Are The First Steps That Hard
Over and over we hear people, from noobs to journalists, saying how second life is hard to start. It is hard to learn the interface, it is hard to get your way around, we don't know what to do, learning curve is steep… Large percent of those 8 million registered users never come back because they cannot handle the "game" and they lose the interest. I understand that if one doesn't learn the basics during the first session probability of coming back is terribly low. But, is it really that hard?
I was never much of a gamer. I like computer games, but, not counting adventures and Elite-like stuff, I was never good with them. If I get my courage to try a first-person-shooter I set options to easiest and get fraged in the first minute. What kept me trying was the feel of the space and moving around enjoying the scenery, just if all those nasty guys would go away and leave me minding my own business. Yes, now you know why I like second life.
When I rezzed for the first time I did through some trouble. Yes, the "I cannot put my pants on" trouble. But, I did my walk through Orientation Island, talked to the parrot and all that stuff. Very soon, I found my way around, despite the fact that I haven't landed on an infohub like most of the other residents. I did felt all alone and a bit of lost, but I noticed the search button. Not hard thing to do I guess. It is blue and always on the screen. So, I really don't understand when somebody says:
I would like to be able to choose where to go, ie, what kind of environment.
Sure that we don't know everything out of the box. We all learn things as we go (it took me months to learn how to change the title of the group, less then I needed to start building) but basic things are pretty visible. And very soon after the rezzing one gets some useful landmarks like New Citizens Plaza. So, if somebody care to tell me how come that noobs cannot find the search button and how's that so many new people are so confused with the new world?
One thing that comes to the mind is that we all got used to do things quickly. We don't read anymore, we scan through the text. If TV show doesn't amuse us in the first minute we change the channel. But, have we got so spoiled to expect that something new as virtual world (and it is something fairly new to the people who cannot find the search button on the screen) doesn't require a bit of learning?
Don't be shy to comment.
I didn’t find it that hard at all - though I did Ruth myself!
Personally, I’m glad that there’s a barrier to entry for idiots - if it were easier, there’d be immensely more griefers and spammers. I wish it were harder…
Of course, that ties back to the Immersionists/Augementationists thing. Did you see this article, which was cited in a Second Life Insider post?
I think the guy missed his own argument at the end, and I need to comment. But he’s right that SL has identity problems of its own, torn between being a creative world and being a business communications platform. The “omg, you need half a brain to enter” barrier is one of the last remaining structural aspects of the Immersionist side…
August 15, 2007 @ 7:39 pmI’m not sure I agree with you Sophrosyne re the idiot barrier. For one thing, more residents is surely positive. And griefers are often of a more, shall we say, geeky persuasion who can pick this stuff up fairly easily.
We might have made it through, but the numbers speak for themselves - the vast majority don’t. In theory there are 9 million odd registrations, but 85% of people don’t make it past their first few days or even hours. I actually think the orientation process is perhaps too detailed (can be off putting), and often it’s just good to give people the basics and let them learn for themselves.
I created an alt the other day and was impressed by the fact that you can now start in places like Virtual Sweden, where the process is exactly that - a few boards and diagrams and off you go!
August 15, 2007 @ 7:56 pmI agree that complicated introductory process won’t keep the greafers away. But, for sure, they keep half-brains out :)
August 15, 2007 @ 8:04 pmBut, I was always asking myself, can OI be more simpler than it is? I don’t remember precisely, but it doesn’t take more than 15 or 20 minutes. And it doesn’t tell you much. Just how to use the inventory, how to walk, fly, talk and use the altcamming. And, lot of ppl inworld don’t know there is altcamming in their first month or so. I tried to teach few residents that highly sophisticated technique :) and it is not easy at all.
Kirk: you may be right about griefers…
In thinking further on this - I think that 85%, at minimum, are people with no clear idea of what SL *is* (since that includes just about *everybody* coming here for corporate purposes… :P ).
People used to the structure of a game are going to be lost. People expecting a business environment are going to be bewildered, and find the time investment too steep (getting an AO, getting a decent shape, skin, hair, wardrobe, just to go to a meeting).
SL is primarily a social space and a creative space. If you aren’t an artist/builder, or you aren’t an extrovert, you’re going to come in, look around a bit, and lose interest.
That’s the medium….
August 15, 2007 @ 8:45 pmI can’t completely agree with Sophro this time.
August 16, 2007 @ 10:01 amI agree that SL is first of all a social space and then a creative one. But I’m not an artist (if not inside…), not a builder and definitely I wasn’t an extrovert. I became one in SL, tough.
I just think you need some “computer attitude” to make it work. Most ppl register hoping to find an easy paradise after all the lies that they read and hear about SL on mainstream newspapers & news. They log in full of expectations and with no will to make any effort to achieve those expectations. Well, you need time, money (tough very little), strong wills *and* good taste. As a close friend told me once “This is a place where you can totally decide how you appear. Then if you decide to be ugly, you probably are. Inside”.
I have to admit that lately these days I’m missing the point… Of course my hunger for meeting new ppl has not stopped yet, but I’d like to feel myself more part of a project, whatever it could be. Any proposal?
As an outsider (with no will and time to become insider) I like being informed about the developments and find it very nice reading different news pieces and blogs about SL. it really looks to me that everyone should be able to operate in SL, but at the same time it seems sooo time consuming and that’s where i believe real problem lies and reason for giving up.
if all these avatars creations and living could be done in much, much less time, maybe people wouldn’t give up.
but probably it is the idea of SL to commit yourself and your time to creation of your second self, and previous sentence is a nonsense….:)
anyhow, if you make something very simple and instant for us who are always lacking free time, maybe less people will give up…. like some time speeding machine which will enable avatar to do things in SL which take 5 hours in RL, just by staying for an hour in SL….
anyhow, you people keep enjoying your second living….and i enjoy following it!
August 18, 2007 @ 11:29 amWe all need speeding machine :)
August 18, 2007 @ 12:14 pmNo matter how much time you dedicate to spent in second life, there will be alway something more to do. But that is not SL only. It’s our civilization. We are always short of time.
But Tanaj has a point here, if SL community developers could be allowed to operate “offline” with the same tools they use to work in their RL and then import buildings & things “inlife” things would be much better and easier (and maybe quicker) for everyone.
August 18, 2007 @ 2:26 pmI don’t see why that is imposible in corporate world. You can run your SL branch of business with e-mail, skype and other non-3D tools. That is exactly what some of them are trying to do. But, then we see bad campaigns and businessmen wondering why everybody is trying to get laid instead of sitting on their empty sims.
I admit I didn’t quite understood Tanaj’s question. What does she trying to achieve? I think there is space for a part-time resident, and that system which will be less time consuming, but for making a system like that I’d really need to know what is the goal of being in metaverse like that.
August 18, 2007 @ 2:37 pm