Research Paper

Eric Franklin

12/10/13

Digital Media 245

Peter Whittenberger  

When Virtual Reality and Reality: Which One Is Best?

            Virtual reality and reality are two worlds that some people are either invested in one or both. For virtual reality, it is an escape from the harsh reality they are in, while others don’t have the pleasure to have an escape like others do. Over the years, we have seen many digital art and artist take those concepts and create many pieces and videogames to show the bright side and dark side of virtual reality. For this I will take two digital media artists: Jon Rafman and Benjamin Poynter and look at the works they have done to show both sides of virtual reality.

            Benjamin Poynter got his Bachelors of Fine Arts at University of Nevada, Reno. He develops a game for smart phones called “In A Permanent Save State.” The game is about 7 overworked laborers who all have committed suicide and you play as all 7 in the spiritual after life. I recently got a chance to interview Benjamin about not only his game, but the dark side of virtual reality:

            Eric: “What do you see virtual reality mean to you?”

            Benjamin: “I see virtual reality as an escape from reality. They’re those who do have an operate like those in the eastern culture due while in the western culture does.”

            Eric:  “What do you see in virtual reality?”

            Benjamin: “Sometimes I see happiness in virtual reality, sometimes I don’t”

            Eric: “Do you have a virtual reality avatar?”

            Benjamin: “I do. He is a washed up videogame hero like Sonic. “

            Eric: “Sonic For Hire?”

            Benjamin: “Exactly.  He is like this character that I see as trying to get back up from a hard fall on life. He is on his deathbed. To me if feels like a nostalgic feeling.”

            Eric: “How is it a nostalgic feeling?”

            Benjamin: “It feels like a videogame character that I knew and grew up with.”

            Eric: “So tell me about your game, how does it related to the dark side of virtual reality?”

            Benjamin: “The game revolves around 7 overworked labors who commit suicide. I see this as for people who can’t escape the reality they live in and thus see afterlife as an escape. The game takes a grim virtual reality and how for some who don’t have an escape sees this as an escape.”

            Eric: “Do you believe a virtual reality is for everyone?”

            Benjamin: “Not for everyone. I believe it’s for those who are in a right mind set.”

            Eric: “Do you believe your avatar/ virtual reality character represents you?”

            Benjamin: “In a way it expresses of who I am. Sometimes when I’m in different environments, I act different. When I am with friends, I this person or when at a social gathering I’m this person. To me virtual reality is a way to express sides of our sides we don’t usually show.”

            Eric: “That is it for the interview, Benjamin thank you for taking your time for this interview.”

            Benjamin: “Not at all, thank you.”
 (Personal Interview)

I was very intrigue with the interview with Benjamin. I was interested on the responses and asked more questions about the psychological side of virtual reality and how with all the recent incidents with school shooting and how people are blaming videogames and such because it’s a scapegoat. We both agreed that it’s not videogames and virtual reality’s fault, but the person that commits the deed of taking virtual reality into reality. As Benjamin said, it takes a certain mind set to experience virtual reality. In terms of the readings we have done in the past, I don’t see any that can be comparable to Benjamin’s game and mind set of the dark side of virtual reality.  If you would like to go check out Benjamin’s game and another interview, follow the link here: http://www.gamescenes.org/2012/10/interview.html (Bittanti, Interview)

            The next artist I would like to talk about is Jon Rafmen. Jon Rafmen has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is known as the Kool-Aid man on Second Life. This is a quote from an interview he did:

            “I think underlying that question is the unease consisting of where, how, and what is my physical self when I am in a social relation in cyberspace.

The Kool-Aid Man avatar relies on me to exist. If I don’t log into Second Life, he is not out there somewhere in the world. He makes it clear to me that it is not necessary to have a computer chip implanted into your brain in order to become a man-machine. To fully connect physical existence with digital existence, it is not necessary to alter one’s body. Perhaps Kool-Aid Man is a cyborg in the fullest sense in that he is combination of computer programming and human agency.

Even more important is that the cyborg/avatar demonstrates there is no such thing as a pure physical self. What we take as the most fundamental aspects of self are mediated through the lens of culture. I don’t think identity is bound to our physical composition. How we feel and perceive ourselves, the roles we play are all socially mediated.

The internet includes social worlds in which an avatar is required in order to navigate and interact with other people. In these virtual worlds, be it Facebook or Second Life, our avatar is our social representative. What we choose reveals many ways in which our physical or ‘real’ self is constructed. So perhaps choosing an avatar makes manifest our fragmented and multiple selves.” (Howard, Bombsite issue 1000)

I couldn’t get an interview with Jon due to any responses from him at this time. I would have loved to ask him some questions based on the same questions I asked Benjamin and also from a psychological point of view.  Based on the interview he did with Howard, it’s safe to say that he believes that your virtual self depends on you to exists on not only who you are, but a side of you that doesn’t show up from you often. Also a second life character is based on what you believe who you are.   For some they based it on who they see themselves as and for some they see themselves are who they are. For readings I could find a comparison to a reading we did in class.  Jon does show what benefits of a virtual reality life and what it can do to a person’s life. They are so many things it can do to one and the joys of being seen as someone you want to be.

            Coming from personal experience I have been in a virtual life since 2010. I’ve had many times to where I was happy with whom I was online, but also experience that hardships and dark side of the virtual life that not a lot of people get to experience. It’s now 2013 and I can say that a virtual life can be challenging to handle and to manage with your life outside the cyber world. I know they are people out in the world who don’t get to experience what a lot of people do and I know that they are some parts of the virtual world I know for a fact I do not want to and see for myself. While after the research and interview with Benjamin, I see many different perspectives on virtual reality. Second life is a site for a fact I do not want to invest in. After seeing that documentary in class I was so uncomfortable about what people were doing and experiencing. I felt that some of the people there were not in the right mine set and would just change their whole life just to life a virtual life that can fall apart very quickly. I will admit that I do have an avatar for the internet and a different name that I go by on the internet, but I always have stick to the rules I have when it comes to chatting with random people and what to not do or say to a random person. I know for a fact that I have started many wonderful friendships and meet my best friends online and they see me as a person I always wanted to be because I can connect with them and know common interest that they might like as I do. I guess it is because I was raised with the internet and my parents taught me how to use it and what not to do on it. It’s amazing about the stories I hear from how virtual reality has helped people or destroy peoples live. So which reality should you chose? I say the one you are most comfortable in and can be happy in.

Work Cited

Bittanti, Matteo. "Interview: Benjamin Poynter, between magical dreams and nightmarish realities." GAMESCENES. GAMESCENES, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <http://www.gamescenes.org/2012/10/interview.html>.

Howard, Lindsay. "ART Revealing Jon Rafman ." Bomblog. BOMBLOG, 8 July 2010. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <bombsite.com/issues/1000/articles/4650>.

Poynter, Benjamin. Personal interview. 10 Dec. 2013.