Week 7: Addendum

Second Life is a fantastic world. It was created with the intention of offering a sandbox of the imagination for users to create a false world sharing only a few things with reality -- But it has been used for much more. The users see life in the world as much more than a place to build perfect worlds free of life's toils. To them, Second Life is a second life. It's more than a simulation of life; It's life itself. As a researcher, the things the inhabitants have worked to create and continue to progress is something to be admired. The experience these craftsmen have generated is what it means to be human. From the ground up, intelligent worlds have been made here not with the intention of simply observing, but interacting and coming closer to one another. Of course, as with reality, not all users are as cuddly. Some stand to gain something from others' losses. But, this only further strengthens my opinion of the world in comparison to real life.

(Image credit: Linden Labs)

In Second Life, as in reality, each person has a role to play in the balance. Having observed the world from the inside, it's my opinion that this is far more than a role-playing game. It is, in fact, a living society detached from all others, though sharing many of their ideologies. This virtual world has much to teach us of the actual one.

From my experiences in this world, I've learned a great deal about what is required to become immersed in a virtual environment and have it naturally connect with the player. Creators of video games and simulations strive for that obfuscation of the digital within the real. Second Life refuses to embrace any policy of hiding its false reality inside a real-esque wrapper, such as intense graphics or relatable storylines. Instead, it encourages players to simply be themselves as they would be if they were allowed to be so in reality. While this may not be possible in all games, it's a good lesson to keep in mind about how modularity, combined with user-generated experiences, can create dynamic gameplay all on its own.

Works Cited

Craig, Kathleen (February 8, 2006). Making a Living in Second Life. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/news/2006/02/70153.

Generation Pulse: Stereotyping: Cliques. (March 29, 2010). Retrieved from http://genpulse.bc.edu/en/content/explore/pages/peer-relationships/stereotyping-cliques.

"The Second Life Economy in Q3 2011." Second Life Community. Linden Research, Inc, 14 Oct 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Featured-News/The-Second-Life-Economy-in-Q3-2011/ba-p/1166705.

"Second Life: Facts for the Visitor." Wired Magazine, Issue 14.10. Conde Nast Digital, 14 Oct 2006. Web. 19 Feb. 2012.

Second Life Wiki: Making money. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Making_money.

Tutu, Desmond. No Future Without Forgiveness. New York: Random House, 2000. Print.

Week 6: Unveiling the Study

As the end of this project draws closer, the time has come to spring the news to the subjects of the study. How will the Second Life players respond when told they have been the target of a research project? The first meaningful connection(s) I made with someone in the game was with a virtual couple. They had been playing the game for five years and described their relationship to me as being a romantic one. I learned a lot from these two individuals. They were incredibly open to questions, friendly toward "newbies" like myself, and actively participative in conversation to the point that I didn't have to directly ask questions to gain understanding of the world.

The news about the project seems well-received

When I explained that I was there to conduct a study, the two of them were far from upset. They actually seemed excited to have been beneficial to my academic pursuits. In the screenshot above, the two of them were met where our relationship had started, a more than fitting location for the study to be concluded. They happily welcomed the news and asked what the details of my notes were. "So are you like copying pasting everything we say into a word document?" one of them asked. "Not necessarily," I explained, "I'm more interested in interactions than specific dialogs." After a little more explanation, the conversation continued normally into how their days in-game had gone and what they thought of the quality of the world between when they started playing five years ago and now. I took this as meaning the news was well-received and my work was considered non-instrusive.

Behaviors in Second Life are closely related to real-world ones. Couples, like this one, travel from place to place interacting with the world together. Individuals create their own identities out of the things they say, the experiences they have, and the properties they possess. The inhabitants pride themselves on the effects they have upon those around them and the environment in general. They establish a sense of belonging, a scope of importance extending far beyond themselves. These philosophies are akin to humanistic ones observable in reality. I conclude that this world has been molded by those living in it to be as similar to the real one as possible, spare some of the technical differences. In example, anxiety is possible in this medium, therefore it exists. However, war is not possible, therefore it does not. The differences between Second Life and real life are forced by the world's maintainers, not it's people.

Week 5: The World(s)

Players in Second Life are as individualistic as people in reality. The interests of one person can be dramatically different compared to another. However, it's the commonalities between groups of people that is of specific interest here. In life, we strive for the acceptance of others and the forming of relationships with like-minded individuals. We learn to come together for these purposes at an early age, creating what's referred to as cliques in school. Generation Pulse explains that this is related to our necessity for homophily, "the tendency to associate with similar others" (Generation Pulse, 2010). This is believed to be so ingrained in our psychology that Africans have a word to describe it: Ubuntu. It's described in the book No Future Without Forgiveness as being "open and available to others, [and] affirming of others..." (Tuto). Since players of Second Life are still human, it makes sense that Ubuntu would be exhibited in them as well.

There are many regions in Second Life, including this Sci-Fi one

In previous reports, I've explained that the in-game world is broken into regions, which are collections of facilities that cater to similar interests. There as many different types of regions, ranging from specific topics such as vampires to much broader scopes like entire countries. The most popular areas seem to be simple dance clubs, with one user playing the role of DJ and the rest dancing or socializing to the atmosphere. These are almost identical to real club scenes in the types of mannerisms displayed. The main floor is dominated by players dancing, with the surrounding area of the building specked with observers and socializers talking amongst themselves. During my visit to one club, I noticed a few people approach those of the opposite sex and use typical pick-up lines or ice-breaking techniques, a common occurence in real social scenes as well. This leads me to believe the social structure of Second Life and the rules by which people form relationships are very similar to everyday-life society.

Dance clubs in Second Life are like their reality counterparts

My conclusion is that, like the real world, people create areas to attract those of similar persuasions and interests. When people come together under these terms, social interaction is bound to happen. The rules of engagement and social rituals that produce lasting relationships after the initial interactions are also highly influenced by, if not completely reproduced from, reality.