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Home , Linden Lab, Real life, Second Life

VISITING ’S Introduction In the beginning were the online games. them with a setting—and the tools—to Focus The early was quickly recog- fully express their own personalities. It Second Life is the nized as potentially the most important also gives them places to go and things fastest-growing of vehicle for personal communication to do—experiences that they can share a number of virtual worlds that have ever developed. Almost as quickly, with one another. sprung up on the gamers realized that the Internet could , CEO of , Internet. News in bring together players from around the the developers of Second Life, sees this Review looks at this world to play online games. MUDs expression of personality as being of popular Web site, (multiuser dungeons)—text-based critical importance for residents of examining its origins and appeal games for multiple players—rapidly Second Life. “Remaking one’s iden- to adults and teens developed popularity among more tity,” he says (Computer Graphics alike. We also note skilled computer users. World, July 2004), “is only the tip of the popularity of With the development of sophisti- the iceberg of what digital worlds can other virtual cated computer graphics, online gaming offer. We all share a tremendous pas- worlds, including further grew in popularity. Believable sion to express ourselves and an inabil- game-based uni- verses. virtual worlds became more and more ity in real life to do it as well as we the norm. David Kushner, writing in would like. By creating an exception- Technology Review (April 2004), ally plastic environment in which you Quote identified four reasons why this had can change everything from yourself to “Second Life is no happened. These included: your home or your car or anything else more a game than • the mainstreaming of instant messag- in your environment, SL can be the the Web is a game. ing and e-mail closest thing to having someone else be It’s a platform. This • increased use of broadband able to see inside your head.” feels exactly like it • the speed and relative cheapness of Some do go to Second Life just to felt when the Web was first coming computer processors have fun. But many of its residents have out. I remember • 3-D capabilities found serious reasons to be . “They feeling the hair on Even more than for online games, form support groups for cancer survi- the back of my these developments made possible the vors,” writes The Economist (Septem- neck standing up.” development of online worlds like ber 30, 2006). “They rehearse responses — John Lester, Linden Lab commu- Second Life. to earthquakes and terrorist attacks. nity and education Second Life’s developers are always They build Buddhist retreats and medi- manager, quoted in anxious to point out that it is something tate.” Politicians give interviews in The (Halifax) very different from an . Second Life, libraries offer their virtual Chronicle Herald, Kushner’s description outlines that services, and universities offer virtual November 4, 2006 difference perfectly: “The key insight of courses. the new virtual worlds is to allow There is also the opportunity to make YV people simply to share experiences with real money. Residents who create in Sections fellow cyber travellers, without forcing Second Life own their creations, and marked with this symbol indicate them to perform any particular tasks.” they determine what can be copied and content suitable for Most of Second Life’s member- modified. Huge numbers of these younger viewers. residents visit its virtual world primarily creations change hands every month for to communicate with old friends and to Linden dollars; and these Linden dollars meet new ones. Second Life provides are exchangeable for real currency.

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 45 There are more than 7 000 profitable In December 2005, Technology businesses in Second Life. Review asked Philip Rosedale how big Even more profitable is real estate Second Life could get. He responded: development and speculation. At least “Hardware and bandwidth would be big one real estate developer, a Chinese issues, but in theory, Second Life woman named Anshe Chung, has software could offer everyone on the become a real-world millionaire Internet a 3-D experience. When we say through her land development efforts in Second Life is the next evolutionary Second Life. step after the Web, we mean it.”

For Discussion 1. Is Rosedale’s statement about the future of the Web (“When we say Second Life is the next evolutionary step after the Web, we mean it.”) a reasonable one, or is he just blowing smoke? Explain your thinking.

2. According to New Scientist (May 20, 2006), “a third of Second Life players spend more time in the game than in the real world.” Are you surprised by this statistic? Would you describe it as worrisome? Why or why not?

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 46 VISITING SECOND LIFE’S VIRTUAL WORLD YV Video Review

This video review is Part I in two parts. For 1. What news agency, based in London, recently opened a virtual news Part I, answer the bureau in Second Life? questions in the spaces provided. Part II is a series of discussion ques- 2. What is the currency in Second Life called? ______tions. You may 3. What is the approximate exchange rate between Second Life currency and wish to view the video a second time the Canadian dollar? ______before your discus- sion. 4. What products does Alison Childs design for avatars?

