Probably people are already familiar with Second Life by now. Second Life, a three-dimensional virtual world, set up by Linden Lab of San Francisco and its CEO Philip Rosedale is one of the many so-called massive multiplayer online games that are steadily gaining in popularity these days (because thousands of people can play at the same time).Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its players or otherwise also called residents. I think the reason why this game is immensely popular is because the Residents can create an alter ego of themselves called avatars made according to their wishes and preferences (like if you are short and fat, you can make your avatar tall and slim and totally dreamy…). Second Life's technology also let people create objects like clothes or homes and buildings from scratch rather than simply pluck avatar outfits or ready-made buildings from a menu. This makes it possible for residents to create anything they can imagine, even create a different life from that of the real world and live in it. Furthermore “Residents" can even interact and can explore, meet other Residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another.
But wait, this life does not come for free. You have to pay to become a member. And even inside the virtual world Second Life residents have to pay with Linden Dollars for every transactions being made (in fact these Linden dollars have an equivalent value in real world money). Unbelievable as it may seem, because of the freedom and the capability to create a personal dream world many are enticed and willing to slug in a lot of money just to have a second life albeit in a virtual world. This phenomenon has stirred a lot of real-world big companies to sit up , notice, and analyze that like simulation, these virtual worlds can provide a new template for marketing strategies and product designs without the usual astronomical costs incurred in real life situation.
Debates raged on on its pros and cons, but personally (probably because I am not very much into online games), I could never fully comprehend why I may find the need to create a second life and spend so much for it. Is this a form of escapism from real life? Are real life socialization passé? Eventually no matter how perfect our virtual worlds will become, we still have to shake ourselves and get back to real life. End of game…
Image Courtesy: Businessweek.com magazine
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