Kevin's Watch

I read an article in the paper today about some huge VR world on the internet where you can buy property and you 'av' wanders around and does stuff. Said it originated at some westcoast university and has been on the internet for four years and is all the rage...

I remember that from when I was a kid.

That's the first time I used my name, Balon.

Haven't been on one since.

Second Life is so cutting-edge it defies genre classification. It's a game, a tool, a playground, a nation, and nearly everything in it is built by its residents. A digital space where everyone can be what they want, create what they want, and do what they want, and it’s growing fast. SL has a diverse, global set of users who are passionate about the world they're creating

I guess it's some huge "game" developed at Linden Labs in San Francisco--I guess their advertizers make alot of $ off it too...

maybe I should have posted this in the Vid Games forum?

edit: just checked that forum...nope, no one's ever mentioned it...

edit again: Just tried to join...looks way too expensive and time-consuming. Fairly amazing concept, tho: you can create your own artwork, plug in your music--and maybe even have virtual sex! Too much 'gaming' for me, not into it...

The guy that wrote the column on it was pretty funny, saying that many there don't have "wiki-realty" sense citing one guy who set up a John Edwards campaign office right next to a sex shop.

Well then, mabye not that EXACT one. But something along those lines.

I agree though, too much gaming for moi. And not enough game writing. I mean, writing is what its all about for me!

Virtual sex?

Never had virtual sex before?

It's not all its made up to be, those computer boards are sharp as hell!

Balon wrote:Never had virtual sex before?

It's not all its made up to be, those computer boards are sharp as hell!

Shh. . . stop making me laugh! My roommate's gonna wake up and wonder why I'm on the net at 2:30 in the morning!

Lyr, the only thing anybody does on the internet at 2:30am is sex, so your secret's already out.

Balon wrote:I remember that from when I was a kid.

Now that's funny! You know what went through the minds of all the people my age when we read that?

Waait a second!!! I just checked out secondlife.com/

It says "BUY & SELL LINDEN DOLLARS"

What the hell kind of reality is that place!!!!!!! Linden is, like, God there???????

I know I thought about Jay and HLT--I don't think they'd last long there!

Fist and Faith wrote:Lyr, the only thing anybody does on the internet at 2:30am is sex, so your secret's already out.

This is news to me. And I wasn't saying that I hadn't heard of virtual sex, I was just thinking that the real thing would be more of a draw.

That second life is crazy stuff. If I had braodband and could afford it, I know I'm the kind of person who would get sucked into it.

Those Linden Dollars have an actual exchange rate. Corporations have branches there, muscians have played live virtual concerts. There's a media company who runs news boadcasts etc. It really is an alternative world.

It's pretty incredible in fact.

Evolution In Second Life

--A

As if I don't have enough things to do in my real life...

I swear, one day VR is all there will be to life. I don't want to be around when that happens.

On second thought, maybe I do: us hard-core realists would have the planet all to ourselves! The things we could do to the VR people when they weren't paying attention... *evil snicker*

Yeah, well, I'm not a big fan of reality.

--A

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote:As if I don't have enough things to do in my real life...

I swear, one day VR is all there will be to life. I don't want to be around when that happens.

On second thought, maybe I do: us hard-core realists would have the planet all to ourselves! The things we could do to the VR people when they weren't paying attention... *evil snicker*

I like where that thought is going.....

I tried Second Life last year.
Unfortunately, my pc had other ideas!
It was so slow and jerky it was shameful, and when people spoke to me I couldn't reply before they got bored and walked off because of the time-lag!

If you are going to play it, I'd reccommend a computer that is quite fast with a good graphics card (ie. not mine!), as well as broadband net.

Judging from the immense popularity (loads of new people being "born" when I was online) it must be pretty impressive.

Has anyon ever read Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash?

Lucimay sent it to me last year.

If you have, then Second Life will seem quite familiar..just like the Street in his book...The cool thing is, the book was written over fifteen years ago.

I think I read something in the paper the other week that the first REAL millionaire had just been created by second-life - ie some guy played alot and bought and redeveloped 'properties' which he sold for real money in the real world to , as Av said,

Corporations have branches there, muscians have played live virtual concerts. There's a media company who runs news boadcasts etc

YEa...some freaky reworking of the social dynaic is going to spring from this...

The media company btw is Reuters. They have a 2nd life office, and "broadcast" 2nd life news. Weird stuff man...

--A

"Second Life" sounds like the old CompuServe "Worlds Away", done with modern technology. My favorite part of WA was its goto word "Go Away"!