Quite simply David Thomas’s Architecture and Vice (The Escapist issue 4) is not just the best thing ever written about Second Life it’s a fascinating meditation on what occurs when ordinary people are given the ability to express, share and let other play with their inner life.
Oh and forget the happy, brightly coloured Second Life you might have read about - this is the fricking ecstatic, dirty, dark, furry, Gorean, queer and out-there-weird SL that I know and love.
If nothing else, this article at last gives me something to link to when I tell people that SL has a hige sex scene and they demand evidence.
Richard
Posted by: Richard Bartle | Aug 03, 2005 at 05:21
From the article: "Sure, Second Life is nothing but architecture and vice." (<-- not in an ironic context)
I'd take issue with that statement in a big way. I love The Escapist, but that article missed almost everything that's important about Second Life. It's like saying New York == Times Square. There's just so much more to it.
That said, the Second Life Herald reviewed SL's "sexy skyboxes" back in March, complete with pics of Pirate Cotton's penis attachment. If you want SL sex, that's where it's at. :)
Posted by: Mark Wallace | Aug 03, 2005 at 06:16
From article: "Think of it as the real face of liberty, a picture of what people would actually do if they could design the world, the society, and the people."
"And that is they would build monuments to their own passions. Contrary to [the] notion that people are deeply boring, SL shows that instead, people are deeply kinky."
...
On the other hand, we've known for some time that these worlds are self-selecting for the sorts of players that populate them, haven't we? In light of this, claiming that homo-troll sex is a picture of "what people would actually do" seems a bit overstated. No doubt it is a picture of what *some* people would actually do, but subscription numbers might indicate this is quite the minority. Accordingly, it seems to me that the vast majority of those who play these games are looking for a very different kind of ride.
--Paul 'Phinehas' Schwanz
Posted by: Paul 'Phinehas' Schwanz | Aug 03, 2005 at 11:41
Phinehas>In light of this, claiming that homo-troll sex is a picture of "what people would actually do" seems a bit overstated
In textual non-game worlds such as MOOs, MUSHes and Tiny*s, here's what people tended to do:
1) Make stuff, either for fun or as conversation pieces.
2) Politick about resource allocation.
3) Create games.
4) Indulge in virtual sex.
The only thing that surprises me about the sex scene in SL is that people are surprised it's there.
Richard
Posted by: Richard Bartle | Aug 03, 2005 at 15:10
Sure. I don't doubt that *some* people are into virtual sex, I only meant to point out that those who are playing WOW instead of SL may also be doing what they really want to do. Claiming that SL with its sex scene is the real face of liberty might lead one to conclude that all of those players picking WOW over SL don't find liberty's face particularly attractive.
--Paul 'Phinehas' Schwanz
Posted by: Paul 'Phinehas' Schwanz | Aug 03, 2005 at 20:33
SL's subscription figures being less than 1% of WoW's subscriptions may also say something about self-selection for various forms of entertainment and 'liberty.'
Posted by: Mike Sellers | Aug 03, 2005 at 21:46
"SL's subscription figures being less than 1% of WoW's subscriptions may also say something about self-selection for various forms of entertainment and 'liberty.'"
Well, 3 years of hype from a well-known developer/publisher, a massive marketing blitz, and an easier beginning-game would also have something to do with WoW's massive popularity over SL. :)
Also, lower system requirements. :)
Posted by: | Aug 03, 2005 at 22:26
Personally I enjoyed the piece! And I also thought it was a great way to describe what's going on in 'social' MMORPGs, how people are just letting go. It's just an example, and I think we can all agree, definately not a mis representation.
I'm a TSO'er myself, and although we don't have as much artistic freedom as SL'ers, the things going on there, sex or otherwise, are just amazing. Players are using it as a playground or sandbox for their fantasies. And because these games are so open-ended there's no limit to where people's minds and imaginations will take them!
Posted by: Linn | Aug 04, 2005 at 05:56
Mike Sellers> "SL's subscription figures being less than 1% of WoW's subscriptions may also say something about self-selection for various forms of entertainment and 'liberty.'"
Mr. Thomas' use of the word "anarchy" later in the piece might be a more accurate description (which, I imagine, is why you have the word liberty in quotes). Drawing a parallel to punk music in his article also seems appropriate. If he'd claimed that punk music is the voice of liberty and a paragon of what people really want to listen to, I might have raised a similar objection. Certainly some people do enjoy punk music, but looking at listening (and MMOG playing) habits as a whole, it appears that people readily choose restraint over this type of 'liberty' in large numbers. It seems plausible to me that the described sex scene in SL is simply another face of the game's tendency toward anarchy.
No doubt there are other factors involved when it comes to subscription numbers, but I don't think I'm way off base in pointing out that people often choose restraint over anarchy. To some degree, I think the subscriptions reflect this tendency as well as others.
--Paul 'Phinehas' Schwanz
Posted by: | Aug 04, 2005 at 07:52
Paul > people often choose restraint over anarchy
Agree. And while there's definitely a lot of wild fantasy going on there, in fact, many or most of the people in SL choose restraint over anarchy. Which is not the impression the article conveys.
Posted by: Mark Wallace | Aug 04, 2005 at 10:47
Despite what he writes, i just like having a box of cocks.
Posted by: Jack Matador | Aug 04, 2005 at 12:11
And who could blame you?
Posted by: Mark Wallace | Aug 04, 2005 at 14:25
What MOST people still want, to this day, is a fairly passive form of entertainment that they can just sit back and watch. While the internet has stolen a lot of "viewing hours" away from television, it's only been able to do so because it also allows people to wander around consuming "content" for hours without producing any. Those who desire to interact in a more demanding way (such as wandering around World of Warcraft and bashing monsters) are a minority. Those who choose things more demanding yet (roleplaying a character in a way that involves excercising their imagination heavily, or tougher still, creating content in a game like Second Life or Furcadia) are an even tinier minority. Thus why you see WoW's several million being only a fraction of the audiences for the top TV shows or websites, and Second Life's audience only being a small fraction of WoW's audience size.
I do expect mankind's preferences for passive vs. active entertainment to slooooowly shift over the decades ahead, more towards the active side. But only time will tell whether I'm correct or mistaken, I suppose. I certainly hope it will happen - I think it would represent not only a dramatic change in the fabric of human society, but a change for the better.
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