Re: Second Life--game or virtual reality?

Becky Yoose said:
> As another gamer on board, I see SL as a virtual world since 
> there is no definite goal to SL like you would find in a 
> game. There's no boss to fight, dungeon to raid, or world to 
> save.

As a gamer, I would argue that not all games require a definite goal.
Second Life is hardly alone among online multiuser games which are
largely open-ended.  However, SL does seem to be getting close to a
virtual reality.  There are some other virtual simulation projects which
are being written expressly for the purpose of online commercial and
educational interaction, or even research purposes.  We end up with a
problem of definition.  Exactly where is the dividing line?  Some
projects I'm aware of cannot be called a game, some other things are
clearly intended to be games.  I think Second Life is somewhere in the
middle and the dividing line is getting blurrier rather than clearer.

					Steve McDonald
					Tufts University

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