Final Project - Thoughts on Second Life

Second Life has become, for me something that I view as an alternate world. I do not know if I agree with Dibble’s theories about the economic market in Second Life that he discussed in his book “Play Money” but I do know that I am now starting to see what he meant by an alternate reality. The reality of Second Life merges so often with the reality of the outside world. Dibbell’s observations on the ‘noob’ and how they become immersed in the game are starting to become real to me.
Dibble gives us a look inside the players world with his statement about how he, “knew the lizard men were only computer programs, but they had killed me often enough when I was just starting out that I still felt a tiny thrill of revenge watching them die.” His description of how the lizard men killed him is something that most video game players can identify with, feeling as though their avatars represent themselves. This identification with an avatar, as I have found, seems to come more with time than anything else. I don't feel as though I have played in Second Life long enough to feel the strong emotions that Dibbell has towards his avatar, but in other video games that I have played I have experienced it.
I have found though, that the difference between Second Life and a MMORPG is that Second Life seems to me to be an alternate life, the players fantasy, rather than a fantastical one. Creating an avatar in Second Life allows you to recreate yourself and to live your life with seemingly more control than we are allowed to have in a life outside of the video game. I compare Second Life to a giant chat room that has visuals. It allows you to reach out to other people and to live your life vicariously through your avatar. Whereas, with Dibbell’s experiences in Ultima Online there was a goal, earning money and prestige for yourself within the confines of the game, Second Life does not have a goal, XP or completing quests, like your typical MMORPG. Instead Second Life allows people to live out their lives normally, but to be able to express things that they can’t in real life or to meet people that they otherwise would not have an opportunity of meeting.
Second Life, like a few other programs also affords its users the opportunity to meet and chat with people in an environment that they can control. They have visuals and different types of settings. You can go on online dates and walk through parks and see beautiful flowers, and it is almost like you are there with the person. It is a substitute for reality, but not always a replacement for it. This is one of the main advantages of Second Life, you can use it as a way of communicating with other friends and meeting new people, but it does not, as online games often do, become a need to win or to constantly improve. There is no winning because there is no challenge. It is just for fun!