I tend to go on and on in this blog about the woes of my life, and various pets, lost lovers and Christmas, but there is one thing I mention that I never explain much. That thing, is Second Life.
Second Life is a wonderful (and sometimes TERRIBLE) place where you can meet people from just about any country in the world, share experiences, make friends, partake in role play (anything from being a vampire, werewolf, Gorean outlaw, or Steampunk princess). It is a place to truly express yourself and be anything you want. And I am very serious about that last part. Anything you want means ANYTHING…from a dragon, to a human with animal features, a blood sucking vampire, a stripper, a mother, a simple human (any gender, no matter your real life gender). Anything. People often wonder “What is so good about Second Life?” I like to think of it as getting to play Barbie, hang out in a chat room and express everything I ever wanted but can’t in the real world.
This entry will serve as a how to guide and a peek into the lives of Second Lifers. I though how I would do this, and I’ve decided the best and easiest way would be to create a new character and go through the process with you. Giving lots of hints and tips and general knowledge from someone who has been in world for over 2.5 years. There are going to be terms that mostly are exclusive to either the internet or second life and I have put them in bold with the definition following, and will do my best to explain them. So here we go!
Also, before we begin, you need to decide if you want to spend real money in the game. In world currency is called Lindens. There are several places that offer free clothes, skins, hairs, shapes, etc. but they aren’t really great quality and people will be able to tell they are freebies (anything you can buy that is free.) It is true you can make Lindens in the game, however it is rather difficult and really only done one of three ways: 1. begging (NEVER a good idea. People will grief you, not want to be your friend and generally hate yo.) 2. dancing (basically you are a stripper. Yeah…I know. not really looked well upon in world. Also, you wont be able to do this until you have been in world at least 2 weeks, and several times you already need to have a good looking av.) 3. camping (you sit in the same spot for hours and hours and gain very little money for it.) The Linden exchange is pretty good, and there are a lot of shops out there that are of high quality for very few Lindens. I think of buying Lindens like this: It is a game I love, and it is free. Most other online games or worlds would make you pay a membership fee (think WoW-world of warcraft) but SL doesn’t. $10 USD will buy you a lot, and last a while. Just think about it. No one is forcing you.
Step One: Getting Started
First you will need to create an account and an AV (avatar/avie. This is the character you will be playing in the game.) You can do this by going to secondlife.com. I should mention here, you can have as many characters as you would like. I personally have two that I play on, however one of my best friends has about 40! OK, so you’ve gone to the site, up in the top right corner should be a bright orange rectangle that states “Join Now…it’s fast, free and easy.” Click that. Next you will select what you want your character to look like. This is the one part you shouldn’t pay much attention to at all because you will need to change this as soon as possible. There are people in SL (the abbreveated form of Second Life. Also note, RL = real life) called greifers (these people have in game “weapons” that can do anytihng from make the shape of your av look rediculous to completely crashing the game for you. They are the evil people in the game and very quickly get banned, if the correct steps are followed.) whose sole purpose of being in the game is to terrorize noobs (poeple who are brand new to the game, see also: newbie, newblet, etc.) So by this point you should have chosen a character look that you like. Now is one of the most difficult parts…choosing a name. Now, there will be multiple lastnames to choose from, so if you change your mind you can always change the name that you have chosen, but ONLY in these next 2 steps. Once you have settlted on a first and last name your stuck with it. My advice on this is, your name will follow you around for the entire time you choose to go on SL. Don’t choose a name like ladyluver101 or sexypants or Lauren7. Think of it as a real name. I suggest capitalizing the first letter, as your last name will be capitalized. Numbers in a name look stupid, as does a rediculously long name. Think of possible nick names you will be given (example: one of my characters names is Rubi. She gets called Bubi…which sounds like boobie.) OK, so now you have a first name, choose a last name. Hurray! You have a name. Now enter you information, and activate your account. After you activate your account you will be presented with two options: 1. visiting the tutorials (in welcome island) and 2. visiting the community gateways. I suggest going through the tutorials because then you wont look quite so noobish. If however you want to skip that and learn as you go, click to visit the community gateways. Select which ever community appeals to you in your preferec language. Once you have chosen, you should be presented with the steps of downloading second life and beginning so do that now.
Step 2: In World
Once you have done the tutorials, or just gone straight into the world, you can log in and begin your journeys. Add me as a friend – Rubi Hawker, Autumn Catnap or my newly created Clover Mandrake and let me know you read this and need some help! I can show you clothing options, help you with any questions and just be there for support. To add me as a friend go to the bottom, click search. Make sure you are on the poeple tab and type in one of my names. My profile will come up, and should have the options of add friend… . You can also click Instant Message and send me a message. I will get it even if I am not online.
And that is how you create a second life avatar. Happy exporing! <3
