As an avid online gamer, "Second Life" is an application that has certanally peaqued my intereste, but have never fully understood. I will admit I have my prejudices as I believe when it comes to MMOs (Mass Multiplayer Online), World of Warcraft > all, and almost all of the popular media featuring Second Life has been rather negative, featuring stories of virtual adultery and cyber sex. But as World of Warcraft has certainly gotten it's fair share of negative press as well, I decided to embrace Second Life with an open mind and experience it for myself.
I visited Second Life's website at http://secondlife.com/, and in just a few clicks created my virtual persona, "Vikki Cascarino" (In WoW, all of my characters names begin with "Vikk"; Vikkela, Vikkili, Vikkala, and so forth, so I am commonly referred to as "Vikki" online).
Although I would classify Second Life as an MMORPG (Mass Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), it is certainly unlike any other traditional online game. Instead of gaining experience by completing quests and killing monsters, Second Life is completely open ended, which can be a little unsettling for a gamer who is used to having some sense of direction. When I logged on, I found my "toon" standing on a grassy field with trees without any explanation to my whereabouts nor any directions on where to go or what to do. After fumbling with the controls trying to get a basic understanding of how to even move my character (thank goodness "WASD" controls work!) I explored the map and soon discovered I was on ISTE's (International Society for Technology in Education) private island! How did they know I was a member?!
After further stumbling around, I decided to resort to my favorite method of learning new applications -clicking on stuff- which soon got me scolded by the ISTE docent in charge, leading to my next Second Life revelation; there are no NPCs (Non-Player Characters)! In your typical MMO, while a lot of the characters running around are actual players behind a keyboard, there are lots of computer controlled characters that function as everything from merchants to peace-keepers. In Second Life, every character is being controlled by a real person. Even after getting to experiment with the game, one thing I can't understand is why would anyone volunteer to virtually stand behind a desk for hours on end? I spend enough of my REAL life standing behind desks, so when I'm online, I'd like to be able to do something I can't do in real life, rather then have a second tedious job I don't even get paid for.
The economy in Second Life is also vastly different then in your typical online game. While purchasing "gold" in World of Warcraft with real money is a violation of their terms of service and can actually get you banned from the game, purchasing "Linden Dollars $L" with real dollars is the only way to get game money. The Second Life economy is very much a real economy where goods are bought and sold, but unlike World of Warcraft, you can actually make real money by doing so! In World of Warcraft, players can choose a number of professions for their characters to help them earn money, such as mining, leatherworking or engineering. To make a good, a player simply needs to gather the necessary materials and then with the press of the button and a few seconds later, "Voilà!", new armor! However, in Second Life most professions actually require real life skills, such as graphic design or java programming, and real time to create an item to sell. This allows for complete creativity, as you are only limited by your own skills.
This complete creativity (with a few restrictions) can really be useful, and why Second Life has attracted many Educators to its virtual world. Want to visit the Sistine Chapel, Great Wall of China or the Louvre? Second Life allows you to virtually visit and explore these famous landmarks. Although no Second Life landmark can fully recreate the experience, it is great way for students to learn about and appreciation for these great attractions. Second Life can take the "virtual museum" experience, such as we discussed in Journal #2, to a whole different level. What's really cool about any kind of virtual exhibit, such as an art gallery, that in addition to being able to see the paintings (and fairly detailed too), by clicking the painting, often times you are able to read accompanying text about the work, such as you would find when visiting a real museum. Second Life Educators have also used the platform to create learning scenarios for their students to practice skills such as a powering a city electric grid, or even setting up a colony on Mars.
While I feel that Second Life does have some potential and interesting educational applications, for the most part I think it's a rather silly and gimiky tool. Office hours on Second Life? Give me a break! Another problem Second Life faces is that it is for adults 18+, really limiting its usefulness in a K-12 enviroment. Linden Labs do have a server called "Teen Second Life", however it is for teenagers 13-17 only. Educators can purchase Private Islands on the Teen Second Life Grid, but they are not allowed to venture outside of that island, really limiting the potential for "virtual field trips".
Second Life is certainly an interesting tool, and I've had fun getting explore and trying to understand this virtual world, but as far as online gaming goes, I think I'll be sticking with World of Warcraft, thanks.
0 comments:
Post a Comment