Recreation in Second Life

Second Life, while primarily serving as a social network service, also serves as a platform for competitive and non-competitive recreational activities. For example, the creative capabilities provided by the Second Life physics engine enable sports involving an object such as a football, hockey puck, or golf ball to be scripted in a highly realistic manner. This capability in tandem with factors such as total immersion region design and WindLight sky settings enable region designers to provide sports game-play experiences with new levels of realization.

Live Sport Entertainment

Popular forms of live entertainment have been making their appearance in Second Life. Many sports have appeared, allowing residents to watch or participate in many popular activities. Second Life residents have created scripts to enable avatars to complete the essential motions of various sports. For example, golf clubs are selected and controlled with a HUD (an on-screen "heads up display"). Sporting leagues have sprung up in Second Life for cheerleading, American football, association football, boxing, pro wrestling, and auto racing.

Golf

The capability to bring recreational and sports activities to a new realization is easily experienced by playing virtual golf. Second Life residents can play golf as individuals or in groups. There are several public golf courses in Second Life, the largest of which is Green Acres Golf Course.

Ice Hockey

Since 2006, the Global Online Hockey Association (GOHA), under the leadership of founder Jack Belvedere, has been providing a free-to-play fully functional hockey league. The league has two divisions, North American and European. Members compete in 30 to 36-game seasons in order to win the Global Cup. The gameplay is realistically scripted and Second Life members participate by joining the group and picking up free equipment, including jerseys created by league members. In 2010, GOHA was chosen to participate in a Community Partnership Program with Linden Lab. GOHA games are held at several rinks placed on 8 simulators on the grid. Games are filmed weekly by TreetTV, and played every day at the various GOHA hockey rinks.

Pro Wrestling

A robust Second Life community has grown around the advanced AC Pro Wrestling System. The ACPWS was designed to give SL residents the ability to script and perform pro wrestling matches. Instead of trying to create a game where one wrestler wins or loses, the ACPWS was designed to recreate the actual process of performing as a professional wrestler. Performers work in tandem to put on an entertaining match. The ACPWS is designed to give the performers complete control over the action, and hundreds of custom animations can be triggered to allow the wrestlers to do everything from initiate strikes, throws, or holds, to selling injuries to body specific locations. Other HUD system include the VWES and the Nexgen.

Hundreds of SL residents have started up or participated in the SL Pro Wrestling community. Events are held all across Second Life(tm) at various groups that have been created. Many groups endeavor to create a professional wrestling federation, complete with lavish arenas, websites, and both live and taped events. SL Residents who join and perform in these troupes experience the thrill of performing in front of live audiences, of having their characters marketed and merchandised, as well as seeing their matches taped and broadcast throughout the internet

There are Four main promotions on Second Life:

• Digital Championship Wrestling Federation (DCWF) - (Formerly known as Second Life Championship Wrestling (SLCW)) The DCWF is the longest running, and most successful promotion in Second Life. It has been in operation for just over 2 and a half years and is seen as the company who put Professional Wrestling on the map in SL. It continues the traditions of the original SLCW to this day. Shows are Wednesdays at 4pm SLT, and Saturdays at 12pm SLT, with regular exhibition matches taking place.

• Virtual Wrestling Entertainment (VWE) - (Formerly known as Xtreme Wrestling Action (XWA)) The VWE is the main hub for "Sports Entertainment" style Pro Wrestling on Second Life. Run by veteran promoter Seth Cameron since October 2009, then by Stuart Warf, anonymous chairman revealed at FrostByte 2011,Now is ran by Jennf Parkin, the company has been featured by Linden Lab's SL Destination Guide, as has the DCWF. Shows are on Wednesdays at 5pm SLT (Primetime) and Fridays at 6pm SLT (Edge).

• Apocadelic Performance Wrestling (APW) - one of the newer feds with a unique twist, instead of having a normal 4 sided ring APW has a 6 sided ring with new match variations brought to second life wrestling starting in March 2012 APW has been on the road, to several sims, has become part of the Virtual World Wrestling Alliance working with HAWX, OEW, and Intense Wrestling, bringing in some new hot talent be sure to check them out with Fuel Tuesdays at 11 am SLT and Ignition Saturdays at 2 pm SLT and is featured on the linden lab destination guide for Second Life. For more information, contact Broly Yakubu, Aurora Flinders, or Ravyn 666 resident or Azazel Warblood in world.

