You still think Second Life is a game?
I have run into many people that call Second Life a game. Personally, I have always considered it an experience rather than a game. Second Life, to me, has shown potential of greatness so far beyond what a game can offer I have alway thought it silly to even be classified as a game, but many people have disagreed with those thoughts.
Today the Washington Post’s Staff Writer Michael Abramowitz ran an article about the Iraq Study Group a group funded by the U.S. Institute of Peace, who in December of 2006 presented a “forward-looking, independent assessment of the current and prospective situation on the ground in Iraq and how it affects the surrounding region as well as U.S. interests.”
According to Abramowitz the report ( download 519 KB pdf formant of report) received a less than warm reception from policymakers, but is about to get a second look from the White House and Congress because bubba and his good ole boys are in great need of solutions to salvage the American engagement in Iraq.
With negotiations continuing this week on a new war funding bill, the administration is strongly signaling that it would accept the idea of requiring the Iraqi government to meet political benchmarks or else risk losing some assistance from the United States. That was one of the key proposals from the (Iraq Study) group headed by former secretary of state James A. Baker III and former Indiana congressman Lee H. Hamilton, but it was initially dismissed by the White House when first proposed last December.
The administration is also preparing for its first substantive discussions with Iran, to begin on Memorial Day, not long after its first high-level talks with Syria in more than two years. The Iraq Study Group had strongly urged such regional diplomacy aimed at fostering a political settlement and bringing down the sectarian violence in Baghdad.
Why am I telling you all of this in a blog that is about gaming and Second Life? Well where would you think such a meeting between members of the Iraq Study Group and administration officials will be taking place? That is right! Due to scheduling issues, as these fine folk are scattered around the globe, this meeting is supposed to take place in a virtual boardroom in Second Life, where participants can interact. You think they would hold such a meeting in a game?
May 22nd, 2007 • 
Weirdharold • 
comment | May 23, 2007 at 13:19 | individual comment-link
That’s subjective. It’s interactive, but regardless of what it’s sold as, it’s still a game. Some people grey area the reality with virtual with it, but it’s no different from those that spend hours on WoW or make money in Entropia. In the end, you can’t escape completely. Thus, regardless of how much you want to mesh it directly into your life, it’s still just an “addition” and not a “core”.
And from a technical perspective? Yup… it’s still a game.
comment | May 23, 2007 at 14:34 | individual comment-link
I say a game gives one a set of certain objectives and a choice of limited directions in which one might pursue the objectives. Given the rules, objectives and limited choices one can make defines a game. This is not the case with SL.
pingback | May 28, 2007 at 13:53 | individual pingback-link
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