Second Life: Game or No Game?

1
Second Life Game or No Game?

• Timothy McCann
• Lehigh University 07
• Instructional Gaming

2
Interesting or Not?

• A little background on Instructional technology
• As Instructional Technologist our goal is to work
  with technology (which in modern times has been
  mostly the computer) as a means to solve
  educational challenges in the classroom,
  workplace, and in distance learning environments.
• In the simplest of terms we take technology, mix
  it with theory (in the broadest sense) and
  attempt to educate.
• Second Life the Game

3
What is Second Life?

• As described in a presentation by founder and CEO
  of Linden labs, Philip Roesdale Second Life is is
  a fully user created 3-D online virtual world.
  Built, programmed, sculpted, designed, and lived
  in by its residents.
• Second life opened to the public in 2003
• Users participate and interact in this digital
  universe though a user created avatar.
• Introduction
• Second Life create, interact

4
What is Second Life? (continued)

• Statistics
• Total residents 4,802,291
• Logged in during the last 60 days 1,570,532
• Avg. per day 30,000
• 91 different countries
• 25 International
• 43 female
• Avg. Age 32

• Advances of Note
• Currency Exchange system 300L1
• 5 million U.S. dollars a month
• Streaming media
• SOON voice chatting
• Business Models
• Education Models
• Off Shoot- Teen Second Life

5
Misconceptions

• Previous Schema
• Media/ societal misconceptions
• Article RSS feed from MSNBC- If Second Life isn't
  a game, what is it?
• By Kristen Kalning, Games Editor.
• Game experts are working to formulate and answer
  that very question?

6
Is Second Life a Game? My Attempt at Analysis

• Based on Salen and Zimmermans definition. A game
  is a system in which players engage in an
  artificial conflict, defined by rules, that
  results in a quantifiabe outcome.
• No Second Life is not a game based on this narrow
  definition.
• It is questionable on multiple levels.

7
Is Second Life a Game? My Attempt at Analysis
(continued 1)

• But is it a game?
• Certainly is PLAY
• Could argue that it falls into the game category
  of limit case discussed in the class textbook.
• Like RPGs quantifiable outcomes could be based
  upon the frame
• If you look at it as a whole there may no be a
  single, overriding quantifiable goal.
• But if you consider the session to session play
  you could say that if the participant has a
  personal goal, there is a quantifiable outcome.

8
Is Second Life a Game? My Attempt at Analysis
(continued 2)

• But that doesnt explain the other aspects of the
  definition.
• System?
• Players?
• Artificial Conflict?
• Rules?

9
Is Second Life a Game? (My Attempt at Analysis)

• Conclusion
• In my opinion Second Life is not a game.
• But instead a forum or platform where in the user
  can participate in open ended play.
• Meets many of the criteria for a social
  networking tool.
• MMORPG

10
User Created Content

• The basis for Second Life is for users to create
  the world around them.
• Participants use creation tools to construct
  objects and object behaviors.
• Participants are then given intellectual rights
  to their creations. (Buy and sell basis for the
  economy).
• This fosters a very open-ended creative
  atmosphere
• Has be come a forum and engine for creating all
  types of things

11
Second Life Games

• Content creation tools in Second Life have become
  a game creation engine.
• In 2005 Second Life hosted its first game
  developers contest LINK
• Space Rocks of Death
• Second life games WIKI
• Casinos

12
Instructional Technologists Perspective

• From the perspective of instructional
  technologist this virtual world has a lot to
  offer.
• As Instructional Technologist our goal is to work
  with technology (which in modern times has been
  mostly the computer) as a means to solve
  educational challenges in the classroom,
  workplace, and in distance learning environments.

13
Educational Environments

• Interactive museums
• International Space Flight and Planetary Museum
• NOAA Island

• Digital Colleges
• Ohio University
• Harvard Law

14
Educational Environments

• Classrooms

• Presentations
• Multimedia Presentations
• Darfur Conference

15
Second Life Instructional Games

• The best of note could be a game created by Wells
  Fargo. The companies instructional goal was to
  create an environment within Second Life where
  young people participate in activities during
  which they learn about financial responsibility
  and money management.
• With increases in the popularity, technological
  development and learning theory related to second
  life there are sure to be new games and
  educational environments.

16
References and Links

• http//secondlife.com/education
• http//www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?titleCampu
  sSecond_Life
• http//www.socialsignal.com/blog/catherine-winters
  /second-life-user-statistics
• http//www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/feb/19/noaa-c
  reates-a-second-life/
• http//www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?titleTop_2
  0_Educational_Locations_in_Second_Life
• http//www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/02/18/educat
  ion-explores-second-life/
• http//www.preoccupations.org/2006/08/education_an
  d_t.html
• http//blog.secondlife.com/tag/education/
• http//www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/11/13/second.life.uni
  versity/index.html
• http//www.simteach.com/SLCC06/slcc2006-proceeding
  s.pdf
• http//www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/education/edlife
  /07innovation.html?ex1174190400en2aa89e8ac9c044
  a4ei5070
• http//education.zdnet.com/?p652
• http//secondlife.com/developers/2005_contest_chur
  ch.php
• http//teen.secondlife.com/
• http//www.apple.com/games/articles/2005/07/second
  life/
• http//news.com.com/WellsFargolaunchesgameinsi
  deSecondLife/2100-1043_3-5868030.html
• http//www.apple.com/startpage/