Second Life

[Escape]

The BBC is giving alot of attention to Second Life (though it may be a cheap attempt sell their "virtual concerts"). There're a few articles on the website promoting the game as nothing less than "WEB 3.0". What the BBC don't tell you, is much of the world is used for "hardcore" cybersex.

Generally you expect it from the internet, even in games like WoW you might catch dwarves with their pants down - but it's not in public.


SL is practically player built. The clothing, items, objects, buildings etc... can be designed or imported into the game for players to use or sell. It's not an MMORPG, you don't kill stuff or gain levels. It's online socialising with creative freedom.

After starting, I was flying through the zones, taking in the architecture(there're some really cool and unique buildings) from medieval to futuristic. Dotted between player houses are porn galleries and shops ranging from lingerie to bondage (I would've spent some money if my char was female!)

Not very shocking until you come across sex cafes - where the game's creativity translates into nudity and explicit animations. SL has potential, but it's no where near as revolutionary as the hype suggests.

 

[Tom]

Whenever I think of MMORPGs, I can't help but think of that recent South Park episode about WoW. It was one of the funniest fucking things I've ever watched. I piss myself every time I see Cartman shouting "GOD F**KING DAMMIT!" and throwing his headphones off

 

[Louster]

Wait, so the fact that it has sex in it means that "it's nowhere near as revolutionary as the hype suggests"? I'm not real sure how you made that last connection. They seem to me to be mostly unrelated aspects to the issue.

I would have said it's not revolutionary just for the fact that it's pretty much just a 3D chat engine, and who cares really?

 

[Dukat]

I think alot of the hype comes from the fact that people make money from thier own creations, and that once you 'make' something ingame you own it, where as in a standard MMO, if you get a drop or a leet item you do not actually 'own' that item - which is why ebaying items and gold is against the CoC alot of the time.

Apparently certain people live off of thier ingame incomes - I remember hearing about some woman in germany or something who makes clothes that she sells ingame. someone else made a gun that they marketed ingame and have apparently made alot of money from that also.

The fact that you can live of off an "ingame" income is what draws alot of people i think, while it may not be completely revolutionary, I think that this is what they are talking about alot of the time.

 

[Yaka]

i played with some peeps when SL first came out, unique yes but preety fucking crap at the same time. the beeb has been pimping SL for some time now even made a couple of programs using it and how useful it is in so many different ways. some of the stuff thats being done is quite interesting like IBM doing thier thing on it and stuff. but it has a nasty flipside side to it as people make money from it attracts people. most of the beeb reporting has made it look like the ideal environment that is good for the family which SL is not. having said that now that several big companies are interested in what they can do in SL it might become bigger.

 

[Ormorof]

i played it in its beta stages and it was pretty cool, found a disco and just started messing around with the sounds available, but as has been said, just a 3D chat program