So...now SL is just a video game? Or is it?

I have been hearin this tossed around a lot.
A few months ago, I remember the majority said "no", now I see folks call it a video game all the time, or say in-world they "spend time playing SL", even if all they do is work, research, or make RL when they use the program.

I know of a guy who resigned from his job as a Curator of a nice art gallery in RL for example, so he could have enough time to sell his paintings (real and digitized) through SL. and I have met many more folks who make a living on SL too. One woman is just a Full Time Event Hostess (well, she has a small mall in-world too).

Having been all around the spectrum of visual chat, console gaming, text RP, text chat, and SL, I don't see SL as a game at all. Explaining what it really is, is almost as tough as explaining "What's the internet?" years ago, before it got popular. I'm so glad those days are past but I digress

SL is an online open-ended graphical chat and commerce platform with video and audio capability. The "MS Windows", of a "new era". (sic) From what I see, the components in SL already existed & were just integrated into one interface by LL; like how the calculator, clock, Word Processor, were integrated to make MS Windows.

Companies exist to make money, and that's why despite the failiures of some big RL Companies' experiments in SL, more Companies come in and take thier place. They didn't become big companies in the RL cut-throat business world by playin video games at the office. The employees could do that *after* work.

Companies plan to link these visual chat & commerce platforms together to make money. SL *includes* games and other entertainment...cause that's what the people want. Folks made what they wanted, and by just having fun, shaped it into what it is today to a HUGE extent. Residents made most of what's shown on the News when SL gets press. These creations hold our attention as customers, even "gets folks addicted", because we can do *so much*. (Albiet, with more regulation than the 2-D internet).

Back when AOL got big, before folks realized how bad the service is...there was a big rush for folks to get computer literate. Who needs Encyclopedias, Arcade Game Machines, RL Casinos, and cheap word processors by Brother (the company) anymore? We ALL have "word processors"...and those old, clunky Brother Word Processors sure as hell can't run SL!

Usually the only reason we still use libraries, etc is usually because printer ink costs too much, or you are nostalgic for the feeling of *holding* a book. (please bring BBCode back, AGH)

Platforms like SL will make the transition to a "global economy" (whenever it happens) smoother, and it will encourage more and more folks to see these platforms are a part of thier every day life...like a lotta SL Residents on the Forums have admitted that they do.

Just look at how seriously folks take Inventory loss. If you lost more than $100 USD...think of the fact that you even *bought* enough virtual items to lose that, or more. (if you buy in-world ) Not ta mention how pissed off (justifiably so) folks get when oh...thier ISLAND dissapears for a while, and LL can just put it back, but without the items. That's RL USD alright...not "video game score points"...and it will become more and more commonplace.

I also think there WILL...be somethin for the kids and even the "grownup kids" who want more of a movie or videogame type "world" close to this format, that's less limiting than "click=attack=kill monster & loot inventory", and where we can smack griefers.

Also check *THIS* out...

http://wordpress.com/tag/therecom/

(don't avoid clickin the link just because "therecom" is in it, lol )

Now we don't have time to read EVERYTHING about "virtual worlds", so we miss a lot...but apparently things are movin along a lot faster than most folks think.

If you think 2nd Life is *just* a video game, I suggest for you to go and play a few PC or console video games that were released in the last year or 2, for about 8 hours total(doesn't have to be all in one day, lol), THEN log in to SL. BIG difference! Even the big multiplayer online games just *look* better than SL (most of the time), but you are limited in genres (Ex:Gorean), customization (Ex:Resident-run Islands), and other major functions that separate SL from...World Of Warcraft for example.

Regular old video games will be considered "mini-games" by comparison to some of us in the near future.
Look at the number of games in SL. They are *in* SL, but they *aren't* SL; just a little component/toy/piece/website.

When I cross a sim "property line"/Sim border I feel like I'm navigating to another lil "website". If a site is empty...I can usually see that it's up for sale, just like on the 2-D internet. If you go to a few business Events you start to see a little bit more of what SL will become.

