When entering Second Life you choose your avatar; you can later edit and change yourself. If you aren’t very good at character creation then you can always look for shops in world or on the marketplace website. What makes Second Life different than any other game is the ability to create whatever it is you imagine in world. Whether it is a working car or a cool pair of wings, Second Life is only limited to your imagination as long as you are willing to learn. Along with being able to create things players can also script items to run a certain way, like a car. You must use the LL script language which isn’t much different than C++, just with different words.
If you have heard of Second Life then you may draw the assumption that it’s full of weird people that just do adult themed stuff at all times. Though you aren’t wrong there are adult themes in Second Life, it is for the parcels of land called ‘sims’ to choose what they allow. There is an aspect to Second Life that isn’t talked about very often and that is roleplay.
Roleplaying in Second Life is kind of like LARPing without bringing it to the real world. You choose the type of roleplay you want and just jump in after reading the rules. I decided to interview an avatar that goes by the name of Cody Winterwolf who helps admin the sim clusters of Araxes. I wanted to know more about Araxes and why Second Life is different when it comes to roleplay.
GameSkinny: What is it you do on Araxes?
GS: Roleplay is usually done on forums, video games and board games. What makes Second Life different?
GS: What makes Araxes unique?
GS: What is the main storyline of Araxes?
The reason Cody wants players to know that this roleplay is not Dune is because when the roleplay first started it was Dune. Then it switched over to being a self-made roleplay allowing all Sci-Fi’s to come and join the fun. It’s because it was rumored the creators of Dune came and gave a cease and desist order.
GS: If Araxes allows all Sci-Fi’s to roleplay how does the sim balance out power, abilities, or weapons?
GS: If a fight breaks out what determines the winner?
Jedi can’t just wave their hands and alter how someone acts. Energy weapons are not used here as it’s too overpowering. It’s preferred everyone uses some sort of slug weapon or blade. Pheromones are not used to change or alter someone to say, do, or act a specific way. Readers. . . They have to IM (instant message) someone and ask to have info to use.
Mostly the rules are guidelines to help control overuse of powerful things. Most times it’s looking at what’s being used or added then we have to decide if it’s viable for use or too much.
GS: What kind of events get held on Araxes?
There are many other roleplays on Second Life like Star Wars and Final Fantasy VII. Each roleplay has its own rules and regulations you must follow. Even if you aren’t into roleplay there are a lot you can do in Second Life. It’s up to determine how you spend your time there.