5. What major athletic shoe corporations have virtual stores in Second Life?

6. Why does Truly Magnolia, Adrienne Arsenault’s , become a “wary wanderer”?

7. Tim Guest says that Second Life has conquered “the two things that people say are constant in life.” What are they?

8. How do avatars talk in Second Life?

9. What is “Wheelies”? ______

10. Why does Simon Stevens especially love Second Life?

Part II 1. Carla Robinson points out that Second Life does have its critics, who argue that it encourages “people to avoid , rather than engage with it.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 47 2. Some of the “residents” (especially early residents) of Second Life deplore the presence of real-world commercial operations in their community. They argue that these will inevitably become a huge—and negative— influence in Second Life. Do you agree with their concerns?

3. The creators of Second Life have attempted to build a communal Web site with as few restrictions as possible on the virtual activities that take place there. As Adrienne Arsenault points out, however, there is crime in Second Life (and it actually seems to be on the increase). Should the creators intervene in any way to deal with this problem? If so, what measures might they take?

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 48 VISITING SECOND LIFE’S VIRTUAL WORLD Origins: The

There are times when Using a computer, anyone has access Further Research writers make predictions that prove to to the Metaverse through public access There is a short be totally inaccurate. Consider, for terminals set up throughout the real introduction to ’s example, novelist Arthur C. Clarke’s world. However, people who use these on 1964 predictions that became part of the terminals are generally of a lower social Wikipedia at film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke status in the Metaverse. Those with en.wikipedia.org/ envisioned a U.S. space program that, status and power use private terminals wiki/Snow_Crash. by 2001, would have created permanent and portable portals. They are more An interesting manned moon bases and be capable of sophisticated and have greater technical selection of articles discussing the sending manned flights to distant abilities than those who use public ones. novel, written by planets. Instead, since 1972 no human One way in which they show this students at Brown has walked on the surface of the moon, sophistication is in the quality of their University, is found and manned space flight has been avatars. An avatar is the graphic repre- at www.the limited to Earth orbit. sentation of a person as he or she navi- core.nus.edu.sg/ landow/cpace/scifi/ Then there are predictions that are gates the Metaverse. The visual quality ns/studentov.html. almost unnervingly accurate (To be fair of a sophisticate’s avatar—its virtual to Clarke, it is important to note that reality—is far superior to that of the many of his predictions have come average person. true—including geostationary satel- One of the perks of status in the Definition Canadian Oxford lites.) Probably the one author most Metaverse is access to restricted areas Dictionary defines noted today for his vision is Neal denied to the average visitor. As in the the prefix meta- as Stephenson, author of many novels, Real World, only those of the highest meaning after or including 1992’s Snow Crash. status are admitted to some of the clubs beyond. Thus, the and other social environments of the Metaverse is a The World of Snow Crash Metaverse. universe beyond our real universe. Snow Crash is set in the The plot of Snow Crash is far too in the early 21st century. It is not by complex to summarize briefly. It in- any means accurate in its description of volves a threat to both the Real World modern political developments. and the Metaverse by a “snow crash.” Stephenson’s U.S. is a nation in which In the Real World, this is a powerful the federal government has lost much of drug. In the Metaverse, it is a computer its authority, and most of the power is virus that threatens to destroy the entire in the hands of private companies and fabric of . organizations. The country is largely The novel’s main characters are Hiro divided into small suburban enclaves, Protagonist and Y.T. (whose name each with its own government. This is other characters often misunderstand as Stephenson’s Real World. Whitey). Hiro is pizza deliverer for the Co-existing with the Real World, Mafia. He is also a hacker who some- however, is what he calls gathers and sells intel (intelli- Metaverse. This is a virtual-reality- gence) to the Central Intelligence based parallel world that Stephenson Corporation (a privatized Central foresees as the likely evolution of the Intelligence Agency). He is offered but Internet. refuses the intel that turns out to be the

