For those of you who are not familiar with the virtual game, Second Life, let me explain. Second Life is a game that has introduced a unique virtual world. In this game, users have the ability to create an avatar of anything they can imagine, regardless of who they are in reality. According to its developers, Second Life is, "A place to connect, a place to shop, a place to work, a place to love, a place to explore, a place to be different, a be yourself...and a place to love your life." Second Life is a game that facilitates a world away from reality in which users explore a world unlike that of our own. By creating their own fantasies, hundreds-of-thousands of Second Life users have the ability to interact with individuals throughout the world and connect with them via their avatars.
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| Boston's Financial District *E#494 |
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| Avatars Interacting Via Second Life |
The first time I heard about Second Life was in 2010, when I watched the Sundance Film Festival documentary, Life 2.0. Made by documentary filmmaker, Jason Springarn-Koff, Life 2.0, explores the world of Second Life, and how it has transformed the lives of its users—not just in the virtual world, but in the real world as well. It is a game that is truly unlike any other I've ever seen. I, myself, have yet to play Second Life, but I am fully aware of the potential effects the game can have on its highly active users. I am curious as to how players perceive this game, and why they have become so entranced.
We all have passions in life (real life); ambitions we seek and hope to achieve sooner rather than later. In Second Life, users have objectives as well. In both lifestyles, there are various paths for individuals (or avatars) to take. If a person (or avatar) is on the right course, he or she should pursue it. However, when it comes to direction, it is never too late for anyone (or anything) to change. Why spend so much time organizing your Second Life, when you have the potential to change your real life? Second Life is a game, and so is life—you can play it however you want.
I think people have a hard time believing that "when it comes to direction, it is never too late for anyone (or anything) to change in one's real life." Perhaps society has been conditioned to believe that "games" are different, fun, and entrancing because it provides a place where things can occur that would not in your real life and a place where you can do things that are not accessible to you in reality. While this may not be totally true, I believe that media and many other inputs throughout time has created this social construction of the concept of games.
ReplyDeleteThis post brings up the same thoughts that were provoked in my head when we discussed second life and other virtual worlds. I think people play video games as a means of escape, and games like second life give them to opportunity to "live" a life that they could never have in the real world; virtual worlds are a way of living out a fantasy. However, even though I can understand this concept from an outside perspective, I never identified with it at all. I am not a gamer, and have never really been into video games, let alone games with virtual worlds. I agree with the end of your blog, I do not see much point in spending so much time in a virtual world when you have the ability to change your real world.
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