What Writing Students Get From the Net: Using Synchronous Communication to Develop Writerly Skills

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Character Creation Assignment

For this assignment, you will be experimenting with metamorphosis, finding out what it might be like to be someone (or something!) completely different from yourself, all through playing on the Internet. When you have completed your investigative journey, you will return to your "body" (which, of course, you never left) and describe your experiences in 750-1000, focusing on making comparisons between and among your experiences.

Step One: Find some multi-user networks (use your handout). Log on as "guest" where possible; otherwise just type in any name with which you feel comfortable enough to act like yourself. Look around; check out the "natives." Just play for now.

Step Two: When you have found a network on which you feel relatively comfortable, move in. Make sure the natives are friendly and chatty; this experiment will not work if no one talks to you! Also, try to find a network on which you have at least a modicum of fun. Take some notes on how the people on your network respond to you as "you." Don't forget to set your client to log sessions so you have a text file to refer back to.

Step Three: Here's the tricky part: you must create at least three but no more than four characters which you will maneuver around the network of your choice, in addition to the persona you've already established as "you" in Step Two.
 

• Your first character should be the "simple opposite" of you, including looks, gender and temperament. Use the DESCRIBE command (type "help describe" to find out how it works) to create the vision of you which everyone else on the network will see when they LOOK or EXAMINE your character.
• Your second character should also be different from you, but try to be more creative than simple opposites. Some networks allow up to 7 genders and 40 races.
• Your third character should be something completely irrational, surreal or physically impossible. Be a large body of water, a genetically-engineered sewer rat, a furry thermostat – BE CREATIVE!!!

Step Five: Hopefully you have picked a lively group with fairly consistent player base. This will help you in your investigation. Where possible, try to interact with the same players with each character you create, but DO NOT LET ON THAT YOU ARE THE "SAME" PERSON – THIS WILL RUIN YOUR EXPERIMENT!!!

Step Six: Remember to take notes on your experiences, and save logs. When you have collected enough data, draft a comparison/contrast essay in which you describe your adventure with a purpose in mind. What did you discover? About yourself or other people?