Second Life

"Look at me! I'm flyyyying!"

I never thought I'd ever really try Second Life. I have seen it on computers at school and thought, "Hmmmmm, would I actually try this?" I was tempted, but knew I'd better not. Thank God I took this class! I had a legitimate excuse to try it out. My overall thought is that SL a fun type of social networking/interaction. I don't really consider this gaming because you're not reaching any goals, which is the case in most games. You're just wandering around the "world" and, from what I understand, the biggest advantage is socializing.

I am a big fan of The Sims computer games. However, SL is very different. You don't control the whole WORLD (or town), which you can pretty much do in The Sims. You are practically God. This is not the case in SL. You cannot predict how others will react to you. You can only control YOUR avatar. These are the main differences.

So which do I prefer? I don't think you can compare the two. Second Life is great as a social interaction tool. You can also use it for marketing or, as librarians do, as an informational tool. However, it is not entirely user friendly and is a bit overwhelming.  

The Sims is a game, so you have goals to reach, aspirations to fill and houses to build. There's more to do.

However, you cannot fly in The Sims. I can fly to my heart's delight in SL and that's just really, really cool.