Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design

Figure 8.3. (left) Workshop case, Venus and the four Moons group (lipstick-shaped warrior spaceship)
Figure 8.4. (right) Workshop case, Superheroes & Supervillains group (brainwashing machine and
magical jail)
Figure 8.5. (left) Workshop project, Awesome Three group (stereo/dance floor against ‘stupidity’)
Figure 8.6. (right) Workshop project, Water Avengers group (water cleaning device and monument)
Design of Metrotopia and its primary function as a virtual laboratory
For instance, Metrotopia (Figure 8.1.) was meant to function primarily as a virtual laboratory for a
series of experiments, while its secondary functions were to serve as a teaching environment, as
well as being a location that is visited by random/frequent inworld visitors as they explore SL. The
primary functionality was a decisive determinant in the construction of the layout of the virtual
city, as well as the areas designated for specific types of avatar-mediated interactions within the
overall place. The decisions about genre, forms, size of the overall place and the intended types of
interactions were directly related to the context of Caitlyn’s research methodology. Caitlyn
expresses her initial intentions and progression of ideas that led to the design of Metrotopia as:
Caitlyn: Metrotopia is a designed island in SL created for an experiment I have been running
about how people made sense of virtual worlds. (…) And it is intended to reflect as much as
possible all of the opportunities and the constraints that this VW has in it, as part of the
structure of the virtual world.
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