Second Life: The Official Guide (Paperback)

~ (Author), Wagner James Au (Author), Mark Wallace (Author), Catherine Winters (Author), Cory Ondrejka (Author), Benjamin Batstone-Cunningham (Author), Philip Rosedale (Foreword)
Key Phrases: storage prim, alternate avatar, prim hair, Linden Lab, Help Island, Aimee Weber (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Since "opening" in 2003, Second Life has become an explosive worldwide phenomenon, inhabited by over 5 million virtual residents by 2007. Hit the digital ground running with Second Life: The Official Guide, the ultimate travel reference to this exciting new "metaverse." Get all the information you'll need to create your avatar, navigate the landscape, and build your in-World business to produce real-world profits.

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Review

Although not a game in the strictest sense of the word, the increasingly popular virtual world of Second Life shares many commonalities with online gaming environments. Libraries interested in Second Life Library 2.0 (http://infoisland.org) and those serving populations active in virtual environments should pick up a copy of this official, thorough full-color guide. The book walks beginners through getting started in Second Life and customizing their avatars; tells them where to go, what to see, and how to define their virtual existence; and ends with a discussion of the future and impact of Second Life. Its CD contains textures, templates, Avimator animation software, sample animations, videos, and a code for exclusive in-world content. Recommended. (Library Journal, January 15, 2007)

"…an excellent job of talking through the history of second life…" (Trusted Reviews, November 2006)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (November 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047009608X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470096086
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,525 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Almost useless. , July 25, 2007

By	CenVillager "cenvillager" (Pembroke Pines, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This book was a major disappointment.

There is very little How TO info in the book if you are not planning to create objects and try to make money in the sim. If you are just a visitor who wants a pleasant time sightseeing and chatting with others, then this book will disappoint.

A large part of the book is a tribute to selected SL residents who have made money in the sim. Nice for them, but who else cares?

Another chapter describes interesting specific locations in SL. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the sites are obsolete and gone.

Even if you are interested in learning scripting language to try to sell products in SL, there have got to be better instructional manuals out there than this.
When I had real HowTo questions, the answer was rarely found in the book.

I truly felt I had wasted my money in purchasing this book. You can learn as much useful info at the initial Help Islands and inworld tutorials once you enter SL.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Beginners and Old School Users, December 27, 2006

By	Christopher J. Carella (Herndon, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My copy of Second Life: The Official Guide arrived in the mail yesterday and I'm pleased. The easiest way to summarize the book, is that it acts as the manual that would come with SL if it were shrink-wrapped software.

Mark Wallace's, Chapter 3: The Grand Tour is fantastic. Before the book arrived I spent hours with a friend yesterday talking about Second Life. He had an account, had logged in, more or less understood what it was but didn't know where to find cool things. This chapter covers that turf. New and seasoned residents both will find a lot of value in this chapter. It covers everything from The Shelter and Anwr Oil Rig to Something Awful and Gor. I'll be spending a few hours going back through these places which I've toured in the past. This chapter alone makes this a worthy gift for someone you want to become a Second Lifer.

Cory Ondrejka's LSL chapter is also great. This is the well written, professional introduction to LSL that was sorely needed. Non-programmers will find the examples a great place to start and programmers will be welcomed with the standard sections like "What are types?" that they are used to from other languages.

There is certainly a fair bit of nostalgia for us oldbies. Hamlet has a chapter profiling a number of residents and provides a history lesson in another. The history lesson is a must read for new residents and a stroll down memory lane for the rest of us.

Finally, Wallace closes the book out with a step towards 3PointD.

If you know someone new to Second Life, want to encourage someone to log in in 2007, or otherwise love all things Second Life, you should pick up this book!

57 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Second Life "Official Travel Guide", December 3, 2006

By	David M. Scott "David Meerman Scott" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wow. Second Life: The Official Guide is just great. But I need to explain where I am coming from.

I'm happy to be a reasonably early technology adopter and I usually practice the "jump in and try it" mode. For example, I figured out my blog in 2004 without any guidance. But as I was thinking about Second Life as a brand new resident a few months ago, I was sort of feeling like this isn't a new technology metaphor, it's a travel metaphor. Second Life is a new place that needs to be learned more than it is a new technology that needs to be learned.

I've traveled the world a great deal. For example, I lived in Japan for six years and Hong Kong for two as Asia Marketing Director for a big American company. My entire career has been as an internationalist. I've visited some 40 or 50 countries on business or pleasure and logged several million air miles. Before departing for somewhere like Bombay or Bangkok or Brussels, I always purchase a travel guide and read it on the plane. I just like knowing the basics like what's a funky old restaurant to try, how to hail a cab, and how much to tip (or not).

What Second Life: The Official Guide does is act as your travel guide to a new place. The authors got that right. Thanks! Just like a great Frommer's travel guide, the book is chock full of places to go, people to see, etiquette, currency exchange, what to wear, and more. In fact, the publisher, Wiley, could do a version of this book as an actual Frommer's guide, to complement the Sybex computer book imprint that Second Life: The Official Guide is published with. Wouldn't that be cool!?

Yes, there is also a boatload of stuff for Second Life experts including details on the Second Life scripting language. This stuff is beyond me but if it is as well written as the parts that I devoured, than even long time residents will get a great deal of practical information from the book. Several of the authors work at Linden Labs, the company behind Second Life so it must be accurate.

Thanks for doing this book, guys. It is important.