I didn't like it. It seemed to be well shot, well edited, the acting was, I guess, passable so it seemed to have all the ingredients, but I didn't like it. Why? I couldn't get into the idea of robots who could transform into cars, trucks, or whatever. It did strike me that if I was a kid playing with the toys, or if I was a fortysomething who had grown up playing with the toys, I would have probably loved the movies. But while I was aware of the toys, I had never had anything to do with them.
I couldn't accept the premise, so I couldn't accept the movie.
Then it dawned on me: If I can't accept that Superman has superpowers, Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter working for a great metropolitan newspaper doesn't make any sense. If I can't accept that Tony Stark has a mechanical suit which gives him extraordinary abilities, Ironman doesn't cut it. If I can't accept the Multiverse, then the idea of different timelines seems nothing more than a cheap deux ex machina, allowing an unimaginative writer to escape from the literary corner he's written himself into.
Who can accept the premise of Second Life?
Our planet currently has a population of 8.1 billion. Facebook has 2.9 billion active monthly users, approximately 38% of the population. I find that statistic staggering. Twitter has 368 million active monthly users, Flickr 60 million, Instagram 2.4 billion, Threads 190 million.
Estimates about Second Life are difficult because Linden Labs has reportedly stopped releasing all sorts of data about their platform. Nevertheless, some analysts put SL at 60 plus million registered users with 25 to 50 thousand daily users. That puts SL around 2% the size of Facebook. Second Life is a drop in the bucket when looking at the grand scheme of things.
In comparison, World of Warcraft has nearly 150 million registered users and 167 thousand daily users. WoW ranks #1 in a list of the top 140 most popular MMOs according to MMO Populations. I note that Second Life does not even appear on this list.
Before I go on talking about accepting the premise, let me define Second Life. It's been often said that Second Life is a game which has no rules, no goals. How exactly does one win a game if there's no objective?
SL is a 3D modeling environment. The only rule is that within the limitations of the technology, you can create or build anything you want. It's up to you to define your own objective.
From Wikipedia: Second Life:
Second Life's status as a virtual world, a computer game, or a talker, is frequently debated. Unlike traditional computer games, Second Life does not have a designated objective, nor traditional game play mechanics or rules. It can also be argued that Second Life is a multi-user virtual world, because its virtual world facilitates interaction between multiple users. As it does not have any stipulated goals, it is irrelevant to talk about winning or losing in relation to Second Life. Likewise, unlike a traditional talker[vague], Second Life contains an extensive world that can be explored and interacted with, and it can be used purely as a creative tool set if the user so chooses. In March 2006, while speaking at Google TechTalks, Rosedale said: "So, we don't see this as a game. We see it as a platform."
From MMOS.com: Second Life Game Review:
In Second Life, players create and customize their own avatars and are encouraged to explore the nearly limitless virtual world. Second Life isn't a traditional game, as there are no objectives. Instead, players can do whatever they want, but most players typically socialize, roleplay, or explore the countless simulations. Simulations, called sims, are player-created zones, many of which are inspired by popular fictional settings like animes or movies. Second Life is a true sandbox game, as all the content is created by its users. If you can imagine it, you can create it. Everything from animations, vehicles, skin textures, to clothes are designed by players using 3D modeling and scripting software. Player-created content is the name of the game in Second Life, and it's not limited to cosmetics. Players can even create objects that others can actually interact with, which gives players room to create interactive minigames.
I repeat for emphasis: Second Life is a true sandbox game, as all the content is created by its users.
From reddit: Is Second Life an mmorpg?:
I've always felt that metaverse places like Second Life, Opensim, High Fidelity, Project Sansar, Vrchat, Altspace and the likes need more distance from mmos. A lot of people lump them all together, mostly due to the familiarity of mmos. Metaverses are really different though... They're more like publishing platforms that translate all sorts of ideas into visual content. You would never find most of the stuff in Second Life (good and bad) in a mmo. However, there are at least a few small scale mmos in Second Life. Some folks find that to be a difficult thing to wrap their heads around. It's a lot of freedom and figuring it all out can become exhausting. The majority of mmos give people very little to no creative freedom, you are given very limiting rules, and can rarely impact anything in tangible or meaningful ways. Any real impact or addition of content is done strictly by the company that owns the game.
Sure, there are similarities...The user creates a virtual avatar/toon/character and is dropped into a virtual world...but that's where things stop being the same.
Second Life is anything you can think of, and put forth effort to build...not just mmos. I've played horror games in Second Life, visited historical recreations of Berlin in the 20's, shopped mega malls looking for silly clues to freebie hunts, visited the dank opium dens of virtual places, traveled like a lost spark down cyber alleys, dressed up like a dinosaur and ransacked someone's private RP lab, dressed up like a anime character and romped through sex dungeons, submarines, space stations, the apocalypse, medieval Europe, mansions, Paris, Disneyland, the 50s, the 80s, Ancient Egypt, Neverland Ranch ( hi lar ious), and learned some real knowledge at freebie programming courses and art classes along the way. I've seen Lovecraft Cthulhu inspired seaside towns, retro arcades, drive in movie theatres, real university campuses and so much more in Second Life... In most mmos...well...you get to have swords, dragons, zombies, and castles...so...there's that.
