Always interested in trying a new web application I checked out the online "game" Second Life. Well new to me anyway, I only first heard of it earlier this year on the Business Week Podcast. As the name implies, SL is a virtual world were participants can create a second life and interact with each other via IM or even VOIP (which can be disabled). The SL program is a free download and does not require any kind of credit card information making the decision to try it out it all the easier. After completing a standard application it was time to begin my new second life. For my new identity I was asked to choose a last name from a drop down list of last names and add a first name of my own. The last names aren't really family names in any language, one of the few real last names I saw was "Wycliffe." Many common first names like "John" or "Johnny" were already used up. I went ahead and chose the last name "Blessed" and used my own real last name as my first name. "Blessed" at least is a word, whereas many of the last names are hard to pronounce let alone remember being that they are not even words, Pig Latin included. After coming up with a name, the next step was designing an avatar to give my new character Mr. Blessed a look.
This is the fun part of the game. The facial and body options are detailed enough to create an avatar that pretty closely resembles the creator himself. And if most players are going for an accurate resemblance of themselves, SL is played almost exclusively by models and MTV dancers; well defined pecs and skin tight outfits are the norm. The method for creating the character's appearance is by intuitive scales one can slide between two extremes for example: raising or lowering eyebrows, eyes far apart or close together, going from knock-kneed to bowled legged and so on. Clothes can range from tight fitting to loose fitting. I wanted Mr. Blessed to be as short as possible but even then he is not conspicuously short. If any midgets want to play SL and are going for accuracy they'll be disappointed. For my part I made my character a caricature of myself: baggy clothes, extra long arms, as short and skinny as the game permits topped off by an awkward gait as a result of the long swinging arms. For the next 2-3 hours I was absorbed by the game and began to neglect my First Life. Luckily for me the program frequently crashes on my computer (weak graphics card?) so I had to give it up. Still I find that I play Second Life in one form or another. For example, I wrote this blog during a 3 hour sleepy lecture on pink sheets and why firms de-list.
