Rise and Shiny recap: Second Life

I thought writing about Second Life would be easy. I figured that my seven-year experience with the game -- er, world -- would make writing this that much easier. I was wrong about that. I could list many of the technical specifications, telling you how to build something or how to script a basic weapon. I could also tell you how to host an event or how to form a group. In fact, I could make this recap a list brimming with specific details about the most sandbox of sandbox games in existence.

Instead I decided to let you watch the embedded video for building details while I write up how I felt during this week long revisit. Technically I have never left the world of Second Life, but over the last week I crammed in more hours building, buying and exploring than I have in a long time. I found many new ways of doing things and many wonderful places. Second Life is not, and never was, about one specific thing, so let me just tell you what I found over the last week.

Click past the cut to read it, and be sure to leave any questions or experiences in the comments section! The first and most important thing is to address the most commonly misunderstood thing about Second Life. While it is true that you will find more deviants, odd ducks, weirdos, open-relationship hippies, people dressed as babies, S&M aficionados, virtual sex-toy tinkers, and sex-starved oddballs than in any game or world on the entire face of the Earth, these people do not fully represent nor carry the message of Second Life.

Still, you will come across some of the people I have just mentioned. You will wander into an awesome home and garden store only to find a section dedicated to cyber sex (is it even called that anymore?). You will also occasionally meet up with an idea or lifestyle that makes you cringe. Bear in mind, though, that those types of people and situations can easily be avoided, much easier than years ago. Just avoid them if they aren't your bag, baby (I certainly do). But if they are your bag, then you'll be right at home.

The main draw of Second Life is the ability to build absolutely anything you want to. I can't remember the exact details of the story, but there is an old legend from the ancient days of early 2000 that tells of an avatar who crafted the first gun and killed another character with it, setting off a mad scramble for rules governing weapons and death. Knowing Second Life, I wouldn't be surprised if this story were mostly true. You can simply build anything you want, within some size restrictions, and using a relatively easy-to-understand scripting language, you can make that object do almost anything. Players can attach items to their avatars or make vehicles, so you can basically look, live, and get around in almost any way possible.



I tend to make proper housing my main goal. I have had several homes over the years, from a literal toy store that sold nothing but remote-controlled goodies to an art gallery for my own art. Over this last week, I tried out one of the new Linden homes -- pre-fabricated and situated homes that Linden Lab, maker of Second Life, gives to subscribing members. There is a lot of good and bad about these pre-fab homes. The good part is that they are an intro into home- and neighborhood-living for new players or for players who do not care to own large plots of land. The houses are nice enough, with windows, doors and textures that are remote-controlled from any secure browser, and there is a prim limit of 117 on each. Prim, by the way, is short for primitive -- the building blocks of all items in Second Life. A triangle shape or square, for example, is a prim.

"The bad part of the public housing is just that: The small number of prims means that players will not get as much chance to experiment with building."

The bad part of the public housing is just that: The small number of prims means that players will not get as much chance to experiment with building. The pre-fabricated houses sort of fly in the face of everything that Second Life is all about. Many in the community see the housing as an insult to the spirit of the world they love.

I see it like this: The public houses are a choice, although that is not made very clear to everyone. They're there for players who do not want to own something crazy, players who want to be in a neighborhood run with a set of rules, or new players who want to experience home ownership with ease. If a player's instincts are like mine, she will simply explore the world and find a new place to live eventually, so it's not as though the public housing cuts off creativity or stifles the need for exploration. If a player does not know about the cool stuff that exists throughout the rest of Second Life, then it's likely she has simply put in no effort to do some basic exploring.

I liked the public house but went instead with a rental piece of land. Renting is a great way to own land cheaply without having to become a paying, premium member. I have started to build a new, small art studio, which can be found here. (That link will bring you to an in-browser map. If you have the game installed, you can click on the link and it will take you to the location in-world.) For the last few days I have done nothing but shop, build and explore. In fact, I wanted to give you an idea about some of the spots I visited, because they represent not only what I love about Second Life but also what Second Life is all about -- besides sex beds.

First I want to talk about this place called, simply, POST. I chatted a bit with its creator, Van Auster, and learned that the items within are a mix of real-life influences. Essentially he is making amazing-looking furniture and housing items with an incredible eye for detail, texture and shadow. His stuff is functional art.

I also spent some time dancing and going bonkers at Oddfellow Studios, a unique blend of art, dance, design and... well, you'll just have to experience it. My hosts were a lovely pair of insane people, led by a seven-foot-tall real-life magician, Tuna Oddfellow. They both host a "show" every Monday night that is sort of a like a dance club meetup mashed with a trippy light show and music. From what I understand, the couple control it all in real time from their home computers. It was fantastic to see someone trying something that was not really definable as one thing. Creativity like Oddfellow's, pure unfiltered creativity, is what makes Second Life worth visiting.

I also spent a long time visiting the Home and Garden Expo, which is going through May 22nd. If you have ever been to any similar event in real life, imagine something similar but taken to the extremes that only Second Life can take them to. Within minutes I saw a giant box filled with enormous, animated kittens, amazing '50s-style diner-chic housing items, and massive cartoony trees. If you want to see the amazing things that can be done with the open-world that Linden Lab created, this is the place to be. Also, the event raises money each year for cancer research, so feel free to spend -- or donate -- your heart out. I know for a fact that I want this amazing drafting table set that I saw there... I'm sure you will find something you cannot live without as well.
Those are just some of the really cool things that you can find in Second Life. It's not a game (unless you want to script a game, of course) and it's not just a virtual world. While I generally prefer to have a "home-base" to come back to, the search bar and the destination guide are my true friends. I can literally spend hours and hours exploring, shopping, or socializing. While the game can feature many of those odd-duck types I mentioned earlier, most of them are actually really, really great fun to be around. It's not as though the game will assault you with flying sex toys (unless you want it to), and with a little education, you can customize your exploration and sightseeing to your likes.

Second Life is, quite honestly, the least talked about -- yet most powerful -- creative tool we have in MMO gaming today. It literally has something for everyone. If you take your time within the world, not only will you find great people to hang out with, but you might even sell some of your own items for real-life money -- which could be the subject of an entire new article. You can check out the official site here, and feel free to find me in-game. My display name is Beau Hindman, and my older name is Beauturkey Basset. Just use search; you'll find me.

Next week I will be looking into an older game called Ashen Empires. My in-game name is Beau Hindman on the PvE server, so come find me and let's kill monsters!

Now, go log in!

Each week, Rise and Shiny asks you to download and try a different free-to-play, indie or unusual game, chosen by me, Beau Hindman. I welcome any suggestions for games -- drop me a note in the comments or email! You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Raptr!