Anyone heard of "Second Life"?

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

I was reading a CNN story about a new, Japanese virtual world that's being launched in December:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/28/virtual.tokyo.ap/index.html

That brought up the issue of "Second Life" which has been around since 2003. I was absolutely unaware that anything like this existed. Anyone out there ever get into Second Life? I'm just curious about the experience.

http://secondlife.com/

 

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

I too never heard of second life until you mentioned it trip. It seems kind of like Sims but a lot more.

 

Its been around for years, seen it on loads of documentaries where they waffle on about how we will all live in VR land. Lots of americans are into it, and people even use it for meetings and viral advertising etc.

 

I've tried it for a while and didnt like it. Too much liek real life! Theres no goals or aims, you just wander round and do what you like. Its not so much a game as an online miror of real life. I do know that some people have made money from it, especially as the currency used in the game is bought with real money. So if you start trading or selling stuff in game it equates to real money in the bank. Even some big companies have invested in virtual properties and stocks in the game to make some real money.

Theres also been a lot of problems that have made the news due to the game. Some one was killed due to not selling an island in the game, there has been some virtual terroism taht has affected the game and some racist divisons exist in the game.

To be honest, for me, if i'm playing an online game i want defined goals and missions to complete and not something that mirrors my life or things that can happen in life. I want something fun, exciting and not too real! Thats the point of online games int it? pure escapism?

 

Second Life is one of 3 'virtual worlds' that I'm a member of.

There is a whole spectrum of types of Virtual World, from out-and-out gaming to purely social. Wikipedia attempts to classify these, but I think it tries too hard to classify the un-classifiable!

Second life is more towards the social end - there is no 'gameplay' and no 'leveling'. It is also unusual in that you can create your own content - most other virtual worlds have a fixed list of content. It also has a convertable currency - currently an US Dollar is worth about 280 game currency "Linden Dollars".

You don't have to pay to be in Second Life, but, like the real world, having money helps!

Harry.

 

This exact topic was brought up just two months ago, Trip: link

 

I have briefly dabbled with second life, however you have to spend quite a bit of money to get anywhere in it.

 

Bite me. Oh never mind...that would just give you an excuse to put on your fangs, again.

I was just curious. I can imagine two reactions to a virtual world...utter boredom or addiction. After all, in a virtual world, there wouldn't have to be rules. For instance, I hear in Second Life, characters can just jump from one place to another, although in the Japanese version, if you want to get around virtual Tokyo, you have to use conventional transportation.

The other issue with a VW is that there wouldn't have to be any laws or morals. If you wanted to shoot someone, you could (I read you can have guns in Second Life, but your character can't die). The Japanese version is much more law and rule bound and no guns. You'd expect that because the Japanese are a lot more conformist than Americans and have strict anti-gun laws.

A real virtual world would certainly test the moral character of the people inhabiting it. After all, it's the perfect excuse to try all of the things you would never dare do in real life.

 

I think Twizzle and I spoke about this once on some post in the off-topic forum.

Its a good idea but it doesn't work, I downloaded and had it on my hard drive for about 2 hours before it was taken off never to be put on again.

 

There is walking, running and the use of some vehicles, including 'planes. What is not normal is that you can fly (fastest for short distances) and teleport. The teleport is needed because of the (relatively) huge distances involved - it would take for ever to get to some locations without that.

It depends on the region you are in whether guns are allowed. In most places they are *not* allowed, but there are sections (mostly well-marked) where anything goes. If you are 'killed' you get resurected at your 'home' location. This is a standard feature of most games, even off-line ones

Indeed. Linden Labs, SL's creator, publish and enforce a code of conduct, known as "The Big Six". These are 'cardinal sins' that may result in you being banned. They are:
Intolerance
Harassment
Assault
Disclosure
Indecency
Disturbing the Peace


Oddly, I find that most people in the 3 MMOs I inhabit are kind, friendly, and decent! There is hope for the human race yet!

Harry.

 

It needs a very good computer, and a high-end graphics card, plus a fast DSL connection to get reasonable speed. Otherwise you spend ages waiting for stuff appear.

Harry.

 

Funny how I read this thread then a couple of days later mike myers in his 6th ed mentions the game in ch 24 the complete pc tech