Why is Second Life not a game?
Most of us have gone through the Second Life experience, and we can attest to the fact that Second Life is not a game. "It does not have points, scores, winners or losers, levels, an end-strategy, or most of the other characteristics of games." (Wikipedia, "Second Life", 2007). To me, a game just provides a temporary distraction from real life stress. From this, it can be seen that SL is not a game - it is much more. It is a world in itself, albeit virtual, and anything that can done in real life, can also be done in Second Life.
Virtual worlds like Second Life mimic the real world as much as they can. Second Life has its own Linden Dollar (L$) that can be bought with real world money. You can sightsee and visit places in the world and have a fantastically fun time. Whilst doing so, you can also interact with other users and make friends from all around the world.
But since this is a virtual world, you can also do things beyond your physical limitations. Yes, you can visit other places but you can teleport to places like Italy and Rome (In SL only of course) in a split second. You can customize your appearance and make yourself look whatever way you like in this virtual world. And yes, it encourages user-generated content, so you can build things, even make your own chair! (something I've never tried, well, at least not yet) :D
We have already gone through why virtual worlds like Second Life is not a game, but it also proves that it can facilitate first world activities. Take World of Warcraft for instance. In WOW player, Mayfield was quoted as saying, "Warcraft is the new golf ... I actually closed a deal with a company I met through WOW." (Levy, 2006). However, online video game "America's Army" serves to push the boundaries of games by desensitizing people from virtual world violence. Everytime a soldier is shot down, "the name of a real American soldier, his age and the date he was killed in Iraq." (Clarren, 2006). With this, it can be seen that this "game" is doing much more than a game is supposed to do. We know the general consensus toward the Iraq War. By flashing the name of a real American soldier who died in that war, the game is not just being played here - it is making the bloodshed that happened more realistic. By doing so, it is setting and reinforcing the agenda, and framing people's thoughts towards this issue.
So are games like Second Life, WOW and America's Army really just games? Japanese venture capitalist Joi Ito summarizes it rather succinctly, "Yes, it's just a game.. The way that the real world is a game."
References
Clarren, Rebecca. (2006). "Virtually dead in Iraq". Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/09/16/americasarmy/
Levy, Steven. (2006). "World of Warcraft: Is it a Game?" Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14757769/site/newsweek/page/3/print/1/displaymode/1098/
Wikipedia. "Second Life". (2007). Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life
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