The Grax Domain

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18 Apr 2006 Second Life (or how I'm wasting my life away)

Hey.

It's been a while since I've written stuff down and there's one main reason why this is so. Back in mid February I decided to try out a free trial period of the PC game called Second Life. I think it was one of those low moments due to it being Valentines week and the women of the world had passed up a great looking guy AGAIN. They just don't know a great deal when they see one I guess. =/

Anyway it's been over two months since the trial period ran out and I'm still playing it. So I'm writing to review, partly to warn you all that it's a little bit addictive...

When I first logged in after choosing my name (Grax of course) I was initially overwhelmed. Initially unclear controls, no instruction manual, basic choppy graphics (I am a graphics whore, faster is better in my books) I was about to give it all up within ten minutes of playing. But I gave it another chance. I stumbled to the tutorial area, I asked the locals for help and they gave me a hand. Now I was able to alter my avatar to look nearly like my handsome Graxly self (Not 100% mind) and shaping things using the given tools.

The basic idea of the game Second Life is that you can do anything you want, be anything you want. You are given the tools to achieve this somewhat daunting feat. There is a simple 3D modelling tool, not unlike a simple version of 3D Studio MAX, which allows you to make 3D objects within this virtual. It may feel limited at first, but then you realise that the people in Second Life have created marvellous thing using a series of simple primitive objects. There is a programming language built into this virtual world that is similar to JAVA, which allows you to program some life into the objects that you create. Also worth noting is the fact that there is a real-life stock market within the game. You can pour real life money into the game and, if you happen to make a lot of in-game money, you can withdraw the virtual money for real cash. Got a business idea, make a real life profit in a virtual world.

So with all this potential it easy to see why people are lured into this game (although the word 'game' is misleading in this context, it's more like a virtual world or an over glorified chat room). Who wouldn't want to do or be anything they want? I myself wanted to make various droids and what not, like I did when playing Star Wars Galaxies only this time they would actually do more. I wanted to create! So now what am I doing...? I'm spending all my free time gambling my money, going to nightclubs and womanizing strippers... Yeah, really doing well there.

(But in my defence doing the strip club thing in Second Life is no worse than doing it in Real Life, in fact it could be arguably better. I've been to a real life strip club once and was given a dance. 5-10 minutes of sitting there with you hands behind you back, not allowed to touch, she swaying and teasing you, then you're short ™20. In Second Life you sit staring at your screen not being able to touch the Poser quality avatar doing the same animation loop over and over whilst they type in sexy words into the chat window all night. All for about ™2.00 worth of game money. See? You're no worse off.)

I have done other things in the game to earn some petty cash, like hosting events and being a DJ at events (which simply consists of downloading some broadcasting software, playing music one after the other, and talking shit on the mic). It's just wasn't what I was expecting to be doing in the game.

The thing I'm hooked on is the chat room mentality of it all. It's so easy to go into an area of some sort and just start chatting away to a random person for hours. And everyone is so friendly. There are the occasional pricks that ruin it for everyone by acting like dicks, but they serve as a way to shake things up a bit; keeping people on their toes. It's like being in the chat rooms of yesteryear, when you just starting out on AOL because you didn't know better. You don't get this kind of social interaction in other MMORPGs like World of Warcraft because you're bogged down with doing missions.

The thing is it's all too good. I'm spending all my free time playing on rather than doing the other stuff I should be doing, like out-of-work-hours work, showering and eating. The only time I normally stop playing and go outside is when I have to go to work. It's gotten to the point where I've paid for my monthly subscription in advance. Four months worth! I've never done that for a game before. My name is Grax and I am addicted to Second Life.

I read a gaming review about this game and it summed it up nicely in one sentence; so I'm going to paraphrase it. To get the most out of the game you have to buy into the game; you need to allow yourself to be fully engulfed in this virtual fantasy world where the resident really do create the content. Other wise you might end up wonder what the big deal is.

As for people with addictive personalities like me, it's best not to start or you'll won't be getting out in a while.

GRAX RATING: 4/5 (2/5 if you don't believe in it)

Posted at: 0:47 AM