Need help in choosing a game…

Hello all, I am new to Second Life and I have a question that I hope doesn’t violate the forum rules. I’m trying to make some good money from playing either Second Life, or Entropia. I have read tons of posts but still need some advice. I am a writer and have written 5 film scripts and I’m wondering if I could take this talent into either of these worlds and make some money. I thank you for your time in reading this and appreciate any response..

Gawd av' mercy on yo' soul.

IBTL

IBTL? What ever for?

Kope, I have seen very little in the way of written works for sale in Second Life. It is a much more visually oriented place. I have no doubt that someone could make enough selling stories to cover the cost of this hobby but I would be very hesatant to say you could make "good money" from it.

As for Entropia, I have absolutely no idea what that system is like and even less about the culture there.

I suppose it can be done, but, in a world of entertainment venues that beg people to show up in order to get "traffic" it's going to be pretty hard to get people to pay you for anything.

Entropia... that's far more of a game, than anything else.

But hey, I managed to create a mostly PG, non gambling, non sex based venue here and did okay, back when even trying such a thing would be considered crazy. So... maybe?

One way to find out

Des

Kope you may want to take a look into Machinma here in Second Life. I'm not sure there will be riches there but if you have scripts that's the direction I'd look.

Alternatively if you have scripts, depending upon what they are you may well be able to work a themed sim into your script to sort of roleplay your scripts.

Well what about the thought of creating an in game movie? Write a script about in game characters and shoot video on them. Are there in game theaters? Can people create movies and actually charge ticket prices for people to see them?

You can, but most likely you would probably not have too many paying customers. Sl itself is a movie in a lot of ways, especially among roleplayers. Why pay to watch what you can essentially do "for real", in SL terms?

Try it out and see, some inworld movies have actually made it outside. Molotov Alva and his search for the creator was purchased by HBO I believe.

Kope, there is a very active writing community in SL. They write for live theatre, for storytelling, for machinima. I doubt you'll make much money at it though. But I'd be happy to point to some areas in world to research it. Just send me an IM in world and we can work it out.

I incidentally... we don't say "in game" we say "in world". It's not really a game, although people "in world" can certainly play games!

Short answer - Second Life is not a game, there is no need for a storyline here.

You might apply this talent in a roundabout way by making some immersive sim with a storyline running through it, and perhaps profit off visitors by also installing a themed mall to match.



You can certainly try. People are loathe to pay an entry fee for any sim in SL. ("Tip jar" is close as it gets.)

Fine, but have you sold any of them? If you have, why don't you stick to the real world - it's likely to be much more lucrative . . .

Pep ( . . . and if you haven't, why do you think you'll be more successful in sl?)

This is a good point. A lot of people feel it will be easy to make money in SL but it is not.

Kope, google "Molotov Alva" ~ and take a look at that.

It was sold to HBO/Cinemax for a fair bit if change, I think.

Which is where the money was made ~ not in SL directly, but from the sale of it.

Incidentally, my area of the grid is mentioned in episode four

Ok, here's a little idea that just popped into my head (it may be rubbish ) ...

What about offering a service of personalised machinima? You come up with a few set storylines, people pick one and you shoot the movie, starring them. Or, they come up with the storyline and you write the script and shoot it. People will pay for good quality photography, so some might pay for this. It could be a great adjunct to people's modelling or acting portfolios, or RP sims could use it for their publicity (although they may prefer to write their own storylines and dialogue, you could help them turn it into a proper movie script - camera angles, scenes, overall structure etc.).

potential problems ...

- you'd have to learn machinima so you could film as well as write the script. You might do better teaming up with somebody who already has those skills.

- you'd have to think about how to get the finished movies to the client - video files are big! Your best bet would be to compress it and upload it somewhere.

As I said, this is straight off the top of my head, so apologies if it's utter rubbish.

Or, you could do porn.

spinster that is an excellent idea. Sort of hiring someone to shoot a wedding video, home movies, etc. That would likely be the bread & butter of a video service. The sims hiring someone to make a movie ABOUT their sim would hopefully be many but I think most people would want a more personal/vanity service.

Do you think people would hire the OP to make a movie of his own choosing? Investors, basically?

wedding videos ... of course! Duh! Mind you, there's not much in the way of script-writing to be done there ... I think if the OP really wanted to make a go of this idea, he'd have to learn how to shoot the movie too, with nice lighting effects, tracking shots and stuff.

No idea LOL. I'm sure somebody would pay for it if he made them the star.

Yes, and the OP might feel it 'beneath' them the way film students would shudder at the same in RL.



Ah! Of course. (Or their boy/girl friend.)

He might change his mind once he's been inworld for a while and checked out the other options for making money here

OP, are you still around?

Those who enter any virtual world with the main purpose of making money at it...probably won't.

You need to find something you enjoy doing, whether or not it's profitable, and then do it with all your might. If enough other people agree that it's a worthwhile thing, you MAY make some money.

SL is really the only game in town for doing this, even though your odds are slim even here. We have the only microcurrency that's convertible back to real money.

One possibility as a writer is to create a roleplay area. Buildings, character types, backstory. Then see if your vision attracts others, to open shops there, rent there, make it their SL home. A lot like writing a module for Dungeons and Dragons, with 3D props.

How to have a million dollars while playing Second Life.

First, get a million dollars .....

That reminds me of how you get a woman to run a small business . . .

Pep ( . . . give her a big business and wait a bit. )

*snickers*

So do you want to play or make real money? SL isn't a game, but there are many opportunities for creating and selling things. Entropia IS a game, which lets you make money (which is convertible) if you invest lots in the first place.

If you can afford it and want to play, go to Entropia - good luck on making any money, let alone a profit! If you want ot create and make enough money to cover your expenses then roll up to SL - it's free to be here, it costs little to create things and you're almost bound to get some sales (lol, I did) if your wares are any good and you market them.

If you want to make REAL money - stay away from virtual worlds. Caveat; being able to offer in-world services to real-life organisations may be useful, but the people who capitalise on that are pretty few. Hey - corporate/promotional/training videos shot in-world for RL companies could have potential. They'd need script-writers.

SL it takes a ton of work and no small bit of Skill and luck to succeed financially.

Entropia?....May as well go to a casino and toss all your cash into slot machines. You got better odds. When I played Entropia it was not unusual for me to drop 100 US$ a night without blinking I know many many many more people who drop say 5000US$ in a weekend. Entropia can be fun but it is NOT a money maker.

You nearly got it right.

How to become an SL millionaire. First, you got to be a billionaire, then you open a club.