The Fort Worth Weekly isn’t a publication I generally read. This is no disrespect to the publication, it’s just that it’s not on my radar. However this week’s edition has caught my eye because it has a feature about Matthew Broyles, a singer songwriter who performs in Second Life : Second Life’s a Stage. The tag line is also eye catching : Real-world performers are making real-world money in virtual reality.
The article makes one or two faux pas’ in the eyes of some parts of the Second Life community, the first is with calling Second Life a game :
Broyles and the virtual concertgoers are part of an elaborate computer game. In Second Life, their avatars are human-looking, and they interact across detailed replicas of real-world places like New York City and Chicago. Unlike most computer games, which emphasize fantasy universes and defeating opponents, Second Life is for folks seeking to re-create everyday experiences via virtual reality, including music concerts.
Personally I think people take the “Second Life is not a game” meme a bit too literally and it’s really not worth getting your knickers in a twist over, but hey that’s me. The more important part of that quote is pointing out that Second Life allows people to re-create everyday experiences via virtual reality, including music concerts. That’s the beauty of a user created virtual world.
The second part where the article rubs people up the wrong way is actually based on a quote from Matthew Broyles and again I don’t think this is worth getting your knickers in a twist over :
Broyles, who also performs in the hillbilly hip-hop outfit Shotgun Friday, said most of his friends dismiss his virtual pursuit as frivolous, but he’s quick to remind them that behind every “pixel person” is a real person.
“A lot of them are shut-ins, disabled, or otherwise unable to leave the house and see gigs,” Broyles said. “So I’m performing for people who aren’t ordinarily able to see shows. I find they are more appreciative than some bar crowds who are there to drink and make out.”
Really, all we’re seeing there is that Matthew points out there is a real person behind the avatar and that some people who enjoy the virtual world experience would struggle to see gigs outside of a virtual world due to personal circumstances. Again this is one of the beauties of virtual worlds. One use case cited for the more immersive future is the ability to see music concerts from remote locations. Obviously the idea is for the attendance to be far larger than Second Life can manage, but Second Life is already delivering this use case.
