Mario Gerosa is certainly the most famous writer and journalist who is employed in Italy in Virtual Worlds. Journalist and editor in chief of Architectural Digest Italy known magazine, the world number in the member of the Human Sciences (Omnsh) deals with a number of years of evolution of virtual worlds. Published in 2006, Virtual Worlds (Castelvecchi) Second Life in 2007 (Ruin), a best seller in the field, and then again in 2008, Virtual Renaissance (Ruin). She curated the exhibition "Virtual Renaissance" Festival of Creativity at the event, which in 2008 in Florence, attracted 170,000 visitors. His commitment in the field of digital architecture has led to the drafting of the Convention for the Protection of virtual heritage. It 'a landmark of international importance in the field, and with him we want to tamper with this interview, the topics of "applications" of virtual worlds, those themes, that is, to be not only fun and entertainment, but also on practical aspects and implications in daily life.
AquilaDellaNotte Kondor: Mario Gerosa, first of all thank you for accepting this interview, was not assured given your many commitments.
Mario Gerosa: nothing, thanks to you.
AND: has long wanted to know your opinion on the issues of the development of Virtual Worlds (VW), this interview, finally, is the occasion. Let's start by saying that the analysis of what are the VW has been widely detailed in its different aspects. I would like to discuss with you the theme of applications of these VW and their future evolution. He began with a question at the bottom of trivial aside to meet people, chat with friends around the world to entertain and spend hours in the playing, more or less structured, what are the VW?
MG: a molte cose, soprattutto in due grandi settori, quello artistico e quello riguardante la didattica, tanto per cominciare. Dal lato artistico, credo che presto ci sarà una grossa evoluzione nel campo del cinema, soprattutto, e una ripresa dell’arte intesa come ritratti, installazioni e altri tipi di opere. Per quanto concerne la didattica, mi pare stia già funzionando molto bene; cito solo qualche esempio: l’e-learning, ovvero l’insegnamento a distanza, e l’utilizzo che dei mondi virtuali fanno gli studenti di design o architettura.
ADN: sono i due aspetti in cui è molto evidente il vantaggio apportato dai VW. Cominciamo dalla didattica.
MG: in ogni caso, credo che siamo ancora beginning. There is a talk station, which is the identity of the avatar and reputation, which has yet to be focused appropriately.
AND: explain better, please, do you mean by that? The need for a kind of tax code for the Avatar, for example?
MG: I mean that the Avatars will soon become like the characters in the novels, comics or movies. They have all the credentials to become one. But there is still some suspicion and a bit 'of sufficiency by those who would legitimize the entry into the world of literature and entertainment, although in recent years, there have been significant progress. Just see how they talk, these days, the film "Fly Fly" by Berardo Carboni. We no longer speak of such things as bizarre phenomena, but as artistic expressions. We're almost to the point of acceptance of the total, still missing a little effort.
AND: the movie is coming out of James Cameron's "Avatar." We will see an explosion of interest in Avatare the VW? What will come of it? Can we expect a change in the attention of the masses?
MG: Definitely. I think Cameron's film will be a very important phenomenon of the border, will be the hinge. It will be like a Rosetta stone of the twenty-first century. That film will decipher various media: video games, the poetics of virtual worlds and augmented reality. I think in that movie there will be a bit 'all, and, especially, will be a great tool to decode the language of the present and future. And when I say cross-border I mean, not niche.
AND: scholars of these worlds then we have to take advantage of this event for a rise to a change in the attention of traditional media and society towards the VW. We continue, however, the discourse on education. Given the undoubted advantages, the use of VW, why not spread more such applications? Why not use them all the companies and cultural institutions?
MG: credo che sia soprattutto una questione generazionale. Quante volte si sente ancora ripetere che il mondo virtuale è finto, che gli avatar sono finti, che è tutto un mondo fittizio? E come speri che questa gente affidi ai mondi virtuali la didattica? Bisogna puntare ancora molto sull’evangelizzazione, sulla spiegazione di questi mondi. La percezione non è ancora quella necessaria perché le applicazioni nella didattica prendano piede. Anzi, la comunicazione riguardante i mondi virtuali mi pare sia fortemente diminuita. Il discorso aziende credo sia un po’ di diverso. Lì si tratta di mettere a punto nuovi progetti concettuali che si discostino da quello che viene fatto finora nella realtà. Ma in quel caso bisogna osare, besides knowing.
AND: In many companies, teaching has been tested using virtual worlds, but the skepticism of the fund is unfortunately still heavy. It is also about a shared culture, in society at large, why the use of VW is limited to a niche and is expanding further?
MG: more should be done by disclosure, because in the end, the knowledge of virtual worlds is still small. As long as we talk amongst ourselves, we feel that many things are established, but it is not. There is a considerable percentage of people are not interested in virtual worlds, or do not know what they are and find it difficult to approach these areas. There would highly spectacular projects to solicit people's attention. It would take another 2007, the year that has done so much to talk about SL. So it would take another phenomenon like SL.
