Second Life, because 1 is not enough

[ik911]

Some time ago, a documentary was on TV about a guy who played Second Life and the impact it had on his first one. It seemed only logical to try this game for myself.

A quick registration and client download later, I found myself in the world that is Second Life. I had decided to make a Godfather character, Don Corleone. Why? Because I felt like it.

The old, balding man found himself between cool surferdudes and hot chicks. A man on a mission? No. There are no goals to achieve in this endless world of pixels. You can decide upon your own priorities and activities.

Great big buildings greeted me, invited me in, supplied gambling and dancing opportunities. What more could a man want?

Yes, that was not a rhetorical question. A man wants female attention. And every female in SL seems nice. As well as most males, though. On the other hand, every female seems to have found a virtual husband, too... No problem, I wasn't there for the females and gambling and certainly not for the dancing. Don Corleone is no great dancer...

I felt I had some higher purpose than those three things. I asked around if there were possibilities to set up a criminal organization. I hoped extortion, illegal gambling and smuggling, theft, murder and bribery had a place in this creation. I was wrong. In fact, one even banned me from her property.

What other ways were there to make money or "Lindens" as they called, named after the inventors of Second Life, who are still actively improving the world.

The easiest way appeared to be "camping". There were some places where you could just dance or sit or something and get money for it every minute. Meanwhile, the player could do all kinds of productive things off the computer, like cleaning up the house etc.. Seemed a bit of a boring method, though.

Another way to make virtual money is to buy it. With real money. That's really nice, but I'm not paying anything for a free game...

The nicest way to make money in SL, though, is selling stuff to others. One can buy clothes and accessories, houses, furniture, emotions and actions, scripts, plants, plots of land, you name it. These can all be made by players and used or sold off. This creates a great variety in both quality and styles.

Although this creation system is not the smoothest in the world, one can make nice things when one is willing to sacrifice the time. The possibilities are almost endless.

So you can create your own objects and then sell it so you can buy other people's creations and after many hours of work and trading, you can call yourself the proud proprietor of a very nice home with designer furniture and some cool threads on your body. Materialism is hip!

However, the most important part of this MMO is the part that makes it an MMO: the other people. You can talk to almost anyone and if you're nice, they will talk back. You can chat with each others, but the "avatars", as the characters are called, can also interact physically. Coupling seems to be an important part in SL. As I said earlier, almost everyone has an SL-partner. Often the SL-partner is the significant other in Real-Life as well, although many have both an SL and a RL partner, which they seem to treat with equal affection. Sex is not practiced publically, though, as it is a private affair in SL, just like it is in RL (in most countries), but there's an extraordinary amount of animations and toys for sale for the virtual bedroom. Frustrated players? *shrugs*

SL is taken quite serious by it's players, even though the avatars can teleport or fly to their destinations and breathe under water, among other things that I can't do. But on the emotional level, the players say they experience the relationships they have with others transcend the virtual environment.

To get back to the virtual environment: There's some very nice pieces to be discovered, but more often than not, the buildings and parks and everything are unrealistic, uninteresting or just ugly. Maybe because such a virtual world is still in it's early stages, it does not pretend to be anything else but a social game. You don't really need objects or houses for anything.

There are much to do and see, but not for the 'adventurer'. You can design lots, but this is no game for the designer. A giant chatroom/instant messenger environment is what it is and not much more.

I also asked some players if SL is a supplement or an alternative to their RL. Apparently, it can be both, even at the same time.

I can't really say I liked it as a game. As a sociological virtual-reality experiment, it's rather interesting, but I do need some kind of goal in a game, or an enemy.

Maybe Second Life shows us the (distant) future of all IM's.

http://secondlife.com/

[penguin_king]

what are the sys reqs for this?

[Xandax]

Nicely written @IK, and a good explanation of the game.

[ik911]

Originally Posted by penguin_king

what are the sys reqs for this?

It's on the website. A reasonably good computer is advised, to prevent clientside lag...

@Xandax: Thanks I've changed some opinions now tho, as I've played it very much and perception changes. Became addicted, I fear

[Xandax]

Originally Posted by ik911

<snip>
@Xandax: Thanks I've changed some opinions now tho, as I've played it very much and perception changes. Became addicted, I fear [/color]

A "huge" risk of most MMOGs I've played, and something I've been close to becomming myself - especially in Dark Age of Camelot (my first MMOG).
When the social aspect usually is the largest pull-factor of such games, it is difficult to avoid being caught and then difficult to kick, because you feel like leaving behind friends.

[ik911]

Originally Posted by Xandax

A "huge" risk of most MMOGs I've played, and something I've been close to becomming myself - especially in Dark Age of Camelot (my first MMOG).
When the social aspect usually is the largest pull-factor of such games, it is difficult to avoid being caught and then difficult to kick, because you feel like leaving behind friends.

So true.... But I'm also leaving behind projects I'm building/involved in. Double horror!!