Is it worth a try? Fuck yes, everyone should do Second Life at least once. RPG'ers or otherwise. Its like asking if you should check out reddit, its life...in virtual form.
Sure, there are similarities...The user creates a virtual avatar/toon/character and is dropped into a virtual world...but that's where things stop being the same.
Second Life is anything you can think of, and put forth effort to build...not just mmos. I've played horror games in Second Life, visited historical recreations of Berlin in the 20's, shopped mega malls looking for silly clues to freebie hunts, visited the dank opium dens of virtual places, traveled like a lost spark down cyber alleys, dressed up like a dinosaur and ransacked someone's private RP lab, dressed up like a anime character and romped through sex dungeons, submarines, space stations, the apocalypse, medieval Europe, mansions, Paris, Disneyland, the 50s, the 80s, Ancient Egypt, Neverland Ranch ( hi lar ious), and learned some real knowledge at freebie programming courses and art classes along the way. I've seen Lovecraft Cthulhu inspired seaside towns, retro arcades, drive in movie theatres, real university campuses and so much more in Second Life... In most mmos...well...you get to have swords, dragons, zombies, and castles...so...there's that.
Is it worth a try? Fuck yes, everyone should do Second Life at least once. RPG'ers or otherwise. Its like asking if you should check out reddit, its life...in virtual form.
It's interesting that the reddit commentator calls Second Life a Metaverse, not a MMO game.
Let's clarify some terminology according to Plarium (video game developer): What Is an MMO, What Is an MMORPG and the Difference Between Them:
MMO = Massively Multiplayer Online game.
MMORPG = Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
All MMORPGs are MMOs, but not all MMOs are MMORPGs.
MMORPG = Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
All MMORPGs are MMOs, but not all MMOs are MMORPGs.
Plarium also humorous defines MMORG as Many Men Online Role-Playing as Girls. See my article Why do guys role play girls? (2,500 words, 12-minute read) - Jul 15/2022
The Premise of Second Life
I apologise. I seem to have wandered around quite a bit and seemingly been off topic but there were a number of preliminary ideas to set up before discussing this specific point.
Not everybody gets it. I know people who have looked at it and said, "Meh!" I know one fan of WoW (World of Warcraft) who said she tried SL years ago but found it boring. I refer to the above statement that SL has no goal. How does anybody fare in an environment with no structure? Is everybody capable to making up their own stuff? Even if somebody says they're not a builder, even having an avatar, customizing it, buying clothes, etc. means they are making up their own stuff. Having a home, decorating, placing furniture, etc. can also constitute making up their own stuff. They may not be building in the sense of creating things, but they are building their own character, their online persona, the avatar which represents their being.
Note the following from MMOS.com: Second Life Game Review:
Pros:
- +Player-crafted items.
- +Near infinite customization options.
- +Countless unique sims.
- +Real-world currency exchange.
- +Great community.
- -Steep learning curve.
- -Cluttered interface.
- -Slow loading times for textures.
Steep learning curve? Cluttered interface? I've jokingly said that you need a PhD in computers before you get to any of the good stuff!
Slow loading times? Heck, lag may be the number one complaint of SL. I log in and go refill my coffee mug. I log in and go out for a walk. I log in and... well, you get my point. I'm certain mesh made it worse and now, PBR (Physically Based Rendering) has added even more complexity to this virtual environment. I've TPd to a club with twenty or thirty avatars and after ten minutes, I still see people and things not yet fully rezzed! Whoa!
Final Word
Not every gets it. I get that. There are technical obstacles to overcome, especially mastering the software. But there is, more importantly, the buy in, the acceptance of the premise of being a person in this virtual fantasyland. I'm sure everyone wants that fantasy. We read books. We watch movies. We love our entertainment, and we love our escapism. It's nice to check out of our reality and let our imagination soar. However, in looking at the above numbers, it would seem Second Life is not a game for everyone. In fact, it looks to be something of a select group of people that manage to get it and buy into the idea to overcome whatever stumbling blocks may prevent the faint of heart of ever reaching the point of self-combustion.
From my article For the uninitiated: What the heck is Second Life?:
The graphics can be clunky. The lag can be frustrating. And the crashes, while notorious, have become so commonplace that everyone accepts it as a normal part of the system. This is so far from The Matrix to be absolutely laughable. Then why, for Heaven’s sake, would anybody be crazy enough to play what could be qualified by any objective measure a horrible game?
But if you do get it, well, ooh la la!
Unfortunately, no one can be told what The Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.
References
Wikipedia: Second Life
Second Life is an online video game that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online virtual world.
MMOS.com: Second Life Game Review
Pros: +Player-crafted items. +Near infinite customization options. +Countless unique sims. +Real-world currency exchange. +Great community.
Cons: -Steep learning curve. -Cluttered interface. -Slow loading times for textures.
Wikipedia: Metaverse
The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection.
2024-08-01
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