Am I missing something?

I have been in Sl for about 4 days now on a trial account and am trying to decide now whether to go to a full membership or not.

I am still fuzzy on the whole SL concept. Either I am missing something or it is really just a weird 'game'.
As someone pointed out to me SL is not a 'game' since the Linden currency is actually real money. A lot of other games can transfer money too which still makes them games. I think that the missing goal or objective is the actual thing that sets SL in the non-game category. In any other game you have a goal/s or objective/s, be it to further your character or annihilate Stormtroopers or the New Conglomerate. Someone told me to choose my own objectives. I looked around and found some people trying to recreate a Halo game system. That would be an objective, though considering the lag in SL not really one I would want to pursue, since FPS style gaming is not possible in SL. And why not just play Halo instead of a makeshift replica? The original game is pretty darn good and I doubt any replica created in SL could even come close to the same touch and feel.
Then I looked at events. Mostly comprised of TR/SL/Bingo (whatever variations else) in every shape and form, naked parties, ciostume parties with avatars moving around in more or less quiet enviroments because people are mostly talking in private messages. So parties could be an objective if I was into watching toons move to some music.
I saw stores selling anything from clothes to vehicles and so on. I guess making money could be an objective, but I actually have a job and didn't want to spend my time off doing another one. As I have seen in the forums it seems land speculation seems to be a real market as well as working sweatshops.
Seemingly the amounts that can be 'harvested' are pretty good and make me wonder, has anyone ever mentioned any of this to the IRS?
Also I see buildings and builders, although from what I have heard they don't make that much money, they do make up a large portion of the content of SL. Which again puzzles me a bit. Here I would pay a company to use a simplistic 3D tool to create content for them so others pay to see it or use it. Either I get the concept wrong or someone is very gullable.

So what am I missing? What makes SL so special ( except the Lindens who I haven't met but everytime I have talked to someone and they mention them it seems like they fall into reverie and are talking about semi deities)?

The people.


Lord knows I work enough in RL and don't want to work my ass off in SL. But thinking of a fun project and seeing it happen os great. Building..meeting with people..helping folks..traveling around and seeing what wonderfully talented folks can accomplish in Second Life.

If you just want to shoot things or hack and slash, then it's doubtful that SL will satisfy you. But my suggestion would be for you to meet people, see what folks have done out in the rather large world of Second Life, and give it a couple of weeks before making any decisions.

It's definitely different than other online "games". It's a fully interactive virtual world, complete with an economy, land ownership, construction, shopping, sex, socializing and travel.

And you can make it what you want. The only thing stopping you is your own imagination for the most part.

Second Life in and of itself isn't really a game, per se. It's more of a creative virtual environment. Unlike pretty much every other multi-user game/environment online, Second Life allows its users to create pretty much anything they like, with the built-in scripting, animation, and building tools.

So when it comes right down to it, SL is more or less whatever you want to make of it. Some people like to socialize, some people like to build for themselves or others, some want to make games, some want to make money, some like taking pictures, sculpt landscape, experiment with strange sim-crashing scripts.

It's kind of like First Life (aka Real Life)... there's no pre-set goal to achieve. You get to set your own.

Well until we all start recieving our W-2's from LL I would have to say its more of a game than a job

You can do like I did: Pay $10 one time and be a basic membership forever, or until you find some good reason not to be. In fact, having what I want (a house on property, for one thing) on a basic membership (which doesn't give you land) is one of my goals in the game; i.e., to pay no more real life money for it ever. Now there's a goal, lol.

So far - since February - this has worked, and I have my house and land by becoming part of a group that shares its land; I "buy" it from them, then pay "tier" on it to them.

Now I may change my mind later, and decide I want the premium membership after all. But meanwhile, for a one-time outlay of $10, I get to play the "game," such as it is, forever. It is kind of aggravating that there is very little way to make money in the game (independently, as opposed to working in a club or something for someone else's ultimate profit) besides making and selling things. Ultimately, I do want to make things to sell.

Meanwhile, nothing is lost. You can always upgrade to a premium account, or (correct me if I'm wrong), even downgrade from one. And you can continue to play other games which are more like games than this . . . er, experiment.

coco

Well ..

Second life is basically a Virtual World combined with a Chat Room/System isnt it?

So if you like Virtual Worlds SL is a very good one, since it is totally customizable by the users to a degree I think is very impressive. Some incredibly skilled people build scripts / itmes for avatars / buildings / vehicles .. the list is extensive.

If you like Chat rooms .. again SL is a very good one .. you can go all over and chat indifferent areas .. belong to multiple groups. Chat with people of all sorts of Interests. All while enjoying the Virtual world which allows you to totally customize your apearance and even virtual lifestyle.

Yes it can be more then that .. with SL business's doing well for themselves, etc.

But i think the bottom line is , if you dont like virtual worlds and/or chat rooms ... then SL isnt really going to be all that appealing to you.


