[geeks] Second Life is not a game?

[Mark]

On 31 Jul 2007, at 02:33, Jon Gilbert wrote:

> Apparently you don't know what Second Life is. So I'll educate you.
> It's a 3D virtual reality persistent world. It's not a game; there's
> no "objectives," "points," "lives," or any other characteristics of
> games.

I don't know how you can claim that when it has a full monitory  
system. If you ask me it's a classical MMORPG with a slightly more  
open mind...

> The only similarity between it and a game, is the fact that it
> is in 3D and you have an avatar that represents you within that world.

Ergo it's a role playing game. Just because you are trying to be  
serious about it doesn't stop it being a game. I play EVE Online a  
lot (although I've been on sabbatical recently) and we take it fairly  
seriously, have a proper company structure to our corporation etc,  
but at the end of the day it's still just a game.

> Now, because the users of Second Life can create custom-programmed
> objects, many people within SL make and sell games.

Sounds awfully like making and selling stuff in WoW or pretty much  
any other MMORPG, just a bit less restricted.

> There are casinos with Texas Hold 'Em. There are SLingo parlors (a  
> Second Life
> interpretation of bingo). There are RPGs that go on within it as
> well. My favorite is the chess club. You can buy a really sweet chess
> board for a few bucks. A lot of people use Second Life for purely
> recreational purposes, and the people who make and sell games and
> other recreational items within SL profit handsomely from those  
> people.

Our EVE corporation mines minerals and manufactures ships and ship  
modules. Again, we are more constrained by the rules of the game, but  
it's the same principle at work.

> Or is it just that, to you, it's not "work" if you are spending long,
> frustrating hours programming something that is in 3D as opposed to
> 2D HTML/Flash sites?

However you look at it, and however 'unlimited' the environment you  
are still limited by rules, and borders, and restrictions. Perhaps  
it's because I find it very hard to take Second Life seriously, but  
to me that makes it a game. It's a very open minded one but it's  
still a game. Also in being a jack of all trades as it is it's turned  
out fairly badly, both appearance-wise and performance-wise.

> I make a fair bit of income from scripts (programmed objects) that I
> create within Second Life and sell to in-world entities (companies,
> governments, individuals, etc.). Anyone who thinks that's not "work"
> is stupid, no offense. I know quite a few people who make their
> entire incomes from SL.

I make a shit-ton of 'money' out of mining in EVE, but they don't  
allow credits-for-cash because it damages the integrity of the game.  
I 'work', hell mining is as dull as dish water 90% of the time (which  
is why I need a break from time to time). I 'work' for 'money' and  
buy better equipment and make more 'money'. That sounds like work to  
me too but it ain't, it's just a game!

> Besides which, gaming is a $12 billion/year industry (bigger than the
> movie industry), and that's not even counting all the computer
> hardware sales that are driven by it. So, you better get off your
> little "games don't matter" high horse, thinking that "people who
> actually work don't play games" or some nonsense.

I'm a gamer. I don't play as many as I used to admittedly, but I am  
still a gamer at heart (mostly I have cut down because the supply of  
decent PC games has all but dried up in recent years - maybe I should  
buy a console!). I know it's a big industry (mostly aimed at grabbing  
lots of money off kids - ain't that cute!) but you have to accept  
that some people don't really care. You can take your attitude that  
SL is not a game around with you if you like, but I think more people  
will laugh at you than will agree with you. That's a shame I know,  
but it's true.

I often wonder what Jean Baudrillard would have mode of all this.

-- 
Mark Benson

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