Fifa10: now that's what I call a game!
An article on ASTD caught my eye this morning: Ten Ingredients of Great Games.
Which of those does Second Life not have?
While SL does have "self-representation with avatars" and "three-dimensional environments", obviously, what I found missing until I vowed never to return was "narrative context" (engaging narratives, in other words and feedback — which ASTD describes as "progress bars, zooming numbers, and status gauges, all in a well-organized dashboard that lets players know how things are going, good or bad".
Maybe I've just played too much Call of Duty, but my problem is precisely that Second Life not a game as I understand it. Who was it that said "I'm excited about any technology that excites the learners"? One reason why I'm not bothering with SL is that I just don't think it will, at least not learners brought up on Fifa10 and the like.
ASTD is the American Society for Training & Development, which modestly describes itself as "the world's largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals". Its website will be of interest if you are involved in e-learning.