Second Life Bum

Over the weekend I borrowed one of the new laptops (Dual Core w/ 1GB Memory) we have here at work and gave it a workout on non-normal work applications. Normally I don't play many PC games, mainly because the computers I have at home are laptops under 1Ghz with less than impressive video cards. Last week though I became interested in the online game Second Life after reading about it in Wired.

When it comes to MMORPGs I usually stay away from them, mostly because I know I can easily become addicted to them and also I'm too cheap to get a hardware upgrade just so I can pay a monthly subscription fee. When explaining to people why I don't play them I ask them the question of "For all the time you spend on improving your character, what could you have done in your own real life?". I decided to try Second Life though, not because it's the typical RPG style kill something, get experience, kill something else, but because it's based off Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk novel Snow Crash.

In the novel there is a setting called The Metaverse, which is a 3D world created inside a computer. Characters have the freedom to look however they want and to build objects, buildings, clothes, etc. The company that made Second Life, Linden Research Inc, attempted to follow the model in the book and after playing it they came very close. One interesting aspect of it is the virtual economy. In order to buy land and acquire larger pre-made objects you have to pay for them in Linden Dollars, which can be exchanged for real dollars. Linden Dollars used to be given away for free to new accounts, but over the last few months they phased it out and now you have to purchase them with your credit card. It's nice that the game is free but I do wish a small amount of Linden Dollars were available as soon as you started.

Over the weekend I got a hold of the controls and started wandering around the world, checking out the popular places and exploring at random. I'm impressed by the level of detail in the architecture and furnishings of the buildings. At random I searched for Irish pubs and I stumbled across two, one called The Standing Stone and The Blarney Stone in Second Life Dublin. Both are exceptional quality and are located in some high quality areas. I've never actually seen anyone in the Standing Stone, but The Blarney Stone has an average of around five people hanging out.

For my character I went with an Irish punk look, dark jeans, an Ireland flag t-shirt (I got it for free from the Blarney Stone), no shoes, and a green mohawk under a cap. I decided on this look because I'm going to try an experiment: I'm going to be a bum and see how much money I can get.

Across the street from the Blarney Stone in Virtual Dublin is an alley that has a box in it, which I have made my virtual home. Every night I'm going to sit next to this alley and ask for spare change to help get back on my feet anytime someone comes within earshot. I won't harass them, just ask once and then see what happens.

Eventually when I get a modest sum I'm going to go to the casino and see if I can try my luck at increasing it. If it works out I plan to buy some land and then just bum on the side for some extra $, cashing it in occasionally to get some real cash.