As I sit in my chair in my dorm room, I am completely oblivious to the world around me. And why should I be paying attention to real life when I am engulfed in Second Life (or SL as the pros call it). Now I have played a fair share of video games in my day, and I would not call this one. Maybe it was what the game The Sims was trying to accomplish, but Second Life is a world in itself. Second Life is a complex virtual world that cannot be fully understood until it is tried out. Second Life is a revolutionizing game that has potential to have a major impact on the history of the world. The last statement may seem extreme, but I argue that as extreme as it sounds it is true.
So it only takes about five minutes to get onto Orientation Island, and you are in the game. You figure out the basics and change your appearance, and all the good stuff. At this point I was not really sure what this game was all about, what the big deal was. So I got through all the tutorials and was ready to move onto the good stuff, still now knowing what this stuff was.
So I got placed into some island where people were just hanging out, doesn't seem like a big deal. I started asking around what the games all about and other questions to get me orientated better. People immediately started accusing me of being a reporter (I guess I kind of am, being a blogger). The members of Second Life do not like to have Second Life be overexposed in the news because this will attract new members who are not truly interested in the game.
So here I am, Thorn Kappler. I have a birthday, an appearance, friends, etc. This sounds like many other games that I've played before, and those were not that special. The first BIG deal about this world that I found was that the money in SL is real money. When I want something, I have to pay for it in US dollars, coming out of my pocket (or credit card). I want to buy a shirt, I have to buy it with my money. If I were to win the lottery in the game (hypothetically) I would have a check sent to my dorm room at UB. So then what is the incentive to essentially waste money in SL. Well, like other things, if you are really into this game then the money is worth it. First off, the game is free to download and register for, so that makes people more willing to buy things in the game. A new outfit or a guitar will better express who I am to my friends in the game, and will help me make new friends. You can even buy a house in the game, because if you think about it... Thorn Kappler needs a place to sleep too. And there are thousands of shops, all easy to find, selling pretty much everything and anything you can think of.
So I'm exploring the game, I understand the way the money works down ($1 US = $186 Linden). Then I met somebody who really introduced me to why the game is different from other games. The woman's name was Inny Colo, and she had white hair spiked up, with a white outfit with pink wings, not somebody I would normally associate with in the real world. But Inny Colo told me a lot about the game. At this point I didn't really see all the hype, and I'm sure you still don't.
So besides the fact that you make friends from all around the world, people you normally would not meet, and you can exchange your ideas with them, thats all great. You can express yourself easier then in a chat room or instant message because you can change your visual representation and expression. And you can buy and sell goods and services using real world money. But imagine this...
In January 2007 there was a riot in SL. The roit took place between the National Front, a French political extremist party, and its opponents. This may seem like something you would see in a parody of these types of games in Family Guy, but this really happened. French political parties and their candidates campaigned within SL. Between the four political groups that campaigned on SL, about 50,000 people checked out the campaigns a day. All the contenders had headquarters, and one of the candidates Jean-Marie Le Pen was destroyed (you cannot technically die in SL), and ironically he did not win the election. It is also possible that Second Life can also be used for campaigning in the next US election.
Something more was created when politics entered SL. Never before has there been campaigning in video games (that I am aware of) that is so popular. This is not only effective, but futuristic. This opens a whole new type of society. Politicians in the future may be able to win an election without even leaving their desk! Besides the fact that there are people getting rich and some even becoming millionaires without leaving their chair. Because SL is so popular it opens doors for any possibility.
Nobody expected political campaigns in virtual realities, and nobody expected a riot to start because of it. Also, nobody expected there to be a game where real money can be earned and spent. The game Second Life can be used as an educational, social, economic, or political medium, and who knowns what can happen in the future!
Citations:
1. Second Life attracts French politicians. PARIS, 30 March 2007. http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/Second_Life_attracts_French_politicians/20070330-100212-6089r/
2. Second Life. (2007, April 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:31, April 5, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Life&oldid=120268909
3. http://secondlife.com/
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