For 2 years Second Life film maker Draxtor has been working on a film on virtual cultures during the coronavirus pandemic. Last weekend Whotter and I had the chance to be present at it's premiere. Over a 100 avatars gathered in the in-world cinema. I don't recall having sseen so many avatars in one place in Second Life in many years. Usually regions are limited to 35 or 40 avatars or so.
I will embed the film here, with the first paragraph of it's accompanying text.
Since March 2020, Draxtor has been following UC Irvine Department of Anthropology researchers Tom Boellstorff, Evan Conaway, Chandra Middleton and Sandy Wenger around Animal Crossing and Second Life to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping online interaction.
In the film, protagonists from all over the world open up about their anxieties and everyday challenges during the last two years, and share what virtual worlds and social games mean to them in the context of a global health crisis.
