A Second Look at Second Life

It’s been a while since I visited Second Life. Like so many who have checked the place out, I toured, stayed a while, and haven’t been back. But, as a class assignment in my instructional design course up at UNT, I stopped in again for a look-see. The interface has been updated since my last visit more than a year ago.

My first impressions were that they’ve spruced up the front page a bit since my last visit. Some very nice eye candy greets visitors to their front page. First-timers are quickly told what SL is (“Second Life is a 3D online digital world imagined, created, and owned by its residents”), given links to the official guide along with online videos and maps, and a link to open jobs at Linden Labs, SL’s corporate parent. Teens are urged to visit Teen SL, presumably to keep them out of SL’s notorious red light areas.

A stat box trumpets SL’s main claim to fame: over 5 million residents. As has been pointed out several times, the number of folks who, like me, signed up then left for more interesting digital pastures, is high. The current “online now” figure, hovering around 30,000, seems more plausible.

The client download is found in the lower left hand corner of the home page. Installation was painless. I couldn’t find a guest access, as I seem to recall having before. So, I dutifully created an account, adding another member past their 5 million mark. When creating a character, first names are up to the individual’s imagination. Last names are pre-selected for you, though. I was able to get up and going on a free account, without having to pay a monthly membership fee for perks.

Before logging onto the grid, I had to agree to the terms of service. Since SL is mostly a community of folks milling around doing communal things, the TOS mainly dealt with player to player interactions. These included sanctions against intolerant expression, harassment or otherwise causing folks to not have a good time playing, assault (which, interestingly, includes shooting), and indecent behavior in inappropriate places.

A final tip offered by the interface before my avatar appeared online: Unlike scripted games (ala, World of Warcraft), instant teleportation to your friends is an available feature. WoW has teleportation as a feature, but only to certain places. Some characters in WoW can “summon” other players, but the feature is limited so that most travel takes effort.

I landed, as in my previous visit, on Orientation Island. Here, help was a mere click away, and I wandered over to the tutorial section. The interface seems improved, from what I recall. This perhaps reflects the increased money pouring into SL’s artificial economy. Palms trees swayed in the artificial wind, and signs were easy to read without extra clicking. Instant messaging and minimaps were available from buttons at the bottom of the screen.

My avatar was very simplistic in this basic feature. One confusing element: Although choosing a male avatar, my avatar appeared as a generic female when popping into existence on Orientation Island. Efforts to clothe the fellow had to wait to be loaded.

All in all the new SL interface is nice. I’ll update the blog with more info as I explore it more.