Created myself a second life account in early pandemic to check out if we can do a burning man meetup thing in there. They have been doing it for many years already. But I could not get deep enough into it to enjoy anything. Felt like when the boys in my high school were skipping class to go to the gaming store, to play RuneScape on their computers. Clearly I’m not sinking in enough time to find the appeal. Nor do I want to. Was also watching « how to with John Wilson » and he interviewed a full time real estate mogul in Second Life. Making a living, and paying real virtual « realtors » a salary to stand in the spawn point and show people around houses. This shit is wild… I’m more amazed by this than the fact there is a specialty sports whistle store for referees in nyc.
I think Second Life illustrates the niche nature of VR. It has a place, some people love it, 98% of the population will never walk around in Google Glass. 40 years ago: 30 years ago: 27 years ago: pop culture has been trying to make virtual reality a thing for so long that one of the biggest sci fi movies in recent memory is nostalgia for VR: "Holodeck, awkward goggles, same/same" has been the refrain since before Star Trek was rebooted the FIRST time and fundamentally? Nobody wants it. Except those who do. And they don't give a shit if you don't, they sell real estate in Second Life, and have exactly zero interest in paying thousands of dollars for a shitty pokemon ripoff on the blockchain.