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The Goddess workstation consisted of two monitors, each showing the video for one eye of each participant (participants saw true 3D stereo graphics in the helmets), headphones with corresponding sound channels for each participant, and sound board controls enabling her to speak to one or both participants or to the realtime support staff in the audio and computer control rooms.
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The workstation was located behind glass
in a booth facing the two circles, so she
could also see the participants' actual bodies.
This came in handy when people got in physical
trouble (for instance, one little girl's
helmet had slipped down over her nose) so
that the Goddess could provide realtime help;
it also gave her additional cues about how
people were actually feeling by watching
their physical bodies as well as their virtual
views.
Most of the time, the role of the Goddess
was performed by Brenda Laurel or by Jennifer Lewis, a research associate
at the Banff Centre. It was also occasionally performed by others,
including men. The Goddess' character changed
according to who was performing her and also
in relation to the participants. With children,
she tended to behave (and to be perceived)
as a helper and friend. With adult couples,
she was often a cupid and a tease. She answered
questions about the worlds and about the
interface and coached people who were having
difficulties. She often made suggestions
about things to do. Occasionally - as with
a pair of young men who asked one another,
"Can I eat you? Can I shoot you? Well, what can we do here?" - the Goddess became downright
bitchy. Our interviews with participants after their experiences revealed that people
had differing reactions to the Goddess, usually
well correlated with the style of her performance
in their session.
Voice of the Goddess audio recordings
