Second Life Adventures

Ok so i finally succumbed to my curiosity about the possibilities of the virtual world Second Life. The possibilities seem endless. More than that, i feel there is a spiritual angle to virtual worlds. We are in fact playing God, like God plays for us. But anyways--i won't get into that before i lose all credibility with the rational people in this world.

So i created an avatar. I tried to keep the guy looking as close to possible to me, with some obvious enhancements (i.e buff, nice straight and stylish hair, and clothes). But what frustrates me is the sheer amount of time it takes to get ramped up. To learn to walk, and more specifically to build items, and script animations. I enabled voice chat and literally took part in a party yesterday. At one point i felt like i was having a conversation with a bunch of people at a party. We danced (some groovy steps), had drinks and engaged in some mindless chit-chat. That was my Friday night. But i honestly felt like i went to a club!

I could tell as i spent more time on it, i was getting more immersed into the experience. The voice chat, and the views really pull you into the experience. Before long, hours have passed.

I can't help wondering whether Second Life is an outlet for people who like to fantasize about a life they could of had. Just like how i created an avatar with certain physical attributes, based on a wish list of my own perceptions of how i should be. Or how i was when i was younger.

Now we take away the obvious limitations in social settings (i.e everyone is beautiful). And all of a sudden, we create a common denominator. How people express what they perceive to be their ideal self differs by individual--and avatars become expressions of creativity, that comes from deep within. People you meet on the road are not judging you based on an appearance you have no control over, rather by how you choose to express your appearance, and how you communicate your inner self. Doesn't that sound ideal? Wouldn't you want to spend more time socializing in such an environment than in the harsh world where appearance and a number of other variables outside your control inhibit people from truly understanding you.

I have a sinking feeling that we are on to something here, and Second Life and other virtual worlds is going to come in to fill a very deep void in people today. People will want to spend more time socializing on SL rather than RL. And this is scary and exciting at the same time.

Scary because--we do in fact have real lives that we are escaping from. And perhaps not solving problems we might have control over. Exciting because the immersive experience in itself reveals a great revenue opportunity for the right entrepreneurs creative enough to unleash it.

I want to spend some more time understanding virtual worlds from not only as a market opportunity, but as a psychological/sociological shift happenning in the world today.

Wish me luck!