Second Life
Created | Updated Feb 19, 2014
Introduction
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Labs which was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs called viewers enable Second Lifeusers, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore the world (known as the grid) meet other residents, go to virtual clubs, DJ, host, create virtual homes and families. The currency of this online world is 'Lindens'. You can buy these 'Lindens' with a credit or debit card, or you can earn them in world by getting a job in Second Life. If you were to buy 2500 Linden dollars, it would cost you 10.09 US dollars.About...
Users can log onto Second Life via various viewers, such as Radegast Metaverse Client, Firestorm Viewer, Singularity Viewer and many more.
What you can do
In Second Life you can do everything you can do in real life, but in a more simpler way, for example, if you wanted to DJ, you don't need to spend months or even years perfecting your skill and finding a job. You can simply buy a stream with your Lindens dollars, then you would buy a player to be able to stream with, such as Sam Broadcaster, and once set up, you can find a club inside Second Life and become a virtual DJ.
You can also buy and change your clothes and your avatars skin and shape. You can buy plots of land, which will be your own personal piece of Second Life where you make the rules of what is accepted and not accepted there. Very much like when a farmer buys a plot of land, he generally makes the rules of if he wants to allow people on his land, or make it private property with no trespassing.
You can drive cars, role play as a police officer, fire fighter, paramedic, criminal, mob boss, or anything else you could possibly imagine being.
You can use your microphone to use your own voice to chat with other residents, or you can simple type to them with your keyboard. There are also lots of other things you can do, just like in real life. You can build a relationship and get married in a virtual church, have sex on virtual sex beds, hold hands and walk with your virtual partner. You can also do any movement you could do in real life, such as sit, lay down, run, walk, skip, bounce, as well as some that may be considered impossible to do in real life, such as teleporting from one place to another in the blink of an eye.
There is also vast 'child' avatar activity on Second Life. Many players role play as a child avatar to experience a childhood they never had. There are parks, mazes, carnivals, and all sorts of other activities for child avatars to have fun. Child avatars are kept separate from the 'adult' side of things. The grid is set up with ratings for each island. G rating would be considered a non sex, non swearing related part of the grid, a M rating would be moderate, but with no sex permitted, whist A rating would be considered the adult part of the grid, where adults are permitted to perform sexual activities. Child avatars are strictly forbidden from entering A rated parts.
There are also adoption centers, just like in real life, where an adult avatars can adopt a child or a teen to be their child, however the adult would have to own a home on a G or M rated part of the grid.
Where can I go in Second Life?
Because Second Life is a virtual world, you can go practically anywhere, there are many places that replicate real life places, such as Paris, England, Canada, Wales and many more. There are also many places that are pure fantasy, such as Fairy islands and vampire clan bases.
What else can I do with my avatar?
You can turn your avatar into a vampire, and join one of many vampire clans. They generally skip around the Second Life grid, recruiting more residents to join their clan. Biting them to turn them into vampires themselves. You can also change your avatar into Sexual icons, such as dancers, strippers, slaves and masters. Pretty much everything is permitted in Second Life. You could be an aminal, a human, a lycan or vampire, a wolf, rabbit or any other animal you could imagine. You could also become a fantisy icon, such as a fairy, witch, even Dorothy from The 'Wizard of Oz'.
Overview
In Second Life, your avatar is completely customizable, with myriad variations of skin tone, eye color, hair type, clothing, shoes, and so on. And you can make changes to the world itself: You can purchase some land and build a house. Building in Second Life relies on a series of menu-based scripts that take some time to master. Although commands will be familiar to anyone who has used a basic design or graphics program, they aren't quite point-and-click.
After finishing your time at Prelude Island, you are transported to a standard starting area. Here you can check which of your buddies are online and move through the world by walking, teleporting, or flying. The last is definitely the most fun.
Although you can create weapons and do battle in special areas of Second Life, that is not a major draw. The game is designed for a more sophisticated virtual citizen, one who would be more interested in building a 3-D replica of the Eiffel Tower than in blowing away other denizens.
The difference between Second Life and The Sims
Second Life is an interactive Virtual World and needs an internet connection to play. Sims is a standalone and you don't need internet. With Second Life, you make one single avatar and it is controlled by you alone. With The Sims, you create a lot of avatars that are controlled by you. Second Life is a platform in which to communicate and interact with other people that have created avatars.
