SL is a GAME!

It is many things to many people.

Ann... where is that dead horse smiley?

It's more because Desmond chooses to make it more and he does a damn fine job of it. I had the same reaction as Michael though. To say it's not a game because there's a fee is a pretty blanket statement. Ever play The Sims? Those are pretty expensive but they are just games.

More importantly, why do people get so upset when someone does call it a game? Besides the unwritten forum rule that states you take indignant umbrage at contrary opinion, that is.

It's a game that someone has to pay for. It's not free. That's my point. If Anshe decided, for some crazy reason, to stop paying her tier, a lot of people would no longer be "playing games". It's a game AND a business. I never said it's not a game. Michael just tried to start a debate with me, and I never once said it is not a game.

SL contains multitudes. How one regards it reflects more upon one's personality thn Second Life itself.

I see that now. I misunderstood as well.



Philip himself has stressed that SL is NOT a game. However, I've also seen him do interviews where he has referred to it as a game. I think I'll do as you suggested and call it a zucchini. But aren't they out of season?

I hope you don't mean me? Because I didn't say it was a game.

But again...my comment still applies--example: a millionaire goes out to a casino and throws down thousands of dollars on Blackjack...he loses all of it. It was still just a game to him, not a business venture.

Hence my quote again:

This confuses me. I think you may want to reread everything I posted...I wasn't 'trying to start a debate with you.' In fact, I think you have it backwards.

Oh...it's just soooooo, "amusing." As "god" comes and squishes the busy bees for no reason other then to steal the honey. The Grid is the honeycomb, we are the busy bees. Once a Week, the Honey is scraped off. "keep the work up drones." God says.

Then there are the other pests, the bees also have to deal with, the "Bot Flies" (see youtube), the parasites, and the Bandit Wasps and those creatures that seek out homes from other's empty shells.

yes it's all a game.

I do understand the concept that once you're spending a lot of money to keep a business running, and a lot of people are counting on you, then it ceases to be just a 'game.'

I understand your point there.

But again...I lean towards Second Life not being a game...so...

Professional sports are games that are also big business.

That seems almost too easy to answer. Be partnered and find a new one while still involved?

I almost stated how expensive a golf game is earlier but I was afraid of starting the "it's a sport" versus "it's a game" debate.

I hate to keep referring to The Sims but I can't help it. Go over to the Sims forums and you'll see this same debate going on all the time. People are always saying if it's a game why is there no score? Also plenty of people lose lots of sleep playing it as I am sure they do with other video games.

I'm with Brenda on this.. why does it matter? - Just have fun and don't hurt anyone on purpose... trust everyone, but always cut the deck

.d

I didn't mean losing sleep because I am playing it (and that happens too)... but losing sleep because of things that happened in it. I was surprised that it affected me that way - I am not the type that loses sleep easily…

.d

Anytime you want one, just let me know. The last to attempts have been comical failures, but I think I have the bugs worked out.

I agree mostly with Brenda's point that we're arguing semantics here. Everyone is going to have their own personal concept of what the word "game" means, regardless of what the dictionary says. In that context, we can call SL anything and we'll never agree. It's like the parable of the blind men and the elephant.

I tend to think of a game as having specific rules and strategies and an end goal. The amount of money spent on it doesn't matter. It's like golf - you can play at the local public course once a month for $20.00 or you can buy a country club membership at some exclusive club and travel around to world class courses for tens of thousands of dollars per month. It's still golf.

It seems that where we get embroiled in heated controversy is over the issue with people's feelings and emotions being tied up in SL. If you use the concept of SL as a "game" to behave like an idiot and hurt other people because it's "just a game" then you're a douche. I honestly don't know how anyone can not recognize that people are seriously emotionally invested in SL. I sort of pity the people who can't see that or who refuse to allow themselves to form friendships in SL. It must be a very bleak and lonely existence they lead in RL.

It's a game for sure. I'm winning 48-17 with 8:54 left in the fourth quarter.

Look at it like professional auto racing...

Some people spend millions to be part of it. (sponsors)
Some people earn millions being part of it (drivers et al)

but when it all comes down to it, it's the sport of driving in circles.

In most games, from board games to FPS, there is a very well defined border between the creators or inventors of the game and the players. In SL this line is very blurry. In most PC or console games for example the creators of the game are often invisible, the focus is on the game, the storyline, goals tactics, action etc. They are behind the scenes, maybe releasing patches but the creative process they followed to make the game is not evident. Often modders will input thier own content but the overall definition of the game remains the same.

The money aspect of gaming is nothing new. I'm sure there are people who lose more than 5000 US / mo playing online poker. Now how about a professional poker player, are they playing or working? does it matter what we call it?

Where the confusion starts in SL is trying to determine who is a player and who is an inventor. One day someone could be using SL in a way that is very game like... sailing for example, or shopping are very pastime kind of activities. Another day the same person could be creating content primarily for other's enjoyment, in this respect SL is a tool. The third day they could be buying up sims at auction this is less of a game and more of an investment. It is interesting that when referring to the stock market people will say they 'play' the stock market implying that it is a game also, but with amounts that make the average linden activity seem like peanuts.

I think the only answer to this is that for most people SL starts off as being a pastime kind of game, the longer and more committed a person becomes it can become a serious financial game to the point where it is a business. There is a sub game that is the content game, buying and selling virtual goods that if taken to the extreme can become a business. The definition then becomes a little more clear... SL is a game for those who don't consider it to be thier main source of income or work.

Everyone inside SL has thier own ideas about how they want to play the game, or what they perceive of as the game. Some consider it a pastime, some work but everyone is a player.

The reason why it is important to call it a game (even though it is clearly not to some) is that to someone who has never tried SL and is unfamilliar with Virtual worlds in general the only framework they have to understand it is as a game. Video games are still a relatively new medium and there is no reason SL should not market at a game, drawing hype from the very popular video game industry. The virtual world market on the other hand is a very tough sell to alot of people.

I dont understand how thinking of SL as a game will do anything but encourage the growth of SL. It much easier to explain to a non computer type of person that you make content for video games rather than having to first bring them up to speed on the finer points of virtual worlds.

my 2 bits.

-w

Agreed. The seeing it as a game is what made me try it in the first place. I was bored one day, I stumbled across it by accident, and gave it a shot. Before SL any talk of Virtual worlds would make my eyes roll up in the back of my head. but I tried it, and stayed. I bet
there are a lot more like me.

/me rolls the dice...woohooo a 6!!...moves my lil shoe thingy ahead, and lands on Liome...O.O!!!

Yeah and really fast. And most of the drivers are cute....

I don't think that classifying Second Life as a game is helpful to its growth at all. As a game, it is a very bad game. I played both Everquest and City of Heroes when they were first released- they were both better games at their inception than Second Life is right now, as a game. If I wanted to play a game, I think I'd pick up World of Warcraft. As a game, Second Life does not come close to any of those other, real games.

Second Life is, as a graphical environment, similar to what social MUDs were in a text environment. MUDs started out as text-based roleplaying games. Some people enjoyed the roleplaying part a lot but the game part not so much, so social MUDs started springing up. On social MUDs where people could roleplay, but they would just socialize as an imaginary character rather than play an actual game as an imaginary character. Second Life is much more like the social MUD when compared to the other graphic online roleplaying games. It has the roleplaying elements of something like World of Warcraft, without the game elements. There is no objective to Second Life.

Its a game if the people who you come to care about treat it as a game.

Least as far as it matters to you.