I got 1 life. I don't need a 2nd.
As we played around with Second Life. I realized that this will never be a viable option to me as I cannot take it seriously. I am sure they are going to have a place in the future but for right now. It all seems a little ridiculous. The shear fact that when we were all in the "sandbox" and people kept making objects as big as the sandbox inhibiting other players from creating stuff is how I imagined most activities go in the game. After using it further, I really do not see a use for it. It may be good for architecture firms to virtually demo new buildings and concepts but where does that leave the rest of the riffraff that is just interested in getting the special sex parts so they can fool around in game. I feel there is a very distinct reason why their membership went down so quickly. 1. It was free so why not try it.
2. What makes this world so great?
Giving someone the ability in a virtual world actually gives them the ability to do nothing. With some many options and no goals, people get bored very fast. It becomes an instant novelty. The fact that people are putting real money into this game with the current economic state is in many respects irresponsible by the users and the game developers. I think this may be the wave of the future but we have a long ways to go before the avatar is the way we browse the web.
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I agree. Not particularly useful at this point in time. I'm sure this type of technology has a future, but I don't know if this is the best way to present it. Maybe rather than creating a new digital world, we could start working aspects of the game into existing applications, enhancing what we have rather than trying to form a new digital world in one big bang. I think the WeeMee characters you can design for AIM is a good example - adding a level of customization and moving a step toward human interaction, but not losing sight of the purpose of the instant messenger.
I agree with nick on this one. The site as it is seems totally useless. I can see how if you like to write scripts or design games it would be a convenient to test a concept, but as for mass appeal I'd say its hopeless.
I agree with a lot of what you said, but I think games like second life and WoW have a good effect on some peoples lives; especially ones that like to use their imagination. Virtual worlds allow people to do things that they have always wanted to do, but would never in real life. I do however think that virtual worlds are going to have a much larger use/impact in the future.