If today we talk and we know almost all of Second Life we have to take a look at what was yesterday to understand the past of virtual worlds. It all started more or less, with Ultima Online (UO), a virtual world-style fantasy MMORPG set in the world of online Sosaria. Ultima Online was (in my opinion) the best role-playing game, not only because it was the first but also because it has left an indelible mark in all those who really knew the substance. Now has been overtaken by other more complex games, but not the most beautiful and fascinating, as W3 o NWN.

Unlike Second Life, which revolves on a platform accessible simultaneously from all over the globe, OU (note that there are still shards operating with an average of 200 pg related timetable for the tip) was and is played mostly on a shard Unofficial and free, implemented locally by the lovers themselves. You have to think that the spread of the Internet even as the broadband market was in no way to talk about today: in 1997-1998, there was no ADSL connection, and who have a 56kb modem at home was considered lucky. The children cultivate their passion for virtual gathered steadily over the internet point to do the  "quest" and pass a level “all togheter”. It seems a century ago but think it is a bit more than a decade. There were some who lingered even after the closing time of premises to await the hour of battle at the bridge of Britain (memorable!). Technological change was fast and even at the level of multiplayer games a lot has changed.

If I think about how it was structured a shard and the world of UO, I realize that was small in comparison to other current games or Second Life every now and then you close the shard for other updates, increasing the maps, to the scripting world physical or "furniture ". Yes, because like in Second Life, OU had standard users (players) and GM (Game Master), who in addition to assisting players in case they ran into a few bugs in the world and scriptatori (how many times I was called "GM save me, I was trapped in Bucca"), organized the quest and ensure that the rules of the game were fulfilled by users. But unlike Second Life, the GMs were and are visible to all and known by the inhabitants of Sosaria, a kind of divinity.

The means of communication used a simple chat to talk about with the classic method of direct message or "whisper", or the public or your clan chat using a standardized method of writing and known by all players. Usually, apart from the classics whisper commands or pvt some commands were used exclusively in the shard that was played and it was strange to change and be shard with different commands. In addition to the game "in world " as in the metaverse of Linden Lab, the game went to OU in the forum created specifically for the shard, the first true example of archaic and not really "cross-media". User played (and still plays) and spoke in world through text chat, since it was never activated a voice channel that would make the game easier, especially during the fighting. He left the game and reported the problems of the game, mostly fights between people who do not let go easily on the public forum, especially after losing a booty in the wake of an ambush. There are still lots of game community that over the space of the machine for the insertion of the shard damage the web space for the forum and the site of the shard free (of course if you pay the connection to the provider that supports the community itself a number granting an of concurrent users).

From there we start with flame on the forum pages and pages of endless speeches and question and answer almost in real time between the parties. The sense of “suspense of disbelief” sometimeswas so intense that you realized that the hours of play were so many by not eating and drinking even slept. In addition to chat in the world made it easy to use ICQ contacts with members of your guild or friends to play both offline and online. It was not possible to teleport directly to it from one place to another in the world to meet a character in Second Life as it happens just by sending a request to teleport. Access points and teleport to different areas of the world were mostly paid and you could not move like flying in SL, so that in times of difficulty using the external channel could make the game easier, especially for the newbies.

Strategic intelligence of the player to always find the simplest means to facilitate their passion for the game led to the use of an external system to the game that could contain a number of users "teamspeak". There was even those who spoke on the phone with headphones huge and horrendous hours for not having to take the phone and have free hands to perform the maneuvers of the classic game. MSN did not have a voice system via web and phone calls, VoIP and the like were still a dream. Also to continue the contact points between Second Life and OU, users were (and are) used to organize rallies to the theme, in various places in Italy just as happens today with Facebook.

It should be said that Second Life can not be defined as a game in itself, is a virtual world that has no real purpose and only play as a specific OU, W3 NWN. