Second Life - Online Virtual Life Simulator

[nofear88]

I been browsing many sites and the main website itself of Second Life and Im purplexed on how it appeals to people excluding the chance to play as somebody else in a Online Virtual World as seen with the range of Bethesda games such as Skyrim, Oblivion and the Fallout games.

 

Second life is from the Wiki page:

"Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers,[1][2] enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another. Second Life is intended for people aged 16 and over,[3] and as of 2011 has about one million active users" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

 

 

 

The part that got me inturgied is people actually pay for items, clothes and so on for thier online avatar and enhance thier experience...

 

It just seems a bit of a waste of money to me to pay fopr things like this but then again we all pay for "official" Game enhancements such as DLCs and so on.

 

The Second Life Market place is also what is similar on what Steam and Bethesda are probably trying to do...

 

Thoughts people? And perhaps anybody actually play about in Second life?

[McclaudEagle]

I once played Second Life many years ago for about a few days, and to be honest, it was probably the most boring online game/simulator I've ever bothered trying out. However, that experience was years ago and it might actually be better now, not that I have any intention of finding out.

[Vagrant0]

I spent a few months in Second Life, both a few years ago; mostly just wandering, and again earlier this year; doing some building and management work for a club. Not really a phenomenon. Many other things were around at about the same time Second Life started up. Cybertown and There come to mind, but know there are others. Second Life itself is nothing new and is mostly based around 6 year old graphics and technology.

 

As a game, there is nothing really there. There are some gaming aspects, but it's just a bad system for what you typically define as gaming. There are several combat systems, but they all have issues with latency and detection since all these systems make use of scripted objects attached to each player, but are tracked by a world server. There is a system managed health system, but it's easily exploited and is generally rubbish.

 

The real gaming value, if any, comes in the form of roleplaying. Most of the popular combat games have a roleplaying aspect to them that dictates who to kill, when, why, and even what sorts of things can be used. But there is non-combative roleplay too, usually centered around historic environments or themes. But it's more like a MUD than an online game. Beyond that, there are many social things you can do, like listen to DJs, live music, participate in discussions/classes, or just chat with people, and that's really what it's all about, other people. Most of the community though seems to be centered around more "adult" forms of roleplay though, which might be good for some, or frightening to others (just remember, there are no women on the internet, before you start hitting on people for their "sexy avatar").

 

The economic aspect of Second Life has always been there. That's pretty much what made it stand out among other virtual worlds since it wasn't as limited in the amount of content. Having a built in system for creating 3d objects also makes it more accessible to non-professionals. But it does leave things often looking bad. Even with Sculpties and supposedly Mesh, most objects aren't particularly good looking without costing a few bucks (will save you from having to hear about my month long search for a decent pair of men's mechanic boots that don't cost silly amounts of money... Nevermind decent looking men's hair). Great if you have you have an excess budget and like spending time on personal appearance, not so good for most others. Lots of 'women' who are thrilled as hell to meet any guy who can hold a conversation though, so it might be good for recovering shut-ins who have trouble relaxing and talking to women (although they probably wouldn't go places where people actually are).

 

 

My experiences the second time around were better because I went out of my way to get involved with others, but I still wasn't overly impressed with it. Still pop in every now and then to see how some of the people I met are doing though, so it is about the same as any other MMO.

[MrTastix]

I think once you start looking at Second Life as game then you start becoming sorely disappointed in it.

 

It's not a video game in the traditional sense, though some aspects of the program may play as one. It can entertaining, but that doesn't make it a game.

 

I have to agree with Vagrant, from the small time I actually bothered to spend on the game. It's rather out-dated nowadays however, and I'd hardly call it a phenomenon, though that could simply be because it's not generally seen advertised in your popular gaming blogs, since most probably don't consider it a game in the classical sense (as aforementioned). Roleplaying is an option, and there were even small documentaries done on people who played Second Life to adopt the character of their dreams. It really did become a Second Life for some people.

 

One thing I found is when it came out it was highly popular for marketing new products or to get some more sales for already-existing products, and it worked well-enough that a lot of people tried doing it. I don't know if this still happens, but it was an interesting concept at the time.

 

As for buying in-game items with real money? Those forms of micro-transactions aren't particularly new either and have been quickly becoming the norm for a while now. A lot of free MMOs - especially Korean and Japanese-based games - have in-game stores for people to buy in-game items with real money. It's one of the main ways they generate revenue from what is otherwise a free game.

Edited December 14, 2011 by MrTastix

[Vagrant0]

As for buying in-game items with real money? Those forms of micro-transactions aren't particularly new either and have been quickly becoming the norm for a while now. A lot of free MMOs - especially Korean and Japanese-based games - have in-game stores for people to buy in-game items with real money. It's one of the main ways they generate revenue from what is otherwise a free game.

Well, I think the main thing that you overlooked here is that about 99.999% of the content being bought not only comes from other users, but is designed by them. In this regard it is very different from pretty much any MMO since the main company is only taking a small portion of revenue in the form of land rentals, uploading fees, and transaction fees if using the online marketplace. You aren't paying the game company for the item, you're paying another user who spent long hours making it. Also, unlike your usual MMO, the things being bought are essentially props for whatever social activity you're doing... Either as a DJ or performer in a club, a person chilling out and joking with friends, a warrior guarding a settlement, an e-athlete who plays team games in specialized arenas, or someone being bound, gagged and spending some quality time with their Mistress. The bought content isn't important in itself, but rather what it is being used for to help make the environment or costume more appropriate for that action. There may not be many who are earning an actual living from Second Life, but there are several who use the money they get from selling products or working at various places to help fund their entertainment. It's just a different sort of entertainment than most gaming.

[ziitch]

Wait, you've got a SL profile Vagrant0? Tell me, have you ever tried to get any of the merchants/CC creators interested in any of the custom content-supported games over here at Nexus? I know that the community stance here is that all content should be a free and obtained without a catch, but they must want a "second life" for their SL content. Besides, for something like a 2003 game, they must find it disappointing that it doesn't have the graphical prowess that newer, more impressive games have these days. I mean, after a while, wouldn't you like to find something that would better show off your creations too?

 

I can convert SL content, it shouldn't be too hard (it's in COLLADA .dae format, which is open and is supported by Blender). I think a visual demonstration in some of these game would get them to give it at least a thought...

[Vagrant0]

Wait, you've got a SL profile Vagrant0? Tell me, have you ever tried to get any of the merchants/CC creators interested in any of the custom content-supported games over here at Nexus? I know that the community stance here is that all content should be a free and obtained without a catch, but they must want a "second life" for their SL content. Besides, for something like a 2003 game, they must find it disappointing that it doesn't have the graphical prowess that newer, more impressive games have these days. I mean, after a while, wouldn't you like to find something that would better show off your creations too?

 

I can convert SL content, it shouldn't be too hard (it's in COLLADA .dae format, which is open and is supported by Blender). I think a visual demonstration in some of these game would get them to give it at least a thought...

It doesn't really work like that. I'm also pretty sure it would be a bad idea to do it with resources since even modders resources usually only allow for usage within a free environment, or limited to only that one game. Mesh is newish in Second Life, so have not dabbled, but suspect there is some sort of verification for new uploads to keep people from just gutting some of the model sites around and selling them in Second Life. I also suspect that the company running things takes a firm stance on things uploaded which are under copyright.

 

As for trying to get merchants and such interested in that content... Why would I? Most respectable merchants would only sell the stuff they made from scratch since it keeps them from having their account and thousands of dollars worth of stuff bought and sold through that account getting banned. Even if you were just looking for ideas, you wouldn't get far since the scripting that Second Life uses is just a horrible mess to use (I tried for a month, never really got anywhere).

 

More over, Second Life is not a game in the same way that most people think about games. I think the best analog I could make for it would be Elementary School recess. It's not a game in and of itself, but is instead an environment for people to formulate their own games and roleplaying, sometimes facilitated by various pieces of equipment that are either on site or which are carried in.

 

That's not to say that someone somewhere might not have a TES themed roleplay area, but rather most people who are that into TES would probably just play the games since such a roleplay area would likely require having 2-3 sims rented by that person, and hundreds of hours spent adding and building things for it. When I was wandering around I found an Ankh-Morpork/Discworld themed area, but was rather disappointed with how empty it was and how blocky/simple some things looked. Which does bring up a point, just because you built something doesn't mean that you'll necessarily get anyone interested enough to spend their time there. I've seen dozens of interesting looking places along various themes and usually, they're empty or only have people who are AFK.

 

 

Second life isn't really a game, it's more like a 3d social site, and from what I saw, has about the same amount of depth.

[ziitch]

I don't know if you read my post wrong or not, but I was talking about getting CC creators for SL to come/bring their creations over here to the games here. Obviously, not the other way around.

[Vagrant0]

I don't know if you read my post wrong or not, but I was talking about getting CC creators for SL to come/bring their creations over here to the games here. Obviously, not the other way around.

The problem on that side is poor translation between the two since most everything is made from either textures mapped to an official body shape, or mapped to stuff in various conglomerations which are attached at various places to that body shape. Mesh objects might be a bit more applicable, but with that you run into other problems, namely the fact that they would be distributing textures and models which could potentially be used to duplicate their work in Second Life. People already get upset when others use their resources without permission, imagine how upset someone would be when those resources are used for profit in another online environment in direct competition with them.

[sedeslav]

I was totaly adicted to SL some 6 y. ago! I admit. I was had 5 shops there and selling my clothing and armors. Most entertaining part of SL for me was constructing houses, towers and castles and I spend million hours in building (and selling them too. Some of my Vampire castles are still in game! :) )

But...like any toy. It's become borring . So I move to some other interesting things.