There is still nothing like a first life over a Second...

So this week's topic is the lovely game known as second life. for those who don't know what second life is, Second Life is:

Join a burgeoning new online society, shaped entirely by its residents. Here you can be or do anything. Explore an ever-changing 3D landscape. Meet new and exciting people. Create a masterpiece - or an empire. Second Life is yours - to imagine, invent, and inhabit.

• Explore a boundless world of surprise and adventure.
• Create anything you can imagine.
• Connect with new and exciting people.
• Compete for fame, fortune, or victory.

Whatever your goals, whatever you choose to do, your Second Life starts now.

So that was a lovely snippet from Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life (SL). In a nutshell, SL is a second world, a second life where everything can be built, changed, and adapted. SL took the world by storm.

More people have decided that a second life is better than a first than any other MMORPG save for WoW (World of Warcraft). Interestingly, though, SL has taken a significant downturn from it's once hay day of 'million dollar' subscribers (click here to learn more about the games' first millionaire). The world of Second Life is diminishing, and the ability to see that comes from looking at the number of active members versus the number of subscribers.

One of the major problems with SL is the very steep learning curve. I played a game called Star Wars Galaxies in 10th grade and the learning curve was fairly shallow and it when the game picked up people, they tended to stay because they became personally vested in their character - it was so easy to get started you could start progressing faster. SL doesn't have this benefit.

The other problem with SL is that there really is no objective. As I read a blog on the topic, I learned that SL actually isn't considered a MMORPG, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, but rather something called a Virtual Interactive Enviornment (VIE). With this comes my second reason as to why things aren't as interesting on SL as they are with other games:

Second Life (SL) is a game-like environment, but it does not really pose as a game, per se. It proposes to serve as a social platform. It is a virtual interactive environment (VIE), and it holds many similarities to a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Users login and assume control of digital puppets (avatars), and interact with one another. Users have control over their environments, and can purchase items such as clothing for their avatars. But there the gaming comparisons end. There are few other game-like objectives in SL: no levels to attain, no bosses to defeat.

With no real objective, things get boring really fast - especially when the graphics suck and the user interface is atrocious. So why did so many people sign up in the first place? I guess your first life has to be just as bad, or worse... but it's always good to remember... there is still nothing like a first life.