Fortunately a lot of us LOVE virtual worlds and chat rooms ^^

When World of Warcraft allows me to recruit a semi-permanent force, take out an army of Dragon Maw Orcs, claim their valley, create a society, build a fortress and a town with a market square, create products to sell, open commercial and political negotiations with players in the next valley, and generally end the war between the Alliance and Horde by demonstrating the benefits of cooperative prosperity,

then

Second Life will have a competitor.

However, Dead, you bring up excellent points. SL is not a good platform for 3D ingame games. The events are mostly a joke. The nature of competition means that successful events usually appeal to the same common denominator: sex and money. The economy is tied mostly to accessorizing either your land or your AV. So it's pretty elementary stuff. And the building tools are a bit clunky, and while I do like the idea of immediate, inworld responses, it doesn't happen that much.

All in all, SL is a giant indoor mall where people hang out in front of Deb's and talk.

I like the potential. Not what it is, but what it might become. I stay because I'm curious to see if anyone is going to come up with the killer app soon. And yes, I'm trying to figure out what it is, myself.

Seth I think you and I see this about the same way. Guess 10 bucks isn't bad to watch an experiment. Kind of playing labcoat watching the mice in a maze. Has a sardonically amusing apeal to it.

Hehe..well..seems you were right..nothing in SL for you. Probably time to move on to some other game.

Naw, we don't see it in the same way. Lotus 1-2-3 and Wordstar were the killer apps for early PC's. If some one can identify and develop an equivalent for SL, it's going to be very exciting, and I'm going to be here when it occurs.

It's not Tringo, and it's not hanging out at the Welcome Center. But it's something, and it's out there.

As others have said, it depends on just what you are looking for. I like to make things, and to explore new places. Second Life changes constantly, and allows me to build things readily, so this is great for me. I, for one, and extremely excited for 2.0. By the look of the render screenshots that LL released, we may be able to have true urban development occur. That would be awesome.
For me, it's about creating. I've been making vehicles lately. I like the idea that I can drive any sort of weird creation I want in SL; from a standard minivan, to an outlandish flying machine, if it's not already available for purchase, it's no big deal to make it myself. SL is freedom. It's neat =)

What is the point of Second Life?

Well, it's not a game, anymore than reality is a game. You can set objectives for yourself, meet them, and be satisfied.

Second Life is... a second life. It's a platform of alternate reality wherein the perceived restraints of life are lifted and demolished because of the world's convenient location in digital space. Second Life is a small nation with its own economy, producers, consumers, wealthy and poor. Second Life is a set of multiplayer lego blocks where you can build to your imagination's limits and watch little blocks turn into robots, ballroom gowns or Japanese houses.

Second Life is so many things to so many different people. Second Life is a foray toward a metaverse, where people can convene from geographically diverse places like China, Beirut and Burbank and all share tea in the same garden. Second Life is an escape -- a world where those who cannot walk can soar above the clouds, where those who cannot speak can deliver moving speaches.

Like reality, the ignorance or laziness of Second Life residents may fill the landscape with less than impressive examples of achievement. The potential of this place is tied directly with the potential (or lack thereof) of the mind.

What is Second Life to me? It's wings for my imagination and a drug for my creative mind. It's rolling hills of aspiration and accomplishment to explore and enjoy. Second Life is training for valuable software skills. Second Life is my favorite tool of expression and easily the one and only aspect of my life where I am challenged consistently to become better and better. Second Life is a powerful idea, the likes of which could never have been imagined by previous generations.

Second Life is limited only by its residents. I hope you'll become one and create yet another meaning for this place.

Second Life is what YOU make it Its different for everyone. Some enjoy SL for the online socialization in a 3D environment. Some enjoy SL because it provides tools to express individual creativity. Some decide that SL isn't for them and they move on.

Its all up to you and what you choose to do with it. All we can do is provide you with invidual experiences/ideas/opinions.

Huggerz,
MJ

Hey, nobody has ever told me the point of first life! You'll either want to stay here and find something that interests you or you'll quit. Personally I enjoy building and creating in an environment that others can see what you have created.

What a wonderful way to express this.

For me SL is a creative outlet where I can create and become immersed in a fantasy world. It's the ultimate "playing dolls and dress up" escape. I have also met some people who have become confidants and friends, and who are as special as my "RL" friends. It is great that the fun of shopping here is much kinder on my wallet than a shopping trip IRL!

Yes, I'd say -- most, if not all of the above.

For me, Second Life is the glass of wine that you spill all over yourself and smash on the floor, only to find the most beautiful design pattern on your dress and that the shards have newly reformed themselves as a work of art.

Welcome to SL, Dead -- and be prepared to embrace some contradictions here. And oh yeah, if you see Lindens, don't be afraid to say hi to them. You may run into Liaisons, who are the most inworld-social type of Lindens, in the Welcome Area or in sandboxes. (Or when a club gets griefed, but hopefully not.) They're all great peoples, here to help.

Second Life changes First Lives. I can't help but point to the inspiring stories of Live2Give and Brigadoon, which I'm a part of.

http://braintalk.blogs.com/live2give/
http://braintalk.blogs.com/brigadoon/

And, feel free to read my own experiences if you'd like. They're at... www.torley.com