"From Furries to Cyberpunks to Neo-Luddites to Sex Slaves to the King of the Hobos"

Katherine Mangu-Ward | September 4, 2007

Is Second Life, the online interactive world, the future of animation?

HBO said on Tuesday it has acquired the rights to a short-form documentary shot entirely within Second Life, as entertainment companies increasingly turn to virtual worlds as a source for new content. "My Second Life: The video diaries of Molotov Alta [ed--the name is actually Alva]" purports to tell the story of a man who "disappeared from his California home" and began issuing video dispatches from Second Life....Each of the 7 mini-episodes of "My Second Life" explore a different subculture within the virtual world, according to HBO, ranging "from Furries to Cyberpunks to Neo-Luddites to Sex Slaves to the King of the Hobos."

"You build visually rich, dense environments in an incredibly short amount of time, and you can work collaboratively using the tools of Second Life," said Gayeton, who currently works for the virtual world development agency Millions of Us. "It gives you an idea of how animation will look five years from now."

And HBO's not alone:

CBS created a machinima Super Bowl ad for its TV show "Two and a Half Men," and will feature footage shot within Second Life in an upcoming episode of its popular show.

Watch the first episode here:

Comments

SIV|9.4.07 @ 4:23PM|#

What is with all the media attention on such an irrelevant "community" as Second Life?

Nobody fucking goes there.

|9.4.07 @ 4:36PM|#

You know you've reached terminal stupidity when you're a Luddite in a virtual world.

grrgle|9.4.07 @ 4:37PM|#

kill it kill it

|9.4.07 @ 4:40PM|#

Don't your require "carbon based" individuals to create the computer and software that you are using? As well as supply and maintain the internet connection?

|9.4.07 @ 4:43PM|#

You know you've reached terminal stupidity when you're a Luddite in a virtual world.

I don't know. You'd expect you wouldn't find luddites in the virtual world.

Episiarch|9.4.07 @ 4:47PM|#

Tad William's Otherland series foresaw this.

|9.4.07 @ 5:03PM|#

Luddites in a virtual world

Isn't that a song by The Police?

Rhywun|9.4.07 @ 5:19PM|#

Tad William's Otherland series foresaw this.

Good stuff... but we're not quite there yet. The Second World animation wouldn't fool me any more than, oh, Futurama.

That said, I just started poking around Uru Live last night. Though I'm more interested in the environments and the puzzles than the chatting.

|9.4.07 @ 5:26PM|#

Looks like the TV and Film writers have mined all the old classics they could remake/butcher.

Once they realize that people won't want shows about activities that people can simply participate in themselves, I guess the writers will have to go back to good ol' fashioned creativity...

|9.4.07 @ 5:36PM|#

Chris S.
Is that available on a T-shirt?

LarryA|9.4.07 @ 7:43PM|#

Once they realize that people won't want shows about activities that people can simply participate in themselves, I guess the writers will have to go back to good ol' fashioned creativity...

Not until the producers figure out that committees of writers produce crappy shows.

TallDave|9.4.07 @ 9:43PM|#

I've never understoood the SL attraction, esp re sexuality. Even WoW has better graphics.

Otherland... wow... I have fond memories of an American family somehow sent to a dystopic future society. And a cool underhand gun. No, wait, that was Otherworld.

EJ White|9.4.07 @ 10:46PM|#

Episiarch | September 4, 2007, 4:47pm | #

Tad William's Otherland series foresaw this

Right idea, wrong book.
Second Life was inspired, at least in a large part, by Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

I HIGHLY recommend it.

|9.5.07 @ 12:59AM|#

What is with all the media attention on such an irrelevant "community" as Second Life?

I will tell you after someone explains John Stewart.

|9.5.07 @ 1:01AM|#

Second Life was inspired, at least in a large part, by Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

Snowcrash was like 1991

Nuromancer was 1984 as was Tron

Oh yeah and snowcrash sucked.

|9.5.07 @ 1:05AM|#

You know you've reached terminal stupidity when you're a Luddite in a virtual world.

Chris won.

|9.5.07 @ 3:06PM|#

Maybe I'm just out of it, but is there anything more to Second Life than being a big chat room with avatars? I fail to see the point of it.

|9.5.07 @ 5:33PM|#

Second Life is about as fun as a trip to the dentist.

|9.5.07 @ 5:35PM|#

ChrisO,

You are correct. Second Life is an overhyped borefest, consisting of lame content and shoddy user-driven "events."