Ideal World
August 9, 2005 2:23 AM Subscribe
The Protagonist : Virtual Entrepreneur is a 5 minute excerpt of the crossover machinima/meatworld documentary project Ideal World, and is about one user's "real life" in the MMORPG Second Life. The finished documentary seeks to examine the growth, impact and society of this amazing digital reality over the last 2 years.
[ via New World Notes ] Disclaimer: I am not a Second Life player- as much as I would like to be, I'm too scared it's too much fun.
[ via New World Notes ] Disclaimer: I am not a Second Life player- as much as I would like to be, I'm too scared it's too much fun.
I've never played Second Life, but from what I understand it most definitely is an MMORPG. It seems that the gameplay and storyline is not as linear or forced as most other "RPG"s.
After playing other MMORPG's for years, however, the competition doesn't really seem to fit into that category, depending on what you consider an RPG to be. Asking if game X is technically an MMORPG is almost a pointless question because definitions vary and the games themselves are still trying to find that magic formula to keep milking subscribers for as long as possible.
posted by melt away at 5:04 AM on August 9, 2005
After playing other MMORPG's for years, however, the competition doesn't really seem to fit into that category, depending on what you consider an RPG to be. Asking if game X is technically an MMORPG is almost a pointless question because definitions vary and the games themselves are still trying to find that magic formula to keep milking subscribers for as long as possible.
posted by melt away at 5:04 AM on August 9, 2005
There's not really any storyline in Second Life. Occasionally the Lindens (employees of Linden Lab, the company that owns and operates Second Life, identified by the surname "Linden" in the game) will try to create some sort of backstory, such as earlier this year when they released a bunch of new land in the form of a new continent in the game (or "world", if you prefer) and posted entries in a blog leading up to the opening of the land to the public, but there's really no overarching storyline in which the players (or "residents", if you prefer) take part. It's basically just a microcosm of real life -- you can socialize, buy land/clothing/gadgets/trinkets, build things, shoot people, etc., and there are no goals imposed from above as there would be in an MMORPG like WoW.
Also, about There (since kalessin brought it up): most, if not all, of There's developers left shortly after the There beta ended and it was publicly released. Most of them either moved on to IMVU or some military project using the There technology that I forget the name of. (One of them was hired by Linden Lab.) So unlike Second Life (which should be releasing version 1.7.0 in the coming months), There is no longer actively developed.
And finally, I'll echo kalessin's sentiment about plot and adventure: Second Life is not really the place to find it. Although someone DID create a D&D-inspired MUD-like game in Second Life, called Dark Life ... I have no idea if it's still running, though.
posted by zztzed at 6:43 AM on August 9, 2005
Also, about There (since kalessin brought it up): most, if not all, of There's developers left shortly after the There beta ended and it was publicly released. Most of them either moved on to IMVU or some military project using the There technology that I forget the name of. (One of them was hired by Linden Lab.) So unlike Second Life (which should be releasing version 1.7.0 in the coming months), There is no longer actively developed.
And finally, I'll echo kalessin's sentiment about plot and adventure: Second Life is not really the place to find it. Although someone DID create a D&D-inspired MUD-like game in Second Life, called Dark Life ... I have no idea if it's still running, though.
posted by zztzed at 6:43 AM on August 9, 2005
I find that depressing. Can people really be satisfied if artificial reality gives them what reality can't? Playing a MMORPG like WoW seems better because it's more of a game, and not a wholesale replacement for human contact, which is what I'm afraid Second Life could become for some people.
posted by Citizen Premier at 10:33 AM on August 9, 2005
posted by Citizen Premier at 10:33 AM on August 9, 2005
Citizen Premier - I think the "game" in Second Life is creativity. The tools for scripting and making objects are amazing.
Players can make any type of game that they want in the environment (FPS? RPG? 3-D Platformer?); which makes it a much more powerful reality than the fixed reality of WoW, for example.
Why spend your time adventuring for objects when you could make the very objects yourself? Why be one of 6 races when you could be one of a zillion?
People readily dismiss Second Life as 3-D avatar based chat when it really is a world-making machine.
posted by elphTeq at 3:21 PM on August 9, 2005
Players can make any type of game that they want in the environment (FPS? RPG? 3-D Platformer?); which makes it a much more powerful reality than the fixed reality of WoW, for example.
Why spend your time adventuring for objects when you could make the very objects yourself? Why be one of 6 races when you could be one of a zillion?
People readily dismiss Second Life as 3-D avatar based chat when it really is a world-making machine.
posted by elphTeq at 3:21 PM on August 9, 2005
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posted by kafziel at 4:18 AM on August 9, 2005