Its been over a year! Wow...

I decided to revisit, dust-off, and revamp this old journal this morning. I also decided to bring it over here from its previous location elsewhere in internet space. Why is that? Well, the anser to the second is that it will do until I can get my own blogware up and running. The answer to the first question is because my most wonderful partner looked at me this morning after I was going off about a virtual event I attended last night. She looked at me quite pointedly and said, "So, write about it."

She says this to me alot. It might be because she is tired of listening to me go on and on and on about the subject of the "virtual experience." Since she herself does not play computer games, I am willing to entertain the idea that this is, in truth, the matter at hand. It may also be because she likes my writing. Regardless, the more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right. I am enamoured with the idea of the "virtual world" or the multi-player game experience. After five years of several experiences and watching things evolve in the online gaming world, I had a lot to rant on. This was unfortunately unleashed on several of my friends and family members.

What is it, exactly, I am ranting about? The simple fact that when I look at what is going on with virtual worlds/online gaming I say to myself, "Something is happening here." Its why I initially chose the username I did because I feel that right now, under our very noses and disguised as a game, there is a new frontier opening up. And not just one! Most are willing to call it a game, a pasttime, a way to relax, and leave it at that. However, I think there is something much more powerful going on. I've had these thoughts and theories for two years now and it took my amazing partner to look at me from inside the towel she was using to dry her showered hair this morning and say, "Write about it."

That frontier is what I will be exploring and commenting on in this journal. My main focus will be Second Life but I will not restrict myself to that experience only

Call it a game, call it an experience, or call it a distraction, I'm setting off to take a closer look at these other worlds. I want to explore and dig a bit in what I find, and also more importantly, I want to look at the way they are impacting our "real" world.

Join me?

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For interest's sake, I thought I would re-post the first entry in my original Frontier's Horizon blog. Check out the date and the funky avatar from my first account in the homemade kilt! I'm not sure I can define exactly why I left Second Life the first time. Boredom? Money? Time? I have no idea. All I can say is that it firmly has my attention now!

Jul. 3rd, 2004 | 10:10 pm

Others have come before me and for many, this is nothing new.

The original settlers have long since arrived and built up the land I am standing upon. My portal, an older vessel with a 1/2 gig processor creaks and groans. But, it gets me here. It gets me to this place that I call a new frontier. One of many...

On June 16th, 2004 I arrived. I did very little. It was more of an experiment to see if my computer could even handle the strain. Surprisingly enough, it did. I was happy with that and after walking around a bit, I logged off. I wanted more time to explore, to really immerse myself in it and, well, to really see if my computer could take a crowded room full of avatars or streets full of buildings.

I waited a few days for my vacation from real world work. On the fleeting edge of Summer Solsitce, June 22nd, I took my first few steps into the world. It took quite a bit of time playing with the settings but I discovered I could move about quite well. It was an exercise in patience as my screen would slowly fill but it was well worth it.

I did all the things that beginners do. I moved around, explored, and interacted. I made some friends, danced, and I gambled. I made my first bit of clothing, a kilt, to show my love of Celtic culture. I met a vampire named Chalice Mysterio and we talked about tarot. She showed me where someone had made a replica of Stonehenge. She took me to her vampiric castle. It gave me one of the first experiences of how someone could shape this world to their liking. I bought a painting I found in a store in the eventuality that I might own land one day and have a house. At a nightclub, I danced with a dragon. Finally, at the end of the week, I managed to acquire a modest plot of land. As I did all of this an awareness of the enormity of it all began to sink in. I won't bore you with my amazement, you would not be here if you did not feel at least some of the same.

This was something other then a game. There were no levels. There were no required quests. There was no structure except what you decided to upon. This was.... something else. Something started to come forward, the sense that *something* was happening here in this tucked away other world. Something involving community, creativity, magic, and dreams all rolling up together and interacting, spilling over, into the real world. From downloading what I thought was a *game* I stumbled upon a new frontier. A frontier that is being explored and redefined every day.

In many ways, it can be compared to a dream-state. Have you ever had a dream where you are just positive, upon waking, that you've visited another world, another time? The feelings stick with you for the entirety of the day after you awaken. But, the memories start to fade and you wish, just wish, that you had a way to get back to that dream, if only for a little while?

Sound familiar?

There is time enough for me to write on that later and I will. It is, after all, the purpose of the journal. For the meantime, I'm settling in. I've got a little beginner cabin placed on my small bit of land. I'm learning how to build. I'll be hanging the picture soon, placing furniture. Of course, I'll be reporting and commentating. But for now, I'm happy because from the front door, I can see the sunrise as it comes up and over the horizon.