UC Berkeley

Place is characteristically imbued with a multiplicity of meanings contingent on the specificities of the society, time and space in which place is perceived. It is essentially subjective, relational and differential. As such, virtual multiplicity is the main characteristic of place where the virtual is understood as the sum of the real, a subjective mental act, and a motive or confusion. Space, conversely, is that which has no virtuality in it; it is objective. Accordingly, at least in theory, it is hard to distinguish between virtual and actual places. Outside of theory, virtual place typically suggests a system of representations that aims to convey through the senses an imagined or illusionary reality. Virtual place is mostly associated with places constructed using computational technology; most popular among them are massive multiuser online games (MMOGs).

Lately, scholars are increasingly using such MMOGs to virtually construct or reconstruct historic places. The interpretation of such historic places depends on the affordances of the medium through which place is perceived and the ways in which such a medium is socially deployed and interpreted. This dissertation explores (1) the ways in which MMOGs are perceived and (2) the formative effect virtual reconstructions of historic places using gaming technology exercise on the interpretation of such places.

Using two popular MMOGs as a case study, this dissertation shows that the perception of such places is conditioned by the suggestive technical affordances of the medium in addition to complex socio-historical forces. These conditions predispose expert users of MMOGs to perceive these virtual places in ways different than new users. New users perceive virtual environments in ways similar to the ways they perceive the actual environment: They assume an isomorphic relationship between the virtual reconstruction of a given place and its actuality. They value the formal and multi-sensory aspects of the environment. Expert users, on the other hand, perceive the virtual environment from a structural and functional perspective and pay less attention to its formal and sensory qualities. They seek novel and interesting social activities, increased technical knowledge and improved social status.

This dissertation also uses the ancient settlement of Sirkap, located in modern-day Pakistan, as a case study, to demonstrate that the use of gaming technology to virtually reconstruct a historical place may entail a change in the interpretation of archaeological records. Most conventional historical accounts of Sirkap use two-dimensional site maps and city plans as the primary media to represent the urban fabric of the ancient settlement. The medium lends itself to interpret the Block D Apsidal Temple complex as the dominant socio-religious structure in the affluent northern parts of the settlement. When the author developed an interactive three-dimensional reconstruction of Sirkap using gaming technology--a medium that allows users, through their avatars, to explore the settlement from the standpoint of a pedestrian--it was immediately obvious that the aforementioned Block D Apsidal Temple complex did not demand such an interpretation. Instead, this study argues that, at least in the affluent northern parts of the settlement, the northern gate, its adjacent fortifications, and the Block A stupa court were the dominant structures. Such an interpretation leads the authors to question the canonical understanding of the role of the state and its military apparatus in the socio-religious life of Sirkap.