Seems like most SL Residents tend to just find a little niche or clique, and "dig in" after a they learn the ropes...ya miss a lot, but of course after a hard days' work, that's what most folks want! ...and you *can't* see EVERYTHING.

When we no longer have to sit in a chair, type on a keyboard, and stare at the monitor ta use platforms like this, we'll be in trouble!

WOW! Best Summation of SL I have *ever* seen!! Brilliant!!

Now I'm gonna sit around & wait for the 'its a game' whiners to come in.

Second Life is a software program created by humans. It can be whatever you want it to be just like anything else you do in real life.

its a game

Inventory loss.. yep lets see WoW servers accidently chuck that Sword of Badassedness + 500 and see how people react

I still see SL as a game because thats what it is to me. But my view does not preclude others their view.

I wouldn't dream of forcing anyone to say SL is a game if to them, its not.

I don't know what SL is, but it saves me from having to commute, and that's gotta be worth something.

It's a playground.

It's a platform, a canvas. You can make of it what you will. You can take it as seriously as you like, or be flippant about it. SL of itself doesn't lean towards any interpretation. It's like asking what is MS Windows <i>for</i>.

Lets see if Blizzard will let over half the WoW population play for free too.

You pay $30 a month you deserve & get real service, If you feel it's your right not to contribute finacially, it's their right to supply cheap service

I pay $195 per month. They still loose my stuff. They still break the tools I need to use.

To me SL is a game. I use it to play shop. And it's a chat room. I use it to socialize. It's a virtual world for my virtual barbie doll. I use it to change make-up, and hair, and clothes, just like a six year old would do with a regular barbie doll. It's a radio. I use it to visit different clubs depending on my musical mood and just enjoy the groove. It's the 3d internet. I use it to look up information and get in touch with people with similar interests.

What other people call it? I don't give a rat's ass. Not worth having philosophical debates over. I personally think (and hope) virtual worlds like SL will evolve to be more internetesque. I will find out soon enough whether I am right about that, no need to get all fundamentalist on the overall term people use. If they say it's a game, that is probably because it is a game *to them*. They are welcome to it.

My Region is a microcosm of SL. Totally video game oriented. But by no means is it a game... Check it out if you want to see what a video game inside a video game is like.

Search Aiot's Toon Wonderland.

People ask me every day. Is this a game? My bes response is usually, it is if you want it to be.

I'm gonna sit around and watch everyone try to force their view on what SL is on each other. It is what you want it to be who cares what someone else calls it. Game, Platform, Business Model, Noveau Internet or Pie. It makes little difference to the individual, what someone else calls it(at least to me). But that was a very well written opinion of what SL can be.

Its a thread...


... thats starts periodicaly - however this one breaks the minimum 2 week cool off period for "is it a game?" threads.


For those wondering - Second Life Forums Resident Answers can handle the following thread density....

Complaints about Customer Service - 4 Concurrent - 3 day cool off.

Threads about Landbots - 2 Concurrent - 2 day cool off

Threads about other bots - 1 Concurrent , However 2 usually start the same day, 5 day cool off.

Ageplay threads - 2 Concurrent , up to 5 if they Include Verification debates, No cool off period.

Verification Threads- up to 4 Concurrent if it follows a badly made Blog post, 1 day cool off. May be combined with Ageplay threads, see above.

Other Issues - Cacinos, Kasinos, Traffic, Griefers - A maximum of 1 Concurrent thread, 2 week cool off. This Includes "Is it just a game?" threads.

He he, and for some it saves them from having to come out of their Mom's Basement

There are people playing WoW that pay more than that too, if people choose to pay more than the minimum then it's their choice

There are also people here that take a lot more than $195 a month out of the economy, but still expect the company to give them preferential treatment.

( New-Wave Internet... heh! Where's DeVo when you need 'em?)

Yeah, you're right about everybody forcing thier view on others...

