furniture, and a droid to keep me company while I’m hiding away at home.
Today I am bouncing back and forth between my Star Wars role of Arlyn Pleides and my closer to life role of Dana Oceanlane. Yet, in spite of the annoyance of having to log in and out of SL with each character, I’m finding the role switching fairly easy. It’s interesting how similar to in-person life role playing this is. We do have many roles we play in-person after all, and I don’t find the roles in SL to be less real so to speak.
My role as Dana Oceanlane today is leading a discussion on the Buddhist teachings of Not-Self. This is an area I am avidly pursuing in-person, so talking about it in SL is every bit as real as discussing it at my Buddhist sangha.
Though my role as Arlyn Pleides has more of a fantasy feel to it, I am an avid Star Wars fan, and I’m finding playing this role challenging and fun, and often quite serious.
It’s becoming more apparent to me that roles are roles, and the reality they have is simply manufactured by our minds and our level of interest. Of course, many will say that some roles are more important than others, and yes, that is true. But I argue that any role you decide to take on is itself unreal yet active, and vary in their level of importance in our lives, virtual and in-person.
Tags: Role Playing