Bonus Mission #2: Second Life is Not A Game
Before Kevin Lim’s class, I’ve never heard of Second Life. Due to that, I thought it was similar to Half-Life. Boy was I wrong.
What is Second Life?
Second Life is an Internet-based virtual world developed by Linden Lab which became popular in late 2006 and early 2007. On the Second Life website, a downloadable client program enables its users, also known as ‘Residents,’ to interact with one another using motional avatars. Second Life provides an advanced level of a social network service as Residents can explore the virtual world, socialize, participate in individual/group activities, and create/trade items and services from one another (“Second Life,” 2007).
Why is Second Life Not a Game?
After you have explored Second Life, you would come to notice that there is no main goal or way to win/lose in Second Life. Moreover, one is unable to virtually “die” in Second Life either. If Second Life was a game, we would expect it to have an aim/mission to accomplish, or a points system that can rank the Residents according to who has won or lost the most in Second Life.
In a way, Second Life resembles aspects of IMVU (Instant Messaging Virtual Universe).
What is Second Life?
Second Life is an Internet-based virtual world developed by Linden Lab which became popular in late 2006 and early 2007. On the Second Life website, a downloadable client program enables its users, also known as ‘Residents,’ to interact with one another using motional avatars. Second Life provides an advanced level of a social network service as Residents can explore the virtual world, socialize, participate in individual/group activities, and create/trade items and services from one another (“Second Life,” 2007).
Why is Second Life Not a Game?
After you have explored Second Life, you would come to notice that there is no main goal or way to win/lose in Second Life. Moreover, one is unable to virtually “die” in Second Life either. If Second Life was a game, we would expect it to have an aim/mission to accomplish, or a points system that can rank the Residents according to who has won or lost the most in Second Life.
In a way, Second Life resembles aspects of IMVU (Instant Messaging Virtual Universe).
[Source: IMVU. (2007). In: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.]
IMVU also uses 3-dimensional avatars that enable users to explore the area, interact with speech bubbles and carry out actions such as hugging or kicking one other. However similar these two programs may seem, it is not difficult to realize that Second Life contains much more facilities than IMVU.
In Second Life, users are there to interact using their 3-dimensional avatars and engage in activities that they would probably not be able to do in real life. An obvious one would be that users are able to fly in Second Life. Residents are also able to explore the map and teleport to different locations. These locations may only be virtual but some are representations of places in real life. For example, Mr. Alvin Loo spent US$1,650 to buy land on Second Life to create a virtual replica of Singapore called Lion City (Tham, 2007). This would enable other Residents to visit the virtual Singapore and explore how some real landmarks may look. To me, this could be seen as an act of giving, in some way. He spends the money to buy virtual land where other Residents are free to explore and enjoy. Therefore, this does not make Second Life a game.
Moreover, apart from being able to navigate and control one’s avatar to move around the virtual world, which is similar to how people control their characters while engaging in games such as Counter Strike or Halo, Second Life concentrates on enabling its users to personalize their avatars and socialize with one another. This further contributes to the idea that Second Life is not a game.
If Second Life is Not a Game, Then What Is It?
In Second Life, users are there to interact using their 3-dimensional avatars and engage in activities that they would probably not be able to do in real life. An obvious one would be that users are able to fly in Second Life. Residents are also able to explore the map and teleport to different locations. These locations may only be virtual but some are representations of places in real life. For example, Mr. Alvin Loo spent US$1,650 to buy land on Second Life to create a virtual replica of Singapore called Lion City (Tham, 2007). This would enable other Residents to visit the virtual Singapore and explore how some real landmarks may look. To me, this could be seen as an act of giving, in some way. He spends the money to buy virtual land where other Residents are free to explore and enjoy. Therefore, this does not make Second Life a game.
Moreover, apart from being able to navigate and control one’s avatar to move around the virtual world, which is similar to how people control their characters while engaging in games such as Counter Strike or Halo, Second Life concentrates on enabling its users to personalize their avatars and socialize with one another. This further contributes to the idea that Second Life is not a game.
If Second Life is Not a Game, Then What Is It?
Second Life should be seen as a highly advanced social networking program. Unlike instant messaging programs where users communicate on windows through the exchange of text messages, Second Life provides a whole new virtual space for users to break beyond the lack of social cues on instant messaging programs to express themselves in a 3-dimensional world. In other words, Second Life has brought the world of online social networking a step closer to reality.
How Real Can It Get?
Life in Second Life pretty much reflects life in reality. Residents have to work to earn Linden Dollars (currency used in Second Life) or make items to sell to other Residents. In some cases, users have made real money out of selling their created items on Second Life.
In an incident related to World of Warcraft, one guild member had died in real life and his friends decided to hold a funeral for him inside the game. “The solemn affair was disrupted when a rival guild burst upon the unarmed mourners and slaughtered them mercilessly” (Levy, 2006). This emphasizes the fact that people are merging the happenings of real life issues together with that of the virtual world. This is significant in Second Life too.
We must remember: Although Second Life revolves around a virtual, or some may call ‘fake,’ world, the interactions between users are REAL.
References:
Levy, S. (2006). World of Warcraft: Is It a Game? Retrieved April 6, 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14757769/site/newsweek/page/3/print/1/displaymode/1098/
Second Life. (2007). In: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 6, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Life&diff=120696573&oldid=120695922
Tham, Y. (2007, March 24). Second Life Virtual World Gets a Lion City. The Straits Times, p. 2.
Labels: Assignments
posted by Amanda at 4/07/2007 02:37:00 AM
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