Second Life--take two

I played Second Life, briefly, during the break to try and find out why people love it so much. I learned that you can have a real job in the game that earns real money, not just game money. And you can do anything, from just hanging out to traveling to combat and everywhere across the spectrum in SL. If you don’t like the way you look, you can look like anything or anyone you want to; if you’re stuck in a dead end job in RL (real life) and miserable, you can enjoy a better life from the comfort, security and anonymity of your own couch. I found a library system that is available on its own webpage just like Clemson library. And presidential campaign headquarters and stores and bars, just like things I see every day in RL, but with a computer generated slant. But the technical difficulties with my laptop graphics and dial-up at home, each sojourn into SL is an exercise in patience. But I am resourceful. I found alternative research methods when I got no response from the players I met on rare occasions who didn’t speak English: I used myspace to speak to people I couldn’t find in the game. I sent a four question survey about their reason for playing Second Life to several players and found that my experience seems to be a minority.
I wanted to know what draws people into the virtual world in the first place and what keeps them there once they get there, a job or just a hobby? And how long they have played SL. I was told that the day you are born into Second Life, the day you start playing, is called your rez day. Most of the people I spoke to are resident hobbyists who have some in game responsibilities but not real jobs. I wrote to an in game real estate agent because her blog said she loves the game so much and she’s so happy to make real money now selling virtual real estate (her responsibilities must take up a lot of time because I didn’t hear back from her). I cannot imagine working in a virtual world (I don’t like working in this world!), to have a literal job within a video game, that earns real money outside the game.
The people I spoke with, for the most part, are hobby players but they do own property, belong to groups or own groups and get paid for those services. They also write scripts to create things in the game, greet newcomers to SL, and volunteer in the game for various services.
The three responses I got for what draws people into SL were remarkably similar: they love the game for its social aspects, being able to meet and hang out with people they otherwise would never see, and being able to travel in the game. It is a tantalizing concept, to meet people in strange places, visit strange, distant lands, all from the comfort of your own home. Another draw is the ability to change your appearance, to look different from who you are in RL when you enter SL, and the ability and relative ease of creating things in game. Here in SL, your creativity knows no bounds: anything you can conceive of can be created in the virtual world, no matter how impractical it would be in RL.
And, to a man, each response to what keeps you playing SL, were the social aspects: the friends they’ve made along the way and the friends who brought them into the game in the first place. People gather in groups and make items, share items they’ve made in the game, travel, engage in combat, greet and instruct new players, and just hang out. In a diverse world, it can be easier to find people with common interests when searching is handled by your fingertips as you type. Growing up in a small town myself, it wasn’t always easy to find people with my interests, so I can understand the pull to find like-minded individuals by whatever means necessary. Everyone wants to find a place where they fit in. In SL, I can perform a search for something and transport instantly to the location of my interest. Or fly, I suppose, or walk, but why would I walk or even fly when I can teleport? And it certainly beats walking around the real world trying to find something locally that attracts certain groups of people. In SL, the weird kid at school or the office geek can have the best avatar and no one would ever be the wiser; likewise, if you just don’t like the way you look, you simply look different. I’ve certainly had days when I wished I were someone else. In SL, that wish comes true.


well in the game my name is rooster misfit and in real life i am adam handy... now that you know who i am... ask away.... (you can use my names in your paper too)

So what draws you into the virtual world?: welll im a big people peson i love meeting new people and hanging out. this gives me a whole new way to meet new people and its convinent cause i can do it from home. i also like the fact i can do anything i want from just hanging out to traveling to full combat. Why did you start playing SL?: a freind of mine that i havebeen talking to on myspace for years had been buggin me to play so i gave it a shot and i got hooked What keeps you there?: the freinds i have made on there and just the random projects we do and put together Do you have a virtual job or is it just a hobby?: no i dont have a job, but i do run a roup and i get paid when people join and i also build things. my group and i are planing on opening up a shop and selling basicly anything people make in our group. but mostly its just a hobby for now. i put in an application to be an inworld helper so hopefully i willget that and that is a paying job with real cash... nothing better than to get paid to play videogames


Zak:
What draws you into the virtual world? The main reason I come to Second Life is that it allows me to be someone else and to look different than I do in real life. I can also build and program things in the virtual world that are difficult or impossible to do in real life. What keeps you there? In addition to the above, I like meeting new people from around the world and mingling with people I otherwise wouldn't have a chance to see. I also like visiting their creations and learning what their interests are. When did you start playing SL? I started playing Second Life on August 3rd, 2003. It is called my Rez Day in Second Life. Do you have an in-game job or is this a hobby? Second Life is really just a hobby and an escape. I do make objects to sell in world, but I do not make the kind of money that you may have heard in the news that people make.






Cybin Monde:

What draws you into the virtual world? the limitless possibilities of creative and/or intellectual expression, as well as this being an early glimpse into what i believe our online future will more closely, and widely, resemble. What keeps you there? same thing that brought me there.. the ability to be part of creating a world. the excitement of building, creating and helping others. the community, friends and fun. i'm part of the world of SL.. regardless of the fact i'm not even in-world all that often. When did you start playing SL? January 27th, 2004.. and it's amazing how much it has changed and grown since then! Do you have an in-game job or is this a hobby? i don't have an in-game job, nor is it simply a hobby.. it's somewhere in-between. i don't have a business in SL, nor a job.. but i am in the SL Greeters program, SL Views, a ResMod (Resident Moderator) on the official forums and a volunteer for the SLCC (designer of name tags).