Second Life
Be a sim.
Previewed by Libe Goad

Blend a hyper-efficient streaming technology with an open-ended online game and you have the basis for Second Life, a high-concept title from former RealNetworks CTO Philip Rosedale and his development crew at San Francisco's Linden Lab.

The innovative developer hopes to push online gaming to the next step by creating a game with as few boundaries as possible. Second Life doesn’t have a beginning, middle or end. There are no missions. Your character has no need to eat, sleep or use the restroom. You don’t even have to have a house. All you will be required to do in the game is make friends, learn how to make money and then let your imagination run wild. Oh yeah, did I mention… you can fly!

The most notable difference in the game, however, is not in its physical appearance -- it’s in the technology driving the game. Rosedale and his team have tweaked the same internet streaming system he created for RealNetworks, and now the super low latency technology will be used to drive Second Life. In plainspeak, that means the simulation game will constantly stream from the internet. There will be no $50 software to purchase and nothing to download on your machine. It’s all online. Like any other online game, you can expect a monthly fee. Rosedale says they have yet to set a price, but it will be competitive with other online-game subscription fees.

How you play the game depends on your personal liking. If you want to play a first-person shooter style game, you can fly over to a PVP (person vs. person) zone, buy a gun and play a game of capture the flag with a jetpack strapped to your back. If you want to open a club, then you can build one and invite people to fly by for a visit.

In the demo, Rosedale showed off his newly created club which featured an impressive DJ booth. Instead of the usual two turntables (or iPods for uber-hipsters), he had built a set up that works like a stripped-down music loop program. You can mix and match loops while the crowd dances to your creations. You will also be able to import your own loops and throw them into the mix. Once you start playing, the crowd can rate your skills via scoreboard hanging on the wall. If your skills don’t pay the bills, then you're liable to be 86’d from the DJ booth.

You can also create and play darts, chess or any other game that pops into your head. If you have superior technical skills, you will be able to create cars and sell them to people who want to strike up a race. The possibilities are endless.

In fact, you can do so many things in this game, people may feel overwhelmed by the infinite possibilities. Second Life is in such an early stage, however, that it’s hard to draw a definite conclusion.

The user interface bears a distant resemblance to that in The Sims. You can click on an object and select an action from a wheel of possibilities. It seems like beginning gamers will be able to catch on to the controls rather quickly. There are numerous options for a person’s appearance, probably more than any game has offered to date. Each body part can be altered in at least six to seven ways by moving a handy slider. Your favorite gestures and phrases can be programmed to hot keys, so if you like to blow kisses at everything that comes your way, you can do it with a mere press of a button.

Second Life will contain more advanced controls as well, and as of now, they seem to carry a sizeable learning curve. This is especially true for the design tool, which can be used to create anything your heart desires. Rosedale created a quick coffee table as a demonstration and the interface vaguely reminded me of AutoCAD, the popular drafting program. I know people who have had to take classes to learn the program, and even in its simplified state, it still seems very technical. Rosedale says he expects people will buy and sell furniture more often than create it. It's similar to games that ship with development kits -- not everyone will be up for the task.

Rosedale's baby looks like it's ready to change the world of online gaming. The game should be available for general consumption in summer 2003. Then we'll see if online gamers are ready to live though Second Life.