Guess since we got so many folks even dumber than me, I'll point out that even though I obviously dont see this platform as a game... much more pointless and ("repetitive" ) than the existence of this thread itself, would be a petty "flame war".

I would compare that to those "griefers" who try ta kill a crowd with a lightsaber from Freebie Warehouse 5 times in a row. Some folks pity 'em, heh...*I* don't, but anyway...

It's fun to look at the responses above, and see that folks are being open-minded, as far as allowing each person to interpret the meaning of "what SL is" for thier use/play time *personally*.

That's right, for each *individual* it's what they want it to be, based on what they use it for, just like the "2-D internet". For a teacher who just uses the internet for reference, it might be thier library. To the kid who just uses it for gaming, it's only there for gaming. For somebody who uses the internet for E-mail, reference, a playground, Blogs, etc...it's damn near indescribable!

I love some of the responses to this thread... "may it die an honorable death"

Now that's a question I can answer! It's meant to allow easy manipulation of computer hardware so we don't have to be a programmer to grok how to add 2+2 or display 'hello world' on a monitor/printer/etc...

It's what any OS is 'for'...

It's a floor wax AND a dessert topping.

Now could we please get back to the problem of angels on the head of a pin

Some of the more hyperbolic claims about how to define SL stem from a too eager reading of a few specific science fiction books. Maybe in the end those claims will turn out to be correct, but I suspect for most people who "play" or "visit" this platform, SL is simply a form of social recreation. As such, it competes against other forms of social recreation, such as online games, and it is approached as such and will be abandoned as such when another game inevitably becomes more attractive. Yes, you can find examples of people who have abandoned their real life vocations in pursuit of some financial opportunity here, but judging from the amount of "gold-selling" in WoW, I'd say some people "play" WoW for equally lucrative real-life financial reasons. Even P.T. Barnum would be shocked at the gullibility of people if he saw the tier prices in SL for a little piece of virtual space.

The utopian ideal some people describe as the future of SL is frightening in its own right, but coupled with the ID verification about to be thrust down our throats I'd describe it as a nightmare of Orwellian proportions. Poo-poo that all you like, but that's how I see it. I would love to believe that a place of the mind has more freedom, more creativity, more possibility than the physical world, but I see SL moving firmly in the direction of repression, constraint, regulation.

Heh , interesting Post

You are right - we are far from the "Metaverse" people think Second Life will become. Its like the people who want NASA to star acting more like Star Trek.




A bit Ironic but I think this is true also - wasnt "Snow Crash" itself Dystopian?

He he. Good insight. To be truthful, when I read Snowcrash, back in the day I found it to be a colossal bore, a bit like reading L Ron Hubbard. But that's just me. I find all these bleak future and /or Post Apocalyptic treatments increasingly tiresome. (Unless they are in a movie starring Bruce Campbell). Although I do think Blade Runner, and PK Dick's original story are masterpieces.

Second Life is one of those experiences where you
get out of it what you put into it.

The word "game" is too loaded with meaning.

Second Life is a Game as Life is a Game.

Real Life/Second Life: it's all experienced within
your neural system.

What's real?

When you're submerged in an engaging book?

Watching a fascinating movie?

Writing fiction?

Making love?

- Infrared

I'd rather basement dwell and walk down to the corner store for groceries than waste so much of my time and money for gas dealing with all the human wastes of oxygen that clog the roads.

Living off SL has it's stresses, but staring into highbeams and almost getting into accidents every day aren't any of them.

The problem with this argument is that no-one ever seems to be able to make up their minds exactly what a "game" is.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, and removing the definitions which are either obsolete or to do with hunting foxes, "game" means:



Second Life is, for many people, a "game" in Sense 3a (and possibly 3b as well ). It may also be considered one in Sense 4a - some people argue that if you think Second Life is a game in that sense, then real life would be too, but I think the requirement in Sense 4a that a game must be a "diversion" means that doesn't apply.

Essentially, Second Life may be a platform for some users but for the majority it is a game. And we should be grateful for that, because games tend to be far more popular than platforms.