Having recently spent time in the immersive game of World of Warcraft (WoW), I am interested to see how that environment compares to the one in Second Life. Based off the article by Kristin Kalning, a games editor for msnbc.com, I can expect anything.
(See her article here: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17538999/ns/technology_and_science-games/t/if-second-life-isnt-game-what-it/#.Vfh8xBFVikp )
In WoW, the game designers carefully crafted each environment, but in Second Life the players are the designers. Players can build what they wish, but I hear that the programming is hard to navigate and they expect you to know more than you might actually. In other words, no help manual at the bottom of the screen… Some might like that, but I prefer to know what I am doing than have absolutely no idea… Another difference will be in how the game is played. WoW is a certified game; Second Life is a free space to do whatever one wishes. Really folks, the name says it all! There are no quests in Second Life, no battles to level up, no experience necessary to gain new abilities. You can make an avatar and just walk around. Or you can engage in the markets and buy actual stuff. Or spend real money to buy the Second Life currency, to then buy digital goods. Does that make sense to anyone else?! No? Okay.
But Second Life does hold some potential or appeal. In this environment, one can be who ever they want to be. If they don’t like themselves, they can create the person who looks and acts like they wish they did. Also, businesses could take advantage of marketing their companies in the game. Since there are a crazy number of people logged on daily, a companies ad would not go unnoticed. People could also use the immersive world to go places they wish to go or do activities they wish they would participate in.
There is another difference that warrants some attention. The values depicted in each of these games/immersive environments are different. In WoW, there is a strict order of how to advance in the game. In order to advance, you need x amount of experience and yada…yada…yada… So it could be said that WoW values order with some creativity between the lines. Whereas Second Life is all about personality, individuality, and socializing. They seem to value creativity of all sorts, preferably out of the box.
But what do I know. I’m just someone speaking from the outside. Come Thursday that won’t be the case, so we shall see if I gain anymore opinions/insights or whatnot. Until then, ~V
Sunflowers and Riddles 