World of Warcraft and other online games and spaces have a point – make friends, complete quests, shoot people, etc. Second Life is like when you were 14, hanging around outside Doncaster Shoppingtown with no money, window shopping. Without Linden Dollars, you ain’t shit.
2. It’s becoming an amateur catalogue of bad advertisements.
When there’s no point but to look around, then you need something to see. Companies aren’t embracing it as a genuine “third place”, they’re simply turning it onto a showroom – look at Toyota et al. TEST DRIVE HERE!
3. Visually, it’s not very good.
It looks like those bad “virtual reality” prototypes from the late 80s, except not 3D. Graphically, it leaves a LOT to be desired.
4. LAG!
Not only are the graphics second rate, but the nature of the “download to watch” means it is bandwidth hungry. I’ve got a whopping ADSL2+ connection but it’s still very laggy.
5. There’s bugger all people on it.
That 2,000,000 people are on it is a furphy. I’ve never seen more than 10 people in any one spot, and that was a very busy area. World of Warcraft and America’s Army has immense areas filled with people. That’s ultimately what these online areas are about about – social interaction. WoW and AA have multiple means of communication – whispers, chats, group chats, party chats. Second Life isn’t about sharing. It isn’t about shared experiences. It isn’t about achievment with colleagues – no matter how nerdy those achievements might be!
It’s a shame because I think conceptually, it could be very, very cool. But right now it’s not.
