A continuation from yesterday's entry.

The previous entry points to a powerful example of how a virtual identity can affect the “real” one.  It offers the insight that if a System is designed well to draw a real world identity in- that respective identity can affect real world choices and conscience. 

This extends to an educational foreground as well.  Imagine a student’s moral code, self-esteem, and motivation for success being transferred into the virtual identity of a scientist in a laboratory; where the actions as the scientist significantly affect these areas in the “real” student.  A high transfer rate to the scientist identity may occur if the System engages the user in similar ways that the Mass Effect System does for me.  

It is not unreasonable to extend then that if the “real” identity is deeply affected by the virtual one, the amount of learning from that experience will be increased.  Therefore, the key appears to be, designing Systems that tie students to virtual identities.  It’s worth finally adding that, as in the example of the scientist identity, virtual identities are not and should not be constrained to the development of “edutainment”.  As J.P. Gee might support, the medium of virtual Systems is just one possible path to developing meaningful virtual identities in students.    

- Controller 22789JK7

 

(Ladies discussing the idiocy of a tic-tac-toe trivia game)

 

Conscience breaks the fourth wall

Finally receiving the chance to transfer some experiences, this Controller recently encountered a scenario where a decision was made and the moral consequence was so startling, I was broken out of the virtual identity.
This situation was the first of its kind I’ve ever encountered in a game.  The decision had entirely no bearing on my virtual identity (Capt. Jonathan Shepard) in terms of progression, success, lasting relationships, or any other System-related parameter.  It was simply an option, one that I took but was so startled by outcome (again, meaningless) that it brought me back to my real identity, halting the System, and thinking about how I felt about what had just happened.  My real world identity was made uncomfortable by a trivial (relative to the System-world) decision- I seemed to myself, “I can’t stand for that kind of action.”  <- even if it was nothing I directly did.

I ended up restarting the System to an earlier save point to “correct” the decision I made (an impulse choice that led to the unnecessary murder of a minor villain).  I hampered my progress, and possibly even hampered a success factor (it’s possible that killing the minor villain could have made the current mission easier down the road) in order to “ease” my real-world identity.

(Shepard killing an adversary)

Conclusion to previous entry:

We have seen here that Controllers in fulfilling these unrelated side quests do not only care that they reach the end, or even that they completely reach the end, but also care how they reach the end.  Does one care enough about a virtual friendship to their virtual identity to take hours to complete a cross-galatic fetch quest to reveal something about the virtual friend's past?  Does one care to save a unrelated species or race from extinction at the cost of fuel, supplies, and other time-critical opportunities.  Does one try to amass every resource imaginable making any challenge a relative ease as payment for their hours spent or does one relish the challenge of unlikely success and punishable failure?  How does one make the decision to rip themselves from the central narrative to a briefer, unrelated peripheral one or are they unable to relinquish the development of the story for a personal history item?  And in the case of the former, does this show weakness on the side of the Architects in formulating a compelling, involving narrative?   

These are all questions that when the answers are filled in by one of the five billion Controllers reveal private information about the real-life Controller such as the intrinsic motivations behind the control of a virtual simulation, the value the Controller has for a projected identity in general, and the amount of metacognition a Controller may have for such a task.  The answers also can reveal the creator of the system's (in this case, the Architects) ability to "lock in" Controllers, whether they are the divertive or single-minded type, to the experience they've created.  

The insights gleaned from these revelations about the Controllers and creators may have significant value for the roles of educators.

No, I'm looking to get some ME time this weekend, you? Yea, ME 2 man.

A version of Commander Shepard based on his experiences in ME 2

Both ME and ME 2 have been designed around narrative.  As previously mentioned, the group known as the Architects designed a system to convey a controllable series of events occurring in a future-state of the universe, placing this system into the hands of many Controllers (up to 5 million at this point).  Each Controller makes different choices and engages in different control of the characters to watch the story unfold in unique ways- hence the title they have given the system; Mass Effect.  

It is clear that the way a Controller virtual-projects his or her identity will determine the outcome of the system and this extends beyond one's value system or interests; the outcome also indicates the value the Controller has for their avatars, the strongest motivations of the Controller, and also the amount of metacognition and second-level learning (a degree of separation "above" the unfolding scenarios) experienced by the Controller.

A large example of the outcome revealing much about the Controller and their unique experience in the system is illustrated through the exploration options given to the Controller in ME 2.  In Mass Effect and its extension ME 2, Controllers have the option of eschewing the system's events completely, piloting with some control their squad and ship to any planet in any reachable galaxy.  Arriving in orbit near the unexplored planets, the Controller may scan the planet for anomalies such as unregistered installations, communications, or material goods.  In addition to this, the Controller may be in conversation with someone one when they offhandedly, accidentally, or purposely mention unrelated events occurring on a certain planet in a certain galaxy.  Choosing to divert from the main focus and pursue the subject may reveal actionable possibilities on the planets as well.  Choosing to pursue such opportunities may elicit support, outrage, excitement, or indifference from your squadmates but more importantly, may reveal the corners of completely withheld history and connections about these individuals.  Completion, rejection, and how one completes these side quests will alter the loyalties and relationship of your squadmates as you refocus on the main task at hand.  In addition, one's character will develop in different ways as decisions unique to the quest will be made, new items will be found to keep, and combat experience (which can improve/add skills) will be gained.  

In the next few days the 1st and 2nd-level implications of this core example will be added.

For further ideas on the Architects, the 1st or 2nd Mass Effect universes, or Commander Shepard and co., stay tuned or please get in touch.


- Controller 22789JK7

A virtual representation of one of the Architects