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 49 snow crash virus. Unfortunately, an- hurt that the hero is a computer insider), Quote other character accepts and installs it who have responded positively to the “Second Life is the and begins the process that could de- virtual world it portrays. Internet’s purest embodiment of stroy the Metaverse. Hiro and Y.T.—a Although not the first to use the word science-fiction courier who uses a skateboard for her in this context, Stephenson popularized author Neal work—become partners in a race to the use of the Sanskrit word avatar to Stephenson’s vision keep this from happening. describe the virtual representation of a of the ‘Metaverse,’ Hiro does have an advantage. He was body online. It is now universally an online universe one of the original inhabitants of the understood by computer users. where residents wander around as universe and wrote some of its code. As Rather than one Metaverse, a number animated avatars you might have guessed, Hiro Protago- of metaverse-like worlds are now and interact with nist is not his real name, but one he available to computer users. Many of one another.” — selected for his avatar. It is also per- their creators (including some who Newsweek, Octo- fectly descriptive of his role in the worked on Second Life) have acknowl- ber 17, 2005 Metaverse and in Stephenson’s novel. edged that their design owes a huge debt to Stephenson and Snow Crash. Influence And Wikipedia states that one of the co- Its value as literature aside, Snow Crash founders of Google Earth was inspired has had a great deal of influence. It has by the “Earth” software developed in been extremely popular among com- the novel by the Central Intelligence puter professionals (it certainly does not Corporation.

To Consider 1. Does this brief outline of Snow Crash encourage you to read the novel? Explain.

2. What other novels about alternative worlds have you found interesting? Why?

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 50 VISITING SECOND LIFE’S VIRTUAL WORLD The World of Second Life

From its very beginnings in 2002, New registrants also choose a new Further Research Second Life has billed itself as some- name by which they are known in The Second Life thing different—an online place, rather Second Life. This preserves their ano- Web site is secondlife.com. A than an online game. While it often is nymity in real life and serves as one good place to referred to as a MMORPG, it is differ- more way in which residents enhance begin exploring is ent from games like EverQuest and their experience as avatars. http://secondlife.com/ Asheron’s Call. “The key insight of the whatis/. new virtual worlds” (including Second Places Life), wrote David Kushner in Technol- Everything in Second Life is created by ogy Review, April 2004, “is to allow its residents. Users can purchase prop- Did you know. . . MMORPG, pro- people simply to share experiences with erty and build whatever they like on it; nounced “morepeg,” fellow cyber travellers, without forcing homes, nightclubs, businesses, theatres, stands for Massively them to perform particular tasks.” Or, and art galleries are only a few of the Multiplayer Online as Time (November 18, 2002) wrote in possibilities. Role-Playing Game. an early review: “It’s about building Land in Second Life is actually a things, meeting people, and expressing representation of computer space. yourself.” People who purchase land in Second Life are actually purchasing space on a People computer; the look of the property they As this is being written (January 2007), create in this space is totally up to them. Second Life is nearing three million In addition to the original price of the registered users, 20 000-plus of whom property, owners pay a monthly land- are likely to be online at any one time. use fee to maintain it. Each user is represented by an avatar, a Second Life has several land specula- virtual graphic representation that may tors who purchase large parcels of land take on a variety of shapes. Most of to develop and then sell to those who do these avatars, however, are human in not wish or have the skills to design and basic appearance. build their own homes. Entire commu- When a user first registers with nities are designed and built according Second Life, he or she is presented with to one theme—Victorian London is an a small group of avatars from which to example—and then sold to individual choose. As the new avatar wanders purchasers. Land speculation is the through Second Life it is immediately most profitable business in Second Life, apparent to regulars that it is a because the world’s population is “newbie.” So most new residents are growing so fast. At least one such eager to customize their appearance. speculator is believed to have become a This can be done in a number of ways. millionaire in the real world through New clothing can be purchased. such activities. Changes can be made to facial features and to hairstyles. Skin can be changed. Things Wings can be added. Avatars can even Not just land is for sale. Every design be transformed into a totally new spe- created for Second Life remains the cies. property of the person who designed it.

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 51 Thus, every creator can sell their cre- Approximately five per cent of Second ations to other users. Fashion is cur- Life is now occupied by big brand rently the most important business names. In addition, several universities (after real estate) in Second Life. There have created sites for virtual education. are thousands of designers working with hair, clothing, and accessories. Economy Top designers are making as much as Joining Second Life is free, but once $85 000 (real dollars!) from their sales you’re there, almost everything costs in Second Life. “People go to their money. Transactions in Second Life Second Life to work, to create incomes, take place in virtual cash, called Linden and sometimes even replace their full- dollars (after Linden Lab, creators of time livings,” says David Fleck, a Second Life). Linden dollars can be former vice-president of the company earned by selling items to or performing that created Second Life (Toronto Star, services for other players. They can also December 7, 2006). be exchanged for real dollars at an Real-world corporations and organi- online currency exchange. zations are also getting involved. Ex- The value of the Linden dollar vs. the amples include Wells Fargo, a U.S. Canadian dollar has a varying exchange banking company that has set up an rate, but is roughly 300 Lindens to one entire island to use as an education Canadian dollar. Second Life has its centre for young people. The clothing own currency exchange, the LindeX. company American Apparel has a November 2006 was the month when boutique. Toyota and other car manu- the number of registered users at Sec- facturers sell virtual automobiles. The ond Life reached one million. During British Broadcasting Corporation has that month there were $7.5-million sponsored at least one , worth of user-to-user transactions. with 6 000 residents in attendance.

For Discussion As Second Life approaches three million residents, its creators believe that its virtual world can support unlimited future growth. Along with growth, how- ever, problems with crime and vice have become far more common. As more and more money pours into Second Life, are the threats from undesirable inhabitants likely to become even more significant? Explain fully.

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 52 VISITING SECOND LIFE’S VIRTUAL WORLD

Second Life is a world where pretty They can customize these in a variety of Further Research much anything goes. The developers ways—basic appearance, hairstyles, Visit Teen Second have handed Second Life to its resi- tattoos, clothing, and custom gestures. Life at http:// teen.secondlife.com. dents, permitting them to do almost anything they desire. As a result, the Communication Is the Key virtual world, like the real world, has Communication with other residents is places where there is lots of crime, vice, the key activity in Teen Second Life. Did you know . . . and casual sex. Teen Second Life While in Second Life, users can com- residents are Developers also recognized that municate with any other residents expected to respect Second Life virtual reality has great within listening range. They can have the Teen Second appeal to young people. The opportu- private conversations with any other Life Community nity to go online, meet, and chat with resident using instant messaging. They Standards and old and new friends and to explore a can also communicate via e-mail with follow behavioural guidelines. The landscape of almost limitless possibili- friends who are not online. Residents guidelines are ties is very appealing. can even send postcards—screenshots available at http:// To provide access for teens to Second from Second Life—to friends via e-mail. teen.secondlife.com/ Life, but to eliminate some of the Teens can establish a “friendship” footer/cs. Note that “rougher” areas, Teen Second Life was with other residents. Whenever they log violation of these guidelines does developed. Teen Second Life has all the in, users will be notified if the friend is have conse- tools and features of the Second Life also in Second Life. Residents are quences—after virtual world but is restricted to teens encouraged to form groups with their three violations the 13-17 years of age. Second Life and friends to collaborate on group projects offender will Teen Second Life are totally separate and activities. There are also several permanently lose worlds, and no travel or communication ongoing forums in which Teen Second his or her account. is permitted between them. Life residents can participate, including The Web site (http:// general community discussions and teen.secondlife.com) states the basic special tutorials. rules: “Only teens between the ages of 13 and 17 are allowed in (there is a Full Participants separate version of Second Life for Teen Second Life residents can partici- adults) so other than Linden Lab’s staff, pate as completely as they wish to in Linden Liaisons, who are there to make the Second Life experience. The basic Teen Second Life a safe and pleasant account is free. It gives residents access place to be, teens will interact with to all events and permits them to shop other teens their own age. Occasionally and to build objects and structures. we may bring in teachers for special Keen participants can use scripting to educational projects as well. When that control the behaviour of their avatars happens we will always let residents (and of the objects they build). Tutorials know who they are and what type of on the Linden Script Language (LSL) project they’re working on.” are regularly available in Teen Second As in the original version of Second Life. Life, teens create their own avatars to Teen entrepreneurs retain ownership travel for them in the virtual universe. of any of their virtual creations in Teen

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 53 Second Life and can sell them to or One of the earliest organizations to Further Research trade them with other residents. get involved was Global Kids, a non- The Global Kids Teen Second Lifers who acquire profit organization from New York that Web site is www.globalkids.org. premium accounts (a monthly fee is teaches leadership, citizenship, and charged) may also become landholders learning skills to city kids. One of their and purchase land in Teen Second Life. initiatives was a summer camp on their Land ownership gives residents a place private island that brought together Further Research to put their virtual creations and the participants from three countries to For a look at infor- possibility of hosting events or opening learn about global issues like the geno- mation services in businesses. Parcels of land sell for a cide in Darfur. the original Second variety of prices, depending on size and In another initiative, a corporation Life, visit http:// infoisland.org. location. There is also a monthly land- involved in creating library technolo- use fee charged for parcels of land gies and two U.S. public library sys- larger than those permitted by the tems have created a virtual library for premium account. teens in Teen Second Life. Called the Eye4You Alliance, its goal is “to create Outside Interest an interactive and informative space for It was not long after its development young adults within the Teen Second that the original Second Life attracted Life virtual world and to collaborate the attention of a number of real-world with other educators who serve youth businesses and organizations. Teen and are already present in Teen Second Second Life is also attracting a great Life and in real life” (http:// deal of real-world attention—especially infoisland.org/2007/01/20/sirsi-dynix- from educators. sponsors-alliance-library-second-life- library-and-teen-second-life-library/).

For Discussion Teen Second Life has been very popular, and successful in recruiting new resi- dents to its environment. To date, its biggest impact is as a place where teens can interact socially without adult interference. How do you feel it will likely develop in the future? Will the presence of “outside” organizations like Global Kids and Eye4You have a major influence? Outline your thoughts in detail.

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 54 VISITING SECOND LIFE’S VIRTUAL WORLD Other Virtual Worlds

Second Life is neither the first nor the of the overall market. Also very popular only virtual world on the Web. There is Sony’s EverQuest II. are many others catering to different interests and age groups. Here are Habbo Hotel (www.habbo.ca) descriptions of a few others. Like Teen Second Life, Habbo is a designed for resi- MMORPGs dents 13 and older. The community is In a class by themselves are the the Habbo Hotel, and residents—the MMORPGs (pronounced “morepegs”) Habbos—are the avatars that live there. the Massively Multiplayer Online Role- Habbos can communicate with friends, Playing Games. MMORPGs developed play games, and design their own hotel from earlier games played online by rooms. Membership is free, but Habbo groups of players, but with a text-based credits (bought with real money) are environment. MMORPGs provide users required to obtain furniture and play with an online virtual world in which to many games. For a monthly fee, resi- interact with other players in a fantasy dents may also join an exclusive Habbo adventure. The world continues to exist Club that gives them special privileges. and to evolve even when players are away from the game. Whyville (www.whyville.net) MMORPGs are hugely popular with Whyville is a site designed for both players around the world. According to teens and pre-teens, 1.7 million of Wikipedia, in 2006 more than 15 mil- whom “come from all over to learn, lion players participated in them. It is create, and have fun together. Whyville expected that revenues from the games is their world. Whyville has places to will reach US$1-billion by 2009 go, things to do, and of course, people (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMORPG). to see. Whyville has its own newspaper, MMORPGs differ from environments its own Senators, its own beach, mu- like Second Life in that there are always seum, City Hall and town square, its tasks to accomplish, and characters own suburbia, and even its own develop systematically (reaching differ- economy—citizens earn ‘clams’ by ent levels and/or winning experience playing educational games.” Member- points). What MMPORGs share with ship is free. Members under 13 who Second Life is the need for characters to join the site must obtain their parents’ interact—that is, to work together to permission. Whyville uses a language accomplish goals. filter and chat log monitoring to ensure There are many different appropriate language is used in commu- MMORPGs; Wikipedia’s article de- nication between members. scribes a wide range of free and paid games. The most successful of them is There (www.there.com) World of Warcraft (WoW), developed Among non-game-based virtual worlds, by Blizzard Entertainment There is probably Second Life’s biggest (www.worldofwarcraft.com). WoW is rival. In many ways There is very believed to have more than 50 per cent similar to Second Life. Basic member-

