Final Project: My Boston Tea Party Ship

Below i my final project of a tea party ship. I really enjoyed making this ship and working in minecraft. I hope you like it.

Setting the foundation...

Wooden hulls. Just like old Ironsides!

The masts. I probably should have built a crows nest too!

The sails all rolled up. Not under wind power yet!

my final view before the sun goes down.

This is the Final Project: My Boston Tea Party Ship . It is a final exercise from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College. The course is called Discovering Computer Graphics. For details, visit the immersive BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc

Identity in the Context of Virtual Worlds

    Identity in the context of virtual worlds is a peculiar subject. It is interesting to see how people want to project and show themselves in a virtual world. The trend is that people tend to exaggerate or portray themselves in a very positive and different light. Most tweak their body to almost superhero status, with big muscles and slim waistlines. The women do the same with with tiny waist lines and big breasts, or a very sexy costume that they would never wear in public.

My various avatars throughout this class.

    This is a place where people can act out fantasies and be somebody totally different from their real selves.  It is a place where people can hide from their current drama filled lives and escape to a totally different world. They have no responsibilities, no reputation to live up to. They can be anyone they wish to be. Men can actually portray themselves as women, and visa versa. There are no rules and boundaries in the virtual worlds.

I chose a modest good looking bald dude for my avatar.

    There is the issue of adult themed worlds. A couple times this semester, I accidentally transported to an adult themed world, and was immediately turned of by the vulgarity of what I saw when entering these worlds. There is a massive, and probably profitable, trend in these worlds where people can act out their wildest fantasies with total strangers. Ranging from the romantic, to the morbidly erotic, all walks of life can come here and be anyone they ever wished to be. There is no judgement and no repercussions. Because there is total anonymity, it is easier for people to act out their fantasies, and be a totally new person.

                                      I thought this world was very cool and interesting. 


     What causes people to want to be so different from their own, real selves? Are they unhappy with themselves? or their real lives? Have they always wanted to be someone that they are not? What does it say about a 40 something year old man that wants to walk around in Fetish World in a diaper and be spanked by his mistress? Who are we to judge? I guess these worlds are a judge-free zone. People have a right to act out fantasies if they desire. They are not hurting anyone, right? This is not unlawful. People should be able to be whomever they wish to be. It is a free world. Virtual world, that is.




    The issue of identity in the context of virtual worlds can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. Whatever their reasons, whatever their desires, it is not for us tio judge what they do, and why they do it. It does not mean they have psychological problems. It does not mean that they are freaks. People are people , as Depeche Mode said so many years ago. Let them do as their hearts desire, and don't look too far into the reasons as to WHY they want to alter their persona in the virtual world. They may simply enjoy playing make believe. It could be as simple as that.

Examining Gender, Race and Body Image in a Virtual World

Below are screen shots of my avatar socializing in several virtual worlds.  As I changed my Avatar, I noticed a slight difference in who was willing to talk to me. When I was a guy Avatar, and approached several women, some instantly teleported away from me before I even got to take a screen shot! I didn't even get a chance to say hello!

Everybody seemed friendly and wanted to talk to me as a monster. I was surprised.

Then I changed in to a woman avatar.

This girl didn't want to talk to me, she just showed me her AX!

This girl talked to me, she was very nice.

Then I changed to a dude Avatar...

I didn't get too much of a response...

This girl was pleasant. I liked her

My original, Demon avatar. People loved me and talked to me all the time!

Some people teleported away from me instantly as I attempted to say hello. I was slightly offended.

BC Representing in Professional Gaming

Below are some screen shots of our classmates Chris and Jeffery competing in a professional video game competition. Chris and Jeff made it to the Final Four, but lost in the semi finals.

                   We're very proud of them and what they accomplished. Great job guys!!

The bad boys from Boston

Real announcers!

The dream team and the competition

The battles. Very Impressive

Congrats Guys! We're very proud!

Final #3 - Group 3D Building Project :State House

Below are screencaps of the Group Statehouse that we built together as a class. It came out really nice

Here we demolished the old Statehouse on a platform that we originally constructed last week. 

The walls went up fast and furious. Everybody helped and knocked them out fast!

It started to look like a building very quickly

Once the walls were up, we immediately started on the roof and dormers

Somebody installed stone cap window sills. I thought it gave it a nice touch

Standing back from a distance to make sure the dormers are evenly spaced.

Checking out the view from above

And the view of the cupola from the roofline. It looks good so far

It's taking shape and really coming along 

Everything looks in line and evenly spaced.

O.K. so we had to adjust a dormer or two. Some looked uneven. We fixed them up good.

The view from the balcony door, looking into the interior

From the balcony door looking outside to the Boston Harbor.

The door and torches lighting up the doorway...looking very colonial-ish!

The view from inside after we finished laying the carpet

I'd like to take credit for this, but Danny H. created this stoplight. Pretty cool!

The final view from the inside. I love it!

Standing back from afar to admire the finished product. 

A piece of Boston history created in just one class. Our iED Computer Graphics Class ROCKS!

This is the Final Project: Group Statehouse . It is a final exercise from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College. The course is called Discovering Computer Graphics. For details, visit the immersive BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc.