[ARTICLE] A Virtual Holiday in the Virtual Sun

"A Virtual Holiday in the Virtual Sun"
by Mark Wallace in the New York Times


IMAGINE relaxing in a tiny private cove, on a lava beach near the mists of a waterfall. The sun is shining, a tropical bird cries somewhere in the distance and the cares of the working world seem a million miles away.

It's an idyllic vacation spot, but the best thing about it is that it takes less than five minutes to get there from anywhere in the world. In fact, you can reach it without ever leaving your home. That's because it exists not in any physical location but in one of the many virtual worlds that millions of people now travel to every day with the help of nothing more than a decent computer graphics card and a broadband Internet connection.

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WOW! Great article! They covered so many different facsets of Second Life. This is defiantely a great article to show people who are thinking about joining our world.

YAY for Travis Lambert and the Shelter!

Got text for us non-registered-users?

I just clicked the link and it worked fine for me, let me read it without any registration.

That is the best article I have seen on second life - it seems to cover everything.

Great article. Thanks for bringing it to our attention Torley!
Agree with what others say, it covers so much of what SL is about. Would make a great promotional blurb for new and prospective residents.

Probably one of the best articles written about Second Life. I couldn't spot any errors, but after all, its 6:40 in the morning.

This link (via the New York Times Link Generator) shouldn't require a login.

Wow! That's awesome It's bizarre seeing my name in there

And it is in the NYT's TRAVEL section!

ROFL! I LOVE IT!

Notice that (1) the SL's PR department is apparently on the ball, making sure a variety of subjects are presented to potential reporters, (2) the reporter investigated beyond the profiles on the SL website, and (3) and/or a combination of the two.

The subscription rate (I should say "player rate," since one needn't pay to play in SL) is gonna take yet another sharp turn up.

And guess what: That word "tourist" that Anshee Chung used to describe players without a stake in the game, which caused all her detractors to go apoplectic - well, see, it just wasn't that far off.

After all, if you can't or don't wish to create content in this game, what else is there to do but party and sightsee? I.e., Be a tourist, which is how the NYT saw it.

And think of this, guys: For all those new players - you know, the ones who are always coming here, like I did, and wondering what the heck there is to DO - having them come already primed to not EXPECT to do anything besides be a tourist is probably a VERY GOOD THING.

Then, if they decide they really would love to do the creating too, and realize they easily CAN - well, that's just icing on the cake.

It's better than being called a "game," and having players expect to be able to do more game-like things, isn't it? And certainly better than insisting on calling it a "monetizing plaform" or some other gobbledy-gook which no writer in their right mind wishing to actually communicate to the readers would even try to use.

coco

Loved the article.


Lovely city in the photo too

Ohhh so that is what Midnight City looks like at noon.

Too bad a lot of this type of publicity happened to hit right as SL became a barely operable lag and rezzing nightmare...

Ya, we don't like to set Midnight City to day because we are all usually hung over.

Congrats to everyone!
Loved seeing Lordfly *looming* over Midnight City...

Special congrats to Diamond!

...about virtual meals in SL

Let's see - NYTimes bingo. Second Life has been in the business section, the arts section, the technology/Circuits section....

hw

How about a pictorial representation of what someone who reads this article and tries second life can actually expect to see in some of these places right now...

"On FairChang Island, for instance, one of the 1,000-plus "regions" of Second Life (each covering 16 virtual acres), a simple mouse-click allows members to purchase virtual sailboats that can be sailed around the waters of the virtual world. Prices start at less than a penny, and the money goes to the "resident" who created the item. Payments are made using a virtual currency called "Linden dollars" that can be bought and sold freely with real money on eBay and other sites."



"Many regions are more outlandish. The island of Montmartre, for instance, is filled with fantastical sculpture, floating bridges and platforms and playful spaces to explore."



"In real life, I love to shop," said a member who uses the avatar named Rynah Quinn, and who often shops at the Midnight City Mall."




"The imposing Moonshine Casino in the Mullett region and the Edge nightclub in the Da Boom region are also among the most popular spots in Second Life, and are often crowded with avatars both day and night."




Note: The fps in the pic below is hard to read, but its 0.8



"A smaller club called the Shelter, in the Isabel region, is designed expressly for those new to Second Life and for those looking for a night out free of sexual overtones.

They need to put BACK that message about problems seeing texturesat log-in and KEEP it there until if and when things get back to normal.

coco

I was skimming the paper this afternoon. I saw the picture before I read the headline or the article, and I thought "Hey, that looks like Midnight City."

So the answer to a question in a previous thread:

You know you've been playing SL too much when you recognize skylines of virtual cities at a glance.

Delightful! LOL. By "actually expect to see" I think you mean "actively search around for the least developed part" of these places. Ah well. I suspect I would go around posting stuff like that too if I got FPS like yours!

On a one and a half year old machine:

Yes! You're right! SL sucks! Let's leave SL and go play a cookie cutter MMORPG like "Active World War II of Everfantasy Heroes XI: Brothers There in Matrix Online Combat"!

Now I understand why Waterhead has had a thick stream of newbies all day long... it's the reference to "engage in all kinds of sexual positions and activities."

Congrats on the most meaningless post ever.

Nope, actually dropped randomly into midnight city to get that pic, and that fps was after being there waiting for it to rez for about 10 minutes. Oh and:

Athlon 3500+
GeForce 6800 Ultra
1GB RAM

Use your mouth instead of your ass next time you talk.

Nope. Teleporter brings you to center. You went to the outside edge so you could find a spot BEHIND the buildings where there wasn't much developed.

I didn't use my ass to make the screenshot that showed a fine FPS, that's reality. Some will do better, some will do worse.

However your assmouth just gave us insight into your credibility. Get in line behind Blaze. He is much better at this than you are.