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 55 ship is free. Residents are represented place far in the future on a planet called by avatars members create and modify. Calypso. Calypso is rough and un- They spend the majority of their time settled, ripe for development by its communicating with friends and mak- virtual colonizers. ing new acquaintances. Members can Free membership is available, with join a variety of interest groups or new residents receiving one orange create new ones. jumpsuit for their avatar. Without There has a vast landscape to explore, money, however, players are very on foot or in virtual vehicles. Members restricted in their activities. The devel- may also rent zones they can customize opers make very clear the role that for various activities, or houses they can money plays in this universe: furnish in any way they desire. “Porta- “Real funds can easily be deposited zones” are also available and can be and exchanged for PEDs, the currency removed from There when not being that allows participants to acquire used—or relocated to a different area in virtual land and equipment to develop There’s virtual world. their virtual character (avatar) inside the As in Second Life, members may sell . The outposts, cities, their virtual creations to other residents. and auctions on the planet Calypso are The currency used is the Therebuck. busy trading hubs where tools, weap- One significant difference from Second ons, minerals, and a multitude of other Life is that There’s creators must ap- items are bought and sold by adventur- prove all new creations by residents ing pioneers. The wide range of profes- before they are introduced for sale. sions available to colonists allows hairdressers, crafters, and store owners Entropia Universe to find a spot on the bustling frontier. (www.entropiauniverse.com) Skills and resources make lively trade Of all the online virtual worlds, on Calypso. All your economic data is Entropia Universe is the one that most securely contained in your own per- promotes itself for having a “Real Cash sonal account, and withdrawals of Economy.” Every virtual item that accumulated PED can easily be made players acquire in Entropia has a real into your own currency” cash value and can be redeemed for real (www.entropiauniverse.com/en/rich/ cash. There is a fixed exchange rate of 5035.html). 10 PED (Project Entropia Dollars) to While some players have indeed US$1. made money in the Entropia Universe, Entropia combines features of it is not unusual for others to exchange MMORPGs and Second Life. Entropia $100-$200 per month in real dollars for Universe has more of a game format PEDs to enhance their participation in than Second Life or There. Action takes the game.

For Discussion Real money seems to be playing an increasingly important role in virtual worlds. Who are likely to be the real beneficiaries from this trend? What individuals are likely to be unable to participate fully if this trend continues? Does this trend affect your desire or ability to participate?

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 56 VISITING SECOND LIFE’S VIRTUAL WORLD YV Activity: The New You

Virtual worlds give us the opportunity to transform ourselves into totally differ- Did you know . . . ent persons from who we are in real life. Designing an avatar is an opportunity In 2006, Time to highlight those things one really likes about oneself. It is also an opportunity magazine’s Person to eliminate or transform those features one feels one could well do without. of The Year was Who would you be in a virtual world like Second Life? Would your avatar the people of the resemble the real you or be someone completely different? world. The award was given because Creating a new persona for online appearances has been going on for years, average people are especially among young people. According to Andrew Walmsley (Marketing, shaping the - September 6, 2006), “. . . there are people who act differently online and there ern world through are people who have completely different lives online to their ‘real’ world lives. new technologies, This is an increasingly pervasive trend—a survey in 2001 reported that 24 per creating a digital cent of teenagers in chat rooms said they had pretended to be someone else. A democracy through the use of the Canadian survey in 2005 claimed 60 per cent of students pretended to be some- Internet. one else online.” Write a brief description (two or three paragraphs) of the avatar you would create for yourself in Second Life. Include the following information:

• Your new name • A physical description, including physical appearance, clothing, and any spe- cial enhancements, such as wings or antennae. • Any special powers—flight, x-ray vision, etc.—that your avatar would enjoy in its virtual world. Include a brief explanation of why you feel these special powers would be important. You may also include an illustration with your work.

Notes:

CBC News in Review • January 2007 • Page 57