Social Networks: Second Life - My first 3D virtual life experience.
Game Designing from concept to distribution

When being a game character isn’t enough.

With the cute hipster dreadlock boi standing next to the tattooed hotti with the composed model Goth gurl standing quietly in the background with her transformer and WOW admirer patiently waiting for her attention…. I thought I had stumbled upon a WOW (World of Warcraft) mirror wannabe site with cool graphics.

This isn’t any WOW game… Second Life is being promoted as the next step in better social networking; sort of like a live role playing game based on reality. You play the character of you in a 3D enhanced version where the desrcibtion reads more like Cyber Punk than My Space. While the thought seems uber cool, the fact is that hackers periodically shut down Second Life.

Real-life companies such as Warner Bros, Adidas and even Intel are considering setting up virtual shops to further they’re branding to the hip and forward-thinking, virtual community. However, many long-time and original virtual residents view the arrival of big brands as a threat to the established mom-and-pop entrepreneurs. Annoyed and vigilante residents have set off bombs -- via malicious computer code that destroy virtual buildings or cause the application on your computer to freeze. One of the more humorous technical glitches is when a space is swamped with visitors a bug in the system can make avatars' clothes disappear.

Now before you go rushing off to Second Life signing up in hopes of 90+ visitors… Linden Lab, the company behind the site, recently met with federal authorities to address this cybercrime(s).

Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, says the supporting technology for Second Life is continually being developed in new areas and advancements. "Second Life is improving in resolution and functionality at the rate of Moore's Law."

Rosedale visualizes the future of Second Life as a possible 3D Web browser. With your Second Life avatar character, you would direct your character to walk into a 3D virtual city store such as Amazon or Adidas. There, your character can shop, browse shelves, buy books, and chat over a virtual Starbuck’s Non fat Chai Latte with soy milk. No Starbucks hasn’t signed up… yet. But we all know that they eventually will. I mean there are just so many countries they can build stores in and I don’t belong the un-commercialized jungles of Africa are ready for a Double Grande with a shot of Vanilla.

Second Life, of course, is still a work in progress. None of the companies are spending real money in launching they’re campaigns as they are testing the waters to see how successful their efforts could be. While Second Life definitely looks cool, it's not easy to make any real money selling virtual goods. There just isn’t enough city resident volume and activity. The registered population has passed a million, but only 10,000 people on average are online at any one time.

Big brand companies are looking to Second Life as a new venture in advertising their previous, current and futuristic products as well as possibly connect remote employees to one another and recruit new hires.

Being a former game geek addict and current geek hag, I just had to be one those tattooed hotti / model Goth Gurl hybrids – I signed up.

Here is my step by step registration experience.

1) I get to pick my first name but not my last. They had several last names to choose from – what dos each one mean? Anyone who has made up a few dozen RPG (Role Playing Game) characters knows that the name can be an essential part of the character… So, being a good RPG geek, I looked up a few.

Some of the names in the list you will recognize but most, unless you’re a super trivia retention geek, you won’t be familiar with. Here are a few examples to save you a little time.

Alcott: 1799-1888 American teacher & philosopher
Balhaus: German / Actor
Idziak: Polish / Cinematographers

Mathieson: Different meaning / references – mostly entertainers

Nakamura: Artist

2) Select an Avatar
I was super disappointed that Second Life didn’t list the tattooed Hotti or the composed model Goth gurl. Instead, I reluctantly choose the Hot Topic looking pigtail girl with purple bangs (Harajuku Female). It was her or the anorexic Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux with killer ponytail hair chop sticks (Cyber Goth Female).

Your other choices include

Girl Next Door – Why anyone would ant to play The Girl Next Door is beyond me. {Puke}

City Chic ( American Apparel type guy wit a goatee)

Harajuku Male ( Looks a lot like the American emo boys)

Nightclub Male ( “I’m too sexy for my shirt, too sexy yea”)

3) Real Life information
Name
Country
Password creation
Ect…

4) The Sales Pitch
"To receive free” (NOT FREE) “Linden Dollars to spend on whatever you like in Second Life, please complete the following details. “
Credit Card Information
I chose No Thanks
5) Sales Pitch No 2

"Premium Accounts, starting for as little as $6.00/month, allow you to own land on which you can build, display your creations, entertain or run your own business. Premium account holders recieve a one-time grant of Twelve Hundred Fifty Linden Dollars (L$1250), plus a weekly allowance of L$300.”

$6.00/month, billed annually ($72.00)

No Thanks
Next Screen / Page
“Your Second Life account has been sucessfully created.”
Apparently the virtual city doesn’t have Spell Check, they spelled successfully wrong.
Your Second Life Account: SierraNightTide Zemlja

Next step/Page:
Refer Your Friends!

(Sales Pitch no 3)

Log in to the Second Life community site and use our form to invite your friends to join you in Second Life. To show our appreciation, we'll credit you L$2500 for each one who becomes a Premium.

Download and install the Second Life client

Client? Download?

I really hate downloading anything because I have no idea what the file could include i.e. viruses, spam, little computer Satanic computer demons that mischievously trashes important files or beloved pictures. However, for the time consuming lust of entertainment, I downloaded it… I hope ya all appreciate me.

After download a very WOW looking program starts

Make sure to remember you name because you will be asked for it before loggin in.

Connected
My first impression: Neon Zombies

I’m Red!

I started walking in the very WOW looking scenery and next ting you know I’m yellow? What happen to my weird Harajuku Female? I’m wearing Jeans and no top!

What is this, a virtual nudist resort?

Keep walking…

So I choose the clothing folder and I’m given Gap Clothing… This is NOT something SierraNightTide would wear.

This is just weird…

Some one tries to talk to me through IM and anther person (character) looks like he’s checking out my ass, just like in real life. :) Us gurls just can't seem to get away from these little boys, even in virtual life, sigh

I decide to see what some of my character buttons do.

Fly: I can fly! Look I’m Super Gap Girl!
Friends: No friends - I’m such a Gap Loner, just like in High School, except I was much more of a Durany
Snap Shot: Take a snapshot and send it
Search: Places / People / Things
Map & Inventory: Self Explanatory.

I decide it’s time to check out the rest of Neon Zombie World and head on down to the Main hub.
I get to the main hub and teleport to the city…

Real Virtual City Life

I feel like part of me has been teleported into freaky bazaar movie. Suddenly, my offline boring life seems blissfully beautiful.

Naughty: Some guy tries to hand me his paddle so I take it and unsuccessfully throw at him. All the time thinking, get away from me you neon green Aeon Flux wannabe!

I ummm have a virtual boyfriend

Ahhhh, I have to virtually wash my hair

Hey! Is that the Backstreet Boys, I gotta check them out! See ya

After seeing

• Satan Superman
• 8 year cigarette smoking skateboarder
• Britney Spears in her leather Dominatrix outfit wannabe

...and the usual “can I be your friend” male cruisers, I logged out.

So this is the future of Social Networking? Be scared!

It was just too much for me in one day. People who play World Of Warcraft and or people who love the virtual 3D life concept will love trading in they’re real life for they’re virtual one.

As for me, I’m going to lunch, to eat

• real peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• with real Coffee
• in a real concrete mall shopping center.

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