Second Life is a MMOG in which the players themselves create and shape the
game's world. Players can build their dream home, create an attraction for
other players to see, or work together to build an entire city. In order
to help players build their dreams, Second Life features virtual real estate
that allows players to buy and sell plots of land in the game's world.
This has had some interesting consequences and we asked the game's creator
Philip Rosedale to share some of the more interesting effects of allowing
players to own virtual land in Second Life.
Would you please give a brief description of Second Life for those
unfamiliar with the game?
Second Life is an online digital world built almost entirely by its
participants. Because Second Life users can basically do whatever they want
in-world, we don't think of it as a game. The goal of Second Life is whatever
you want it to be - be it creating and selling art or building and scripting a
demolition derby to reconstructing the Pyramids or opening your own clothes
boutique, Second Life is limited only by your imagination
What is "land" in Second Life? How is it used by players?
Land in Second Life is an expanse of space that can be bought and sold. The
smallest parcels are 1/256 of an acre (16 m2) - the size of a kiosk in the Luna
shopping center - and the largest parcels are 16-acre (65, 536 m2) private
islands which can be expanded and joined with other islands.
Land ownership provides lots of opportunities. For instance, land owners use
their land to build homes and businesses, hold events, create attractions, build
multi-leveled games - basically anything they can imagine.
Additionally, when you own land you can:
1. Build and create objects that will stay in-world for as long as you want. The
bigger your parcel of land, the more objects you can have.
2. Change your landscape - most land in SL is terraformable. With Second
Life's tools you can change the lay of your land.
3. Land ownership is directly related to money making - build a store and sell
your wares.
4. Hold events -- have a party, teach a class, play a game -- create your own
guest list or open the event to the entire community.
5. Dwell eligibility - Linden Lab's monetary reward system that calculates, on a
daily basis, how many visitors you've had on your parcel and how long
they've stayed. Every day land owners are rewarded L$ on the basis of how
many visitors have visited their land. Additionally, top Dwell-getters appear in
the "Most Popular Places" guide in Second Life and may be entitled to monthly
Developer Incentive Awards.
6. Resell, subdivide and join with other land. Build an empire with a group or
by yourself.
How is land sold in Second Life? People are paying real-world dollars for
it too, right?
Land is sold via auctions for both US$ and $L and by individual to individual.
Residents can find land for sale by other Residents by checking Second Life's
"Find" menu. Second Life also has a "Land for the Landless" program where Linden
Lab will allocate 512 m2 parcels of land for just $L512
to Residents who have not been able to buy land yet. Generally, 512 m2
sells for considerably more on the open market
In addition to the up front cost of land, users pay a monthly fee depending on
how much they own.
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