Bruno Campolo, Roger Carman, Chase Miller, Jeremy Gove

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Group 4

• Bruno Campolo, Roger Carman, Chase Miller, Jeremy
  Gove

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Introduction
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• Created by the Linden Lab in 2003
• Became increasingly popular from 2006-on
• 9.8 million accounts have been registered
• 25 of Second Life's users are from outside the
  USA, UK second-largest country of origin
• Average age of users is 32
• 43 of users are female

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What is Second Life?
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• It is a multiplayer online game
• An internet-based virtual world
• Players, or Residents, build themselves a
  second life online
• Description of SL as a game is disputed
• No points
• No scores
• No winners / losers
• No levels
• No end-strategy
• Can be thought of as a game on a more basic level
• Semi-structured, virtual environment
• Characters undertake activities for the purpose
  of personal enjoyment.

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What is Second Life? (cont.)
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• Offers players, aka residents, virtual
  ownership rights
• Unheard of in internet gaming
• Results in residents being more creative
• Ex. Tringo
• Real Money is used
• Second Life currency is the Linden Dollar
• Linden Dollars are exchanged for real money
• 5 million USD in virtual transactions per month
• Hundreds of members use SL as full time job
• 75 of users are buyers, 25 are sellers.
• Current Exchange Rate for the US 1 USD 300 LD

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Timeline The Evolution of Virtual Worlds
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• Online virtual worlds go back decades
• Have evolved over time
• Have become more realistic over time
• Mid-1970s-1980s Dungeons Dragons takes off in
  popularity.
•  

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Timeline The Evolution of Virtual Worlds (cont.)

• Early1980s-Late 1990s Role-Playing Games move
  online
• Text-based multiuser domains (MUDs) make it
  possible
• Mutli-player computer game that combines elements
  of role-playing games, hack and slash style
  computer games and social chat rooms.
• Early 1990s-Late 1990s Chat rooms begin creating
  online communities.
• Precursor to chat rooms was BBS
• Bulletin board system is a system running
  software for computers that enables users to dial
  into the system via a phone line

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Timeline The Evolution of Virtual Worlds (cont.)
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• Mid-1990s-Present 3-D MMORPGs on the rise
• MMORPGs massive multiplayer online role-playing
  games
• Spurred on by improved computer graphics and
  faster Internet connections
• Examples Ultima Online, Everquest, World of
  Warcraft

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Timeline The Evolution of Virtual Worlds (cont.)

• 2000 to Today The Sims computer game hits the
  market
• Offers a more open-ended game that resembles real
  life
• Encourages players create and control their
  characters' lives

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Timeline The Evolution of Virtual Worlds (cont.)
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• Late 1990s to Today Virtualworlds take the
  Sims concept to a new level
• Encourage players to go beyond roleplaying
• Give participants more power to create their own
  experiences
• Examples of virtualworlds
• There
• ActiveWorlds
• Second Life

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Playing The Game
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• Consists of Three Steps
• 1. Sign Up
• 2. Recreate Yourself
• 3. Do What You Want and Have Fun

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Step 1 Sign Up
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• Must sign up online
• Software is downloaded to computer
• Two types of accounts
• 1. Basic
• 2. Premium

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Basic Accounts
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• Free
• Cannot own land on Second Life mainland
• Can own your own island
• Can be homeless
• Basic gives you the opportunity to customize your
  avatar as well as gives you building options.

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Premium Accounts
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• Costs 9.95 / month
• Can own land on Second Life mainland
• Subscribers get an allowance of L300 for each
  week they log in and a signup bonus of L1,000
  for going to premium

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Step 2 Recreate Yourself
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• Avatar your character
• Basic avatar is human in appearance, but can
• Be of either sex
• Have a wide range of physical attributes
• Be clothed or customized take on humanoid or
  other forms.
• Can be changed at any point in the game
• Minute details can be changed such as shape of
  nose and ears

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Step 2 Recreate Yourself (cont.)
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• Your identity
• Much less anonymous in this virtual world
• Any other avatar and any thing can ask
• For your avatar's legal name
• For your avatar's date-of-birth
• If real payment info is on file for your avatar
• Your avatar is discussed without asking
  permission or notification
• Anything you create in Second Life is registered
  to your avatar

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Step 3 Do What You Want and Have Fun
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• Game is entirely open-ended
• The experience is what you make it
• Can buy from / sell to / chat and interact with
  other residents
• No points or score
• More of a social network than a game
• Games, puzzles, dance clubs, shopping malls,
  movie theaters, etc.
• Can search for something to do- Discussions,
  Sports, Commercial, Entertainment, Games,
  Pageants, Education, Arts and Culture and
  Charity/Support Groups.

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Second Life More Than Just Entertainment
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• Second Life has become more than just a game in
  recent years.
• American universities, foreign countries, and
  local companies are finding Second Life to be a
  valuable tool.

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Education
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• Educational Applications of Second Life
• Interactive virtual classrooms that can be
  accessed from anywhere
• Spans the gap in long-distance learning
• Students interact with each other and there's a
  regular sense of classroom interaction. It feels
  like a college campus." - Rebecca Nesson,
  Harvard Professor
• Professor Nesson holds both class discussions and
  office hours on Second Life.

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Education
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• Explosive growth
• Last year there were 17 schools on SL
• Currently there are 60, including
• Rice University
• Harvard
• Drexel
• UNC at Chapel Hill
• Ohio University
• Stanford

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Political and National Relations
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• Some political organizations have established
  virtual HQs
• National Front Party (France)
• Virtual Embassies
• Visitors can talk face-to-face with a
  computer-generated ambassador
• Can talk about visas, trade and other issues

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Political and National Relations Virtual
Embassies
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• Several countries are currently using / planning
  to create virtual embassies on SL
• Examples of countries currently using Second
  Life
• The Maldives
• Sweden
• Examples of countries planning to use Second Life
• Estonia
• Malta
• Macedonia
• The Philippines

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Video Enhancing Business Using Second Life
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• Text 100 is the first Public Relations company to
  use Second Life
• First portion of the clip talks about some of the
  advantages companies can gain from using SL.
• Enhancing Business Using Second Life
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vsynxFmQJ_0A

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Opportunities in Business
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• Many see Second Life as an investment opportunity
• Ex. Amazon.com
• Others are using Second Life to improve their
  physical business
• Companies can create, test out, and view new
  designs virtually
• Ex. Rivers Run Red (clothing company)
• Companies can experiment with creating new
  methods of collaboration
• Ex. Wal-Mart using Second Life as a virtual
  classroom and as a training tool.
• Breathes new life into online meetings
• Companies can experiment with new marketing
  techniques
• Almost no financial recoil

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Opportunities in Business (cont.)
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• Companies are also looking to tap into Second
  Lifes creativity reservoir
• Large quantity of good quality technical work for
  a low price
• Some Second Life ideas have proven profitable
  both virtually and in real life
• Ex. Cuddle avatar
• Is a virtual product
• Creator makes money off of selling customized
  versions
• Sold 1,900 in the last month

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Opportunities in Business (cont.)
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• Another profitable product from Second Life is
  Tringo
• Mix between Tetris and Bingo
• Originally created and played on Second Life
• Recently licensed to Nintendo

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Video Advertising in Second Life
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• This video shows many of the brands that are
  advertised in various ways on SL.
• Brands in Second Life
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vtEGHJuCbGdo

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Any Questions?