AND: 2007 was the year of the new, so it was obvious a great deal of attention for the new, what we can do today to broaden the knowledge?
MG: I think you should work on disclosure. It 's always the same story at the beginning of the new phenomena are struggling to take root and we can not wait overnight to be part of the main stream. In any case, it would take strong projects are important.
AND: this means money, finance, and the moment, unfortunately, is not favorable.
MG: So we have to wait.
AND: then we resume the thread of our argument. In your opinion, then, is a question of culture and dissemination. It 's why the avant-garde are ahead? The artists, for example.
MG: Right now, I do not know if those are the artists below. The art of virtual worlds has had a moment of great interest, with strong energy, but now I think the discussion has already moved. I think the theme of augmented reality, which is very important. I think now comes some big project that mixes virtual worlds and augmented reality. By now the world saw only in the monitor seems a thing of the past. Within a couple of years I expect something really innovative. And then, we want to talk about the speech of the touch screen? It 's time to think about projects that integrate, even in virtual worlds, where traditionally had no sense of touch.
AND: with your observation that we move this issue of the technological aspects of the VW, so we have to expect some big news? And then, what we mean by "augmented reality"?
MG: Yes, I think so. The news now come from technological innovation, which in recent years has progressed very far. If I compare a virtual world e l’iphone, quest’ultimo mi sempra più avanti. Per cui sospetto che nel giro di poco ci sarà un forte update dei mondi virtuali.
Per realtà aumentata intendo un oggetto virtuale che posso plasmare al di fuori dello schermo del computer. Una cosa che ricorda un ologramma. I mondi virtuali presto usciranno dai monitor, e quella sarà la novità. Almeno, è quanto mi aspetto, e mi auguro che accada.
ADN: insomma, arriverà il “ponte ologrammi” della nave stellare Enterprise di Star Trek?
MG: penso di sì, e sarebbe anche ora di vedere un po’ di futuro. Quanti di noi, da ragazzi, pensavano che il 2000 sarebbe stato come “2001 Odissea nello Space "? Instead, the future hard to get, as there are fragments of the future here and there: SL, the iPhone, the touchscreen to "Minority Report". Now we're ready to immerse ourselves in the future true. Or not?
AND: yes, I agree that we are ready for a long time, but the reality of today we have it under your eyes, here too there is a cultural leap to make, do not you think? Should leave, then, from schools and universities? But why universities are not very careful, most recently, virtual worlds, after the initial phase of care?
MG: I believe that the speech would require a round table discussion with 10 experts, from economics to technology. Sure, it's a cultural leap, but it is also linked to speech production. Virtual worlds are not yet perceived as useful or even necessary. Think instead of the navigation systems: everyone has one. Mobile phones, ditto. When virtual worlds will be perceived as useful, such as television or a car, then there will be the turning point. Now, honestly, what is the equation for the layman? = Virtual world video games, virtual worlds = chat, virtual worlds = waste of time.
Universities are careful as far as I know. The boys of my Multimedia course at the Polytechnic, for example, are very interested in these concepts. But you have to do a task more widespread, massive and at the same time.
AND:. back for a moment to your previous answer, and that is that when you make large-impact projects, then society will be involved at ground level. But this requires investment and clear ideas. We must therefore defer this to a mass enlargement of its immediate future? It 's so?
MG: you have to wait until there are significant investments. If not it always falls in the 'conceptual operation "of value, that is talked about the newspapers, which excites the attention of intellectuals and futurists, but largely fails to take root. The future, as well as in universities, writing nei Media World.
ADN: siamo usciti quindi dal mondo dei sogni e stiamo valutando il futuro da un punto di vista più pragmatico, questa mi sembra la conclusione di questa panoramica. Guardiamo al futuro, ma con i piedi per terra, e, per alcuni aspetti, il futuro è già arrivato. E’ così?
MG: non esattamente. Direi che bisogna continuare a sognare, ma puntando a realizzare concretamente i propri sogni, altrimenti rimangono “prototipi di un futuro possibile” destinati ad essere archiviati nel giro di qualche anno. Un conto è l’idea, un altro è la sua traduzione nella realtà. I mondi virtuali hanno avuto i loro visionari, hanno avuto dei buoni concetti, ma adesso bisogna move on to the engineering of dreams. The future is already here and probably do not realize it. But this is a bit 'a joke that effect.
AND: so we can continue to dream because the dream encourages us to move forward in our borders, but we actually implement at least some of these dreams, otherwise it remains in the world of fantasy. I understand you correctly?
MG: Yes, that's right.
AND: I would like to conclude this interview, Mario, Thanks again for taking the time to dedicate to the readers of EEMM, and also for the interesting points that have emerged during the interview.
Thanks so much, and good lavoro.