• Virtual Attitude Wrestling (VAW) - Virtual Attitude Wrestling is bringing attitude BACK to wrestling every week Non-Stop on Tuesdays @ 5pmSLT (Thursdays as well at 3pmSLT). Virtual Attitude Wrestling is what some would call the trend setter, the new era, or even the new way to the SL Wrestling world. We not only bring attitude, but we also step outside the box with our unique down to earth ideas that leave our fans in shock. We also travel each week capturing new fans all around the Second Life grid. "VAW is growing at a fast impressive rate" Vince Aftermath (Owner) said on September 25-12 at a partnership meeting. We put fourth background into our wrestlers with a show called "Inside View" we also have our Tuesday show recorded to play back to our fans presented by Force.TV.

Other Feds

• Virtual World Wrestling Federation (VWWF) -Weekly Shows every Friday at 2 PM SLT.

Football

The Second life Football League (SFL)™ is the first official virtual live game play football community. Established in 2009, the SFL offers a chance for almost Madden type play in Second life. Now under new ownership, the SFL is heading into its second season and is easily the most recognized football league in SL being featured on the Second life Showcase in 2010. With a current total of 8-12 teams per season and more added with each season.We invite you to visit our head quarters in world [hyperlink] and view our gorgeous stadium, active schedule and a variety of events to come including Super Bowl!

Second Life® is owned by Linden Lab™. Second Life, SL, and inSL are trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. The SFL is not affiliated with or sponsored by Linden Research.

Gaming

Perhaps the most widespread gaming application of Second Life is user-created multiplayer role-playing games. Each of these mini-MMORPGs is referred to as a "roleplay sim" even though some span 25 simulator environments or more, existing over several physical servers. Their storylines, players and factions, and weaponry or spells are very complex, involving hundreds of players and thousands of props. The virtual world component adds a new dimension to MMORPGs. Political strategy, secrecy, and manipulation, for instance, are as important as skill at combat in many of these sims.

Roleplay sims follow a theme such as Post-Apocalyptic, Goreans, Vampires, Steampunk, Pirates, Science Fiction, Feudal Japan, Battlefield Combat, Wild West, and Ancient Rome. Most, but not all, are English-speaking sims. Mexico Monteray, for instance, is a Spanish roleplay sim.

Roleplay sims echew the use of the built in combat system instead and will instead use one of the several resident developed advanced roleplaying combat systems, most of which are based on Dungeons & Dragons game mechanics. These are web-enabled, using an API, to communicate data on each character. Character creation includes character classes, races, attributes, and proficiencies/spells/abilities. A system of hit points, which are reduced by damage incurred, is implemented through one of the many combat HUDs. It allows for PvP Melee Combat and Combat with NPC Monsters. It can be used to build full quests.

First-person shooter combat is also a popular gaming choice in Second Life, with many in-world military groups battling each other, vying for prestige. Combat is performed by most of these organizations through the built-in Linden Labs Damage system #LL damage and not the above mentioned third-party roleplay HUDs & systems. The Second Life military community hosts many organizations dedicated to combat, research & development, and community. Initially, the community began as a small group of individuals seeking to emulate first-person shooter game mechanics within Second Life. It has since steadily grown to span across many simulators with many participants. There also are non-English speaking groups such as CATI.

Racing vehicles, be it motorcycles, cars, hovercraft, airplanes, or other, more fantastical craft is also a popular activity, with some courses spanning multiple simulators. Sailing using sophisticated simulations of real-world physics is very popular, especially since the creation in January, 2009, of the Blake Sea, over 46 interconnected sims of open water area. While the Blake Sea was created primarily as an area for sailing, it is also popular as an area for simulated flight in a wide range of aircraft. Board games, including chess, Go, and Mahjongg, also have many in-world incarnations. Card games have been implemented in many variants, including collectible card games like combat cards or LOGOS cards.

Skill games such as Dragonz, Gempuz, Gem Sorter, Letterz, Pipz, Quince, Solo Dices, Sudoku, Syzygy and XMemory have come under attack due to a prohibition on gambling in Second Life enacted in July 2007 by Linden Lab. There are still many games that mimic the appearance of traditional "casino" games, but their payouts are ultimately based on skill.

The ability in Second Life for anyone to create objects, textures, and scripts has allowed just about every style of game to be implemented in-world, at least to some extent, by people who are passionate about it.