So I recently got into the PS3 beta of second life Home, Sony’s advertising space virtual world that connects all PS3 owners.
It’s all right. It’s nothing that I’d spend money or time on.
But, I did check it out, so the first thing I did was create my avatar. Through various tweaking and fiddling, I managed to create something that looked like an uncanny valley version of me.
If you squinted.
And were drunk.
But, being the overachiever I was, I had skipped out on the mandatory tutorial, so I was prompted (rather, not allowed to log in until I completed it) to take the tutorial before I could enter the Home beta. During the tutorial process there was a bit of confusion and I ultimately, I entered into the PS3 virtual space with an entirely different avatar, this one, a female.
I’ll be honest, I play games with female protagonists. I will usually defer to a female model in games that feature character creation. So, I thought nothing of entering PlayStation Home with a female avatar.
I’ll summarize. For the first time in my life, I was embarrassed to be a man. Continue reading