‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages’.
William Shakespeare
'2ND LIFE’ is a curious yet obvious name for a virtual social networking arena. This is not a game. This is a virtual world in which you can inhabit and exist. You can choose who you are, who you want to portray, what you look like, and what you do. In essence ‘2nd LIFE’ enables you to live out an entirely separate life in another world – virtually.
When discussed by the BBC on breakfast news the other morning, the thing which aroused my curiosity was the discussion about a woman who was a housewife. On Saturday nights she had organized a live gig which she performed from the comfort of her own home. Not only that, her avatar (a 3D humanoid persona) looked like Carmen Electra and nothing like the woman she is in reality. So I asked myself what fascinated me more, the thought of doing anything I wanted in a virtual world unconstrained by conventions or the possibility of being a 6 foot tall Heidi Klum look-a-like – virtually?
Now I realise that Japan have been way ahead of us for years in the world of virtual reality and that this is not a new concept. However, from a social networking perspective ‘2nd LIFE’ is light years ahead of the competition. Only last year I joined Myspace and the transition from a dull HTML page to a 3D world that I can fly in is dramatic.
Either way I was hooked by the idea. I began by downloading the software this weekend, which was easy to use and quicker than I anticipated. It all happened in minutes. But what I found really difficult was choosing a name; who am I going to be, if not me? I was only offered a short list of surnames which I found really difficult to choose from; was I suddenly going to have brothers, sisters in this new world I would find myself in?
I started today by setting up an account. Much like other applications, once I had downloaded all the necessary software, I had to ‘agree’ to the usual T&C’s. What I found interesting are the community guidelines set down as the ‘Big Six’ (Intolerance, Harassment, Assault, Disclosure, Indecency, Disturbing the Peace). These act as the society rules of engagement - standards by which to conduct yourself and live out your 2nd Life.
The first thing I wanted to do when entering the 2nd Life World was to do something about my avatar. I proceeded to spend a full hour deciding what I would look like, from choosing my ethnicity, what my body shape would be, how I would dress….the entire lot. I could determine everything, from the size of my nostrils to what size heel I would like on my black pumps. I could change the fabric of my shirt or the texture of my hair. Fabulous! Trinny and Susannah would have been proud.
Now I have never been a huge gaming fan but for me 2nd life’s look and feel does seem similar to an old version of Tomb Raider. The movement is similar with the ability of adjusting arrows and walking around but the difference is not having the intrepid fear of turning a corner and finding someone firing a gun. It does not take long to get the hang of things. I could fly, zoom in and out, teleport to another places, use the search to find events. I can IM people around me listen in on others conversations or just hang out. It's really just alot of fun and quite addictive.
There are huge commercial implications too. With 2nd life’s own currency and ways of enabling you to buy and sell it seems there is great potential and the possibilities are endless.
All in all the experience was fascinating and I am definately hooked, but I wonder how happy my husband will be with my spending copious amounts of time on the computer. But that said maybe I could find a virtual husband while I am there?
he he he