Raymond Carver would love Second Life.
I love the way Linden Labs Second Life users are referred to as gamers.
I’m going to share some quotes from a fascinating Wall Street Journal article that appeared today, written by Alexandra Alter. It’s about a man, Mr. Hoogestraat and his wife of 7 months. The Hoogestrads met in an online chatroom.
According to the Journal Mr. Hoogestraat’s real wife (he has Second Life wife too) “pays the household bills, cooks, does family laundry, takes care of the three dogs and empties ashtrays around the house while her husband spends hours designing outfits for virtual strippers and creating labels for virtual coffee cups.”
Her response to all this so-called gaming? She “joined an online support group for spouses of obsessive online gamers called EverQuest Widow.” Oye. Cut to the living room:
“From the kitchen Mrs. Hoogestraat asks if he wants breakfast. He doesn’t answer. She sets a plate of breakfast pockets on the computer console and goes to the living room to watch television. For two hours, he focuses intently on building a coffee shop for the mall. Two other avatars gather to watch as builds stairs and counters, using his cursor to resize wooden planks.”
Two hours later, “Mrs. Hoogestraat pauses on her way to the kitchen and glances at the screen. ‘You didn’t eat your breakfast,’ she says. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t see it there,” He responds.
“They probably won’t taste any good now, she says, taking the plate.”
What a world!