Sunday, August 15, 2010

Why we are here

My husband and I have been playing Pet Society for over a year now. We began out of sheer curiosity: what is this avatar business anyway? Why would anyone want to spend time doing this?

I tried it, and was charmed. My husband looked at it and was hooked. The program may have been conceived as "Second Life for three-year-olds" as he often claims, but it was a vast blank canvas upon which everyone created their own little worlds.

We are far from kids ourselves, well into AARP territory. Playing Pet Society taps into that inner world of play that can get lost in the hullabaloo of grown-up life. I think we need to be in touch with that playful part of ourselves, no matter how old we are, or how we get there.

The blog is created to share some of the great moments and fun we've been having with our friends who are not on FaceBook, and to showcase some of the fine photo work and captions our fellow Pet Society Players come up with.

6 comments:

Christy said...

This is a great idea. I hope we can share some of our great memories and preserve them.

Unknown said...

I got 'hooked' on Pet Society when James set up a virtual CD release party for my band, Phantom City. Since James threw a party in my band's honor, I felt obligated to attend. Since the only way I could attend was via an online Avatar (simplistic and playful though it was), I created Mr. E as a little online version of my creative persona. Mr. E started out with a simple room (as most pets do), but I quickly began to see the creative possibilities.

I attended Scoop's "Burning Pet" celebration of the Burning Man spirit and began to let Mr. E dress for special occasions. I also began to build rooms where his crazy ideas could come to life. It wasn't the only creative outlet I had but it was an evolving little world complete with friends who were creating their own alternate realities. It was also a place where I could 'act out' a bit more than I felt comfortable with in the real world.

It was a place online where I could really let my freak flag fly. I hope we find a way to save this little oasis of the spirit.

Leslie in Adams Morgan said...

PS has always been a great creative outlet for me.

Danine Cozzens said...

Thank you for the remarkable post! So true.

Danine Cozzens said...

Steven, this is wonderful! I've sent you an invitation to be an "author" . This would make a fine post, with a photo or two of Mr. E, of course.

Danine Cozzens said...

Leslie, I met you through Soyon's blog post of your blog, which was brilliant. It would be fabulous if you could post the link here, or repost the entire episode afresh. I want this blog to be an easy read for anyone in the outside world who might well wonder what the fuss is all about.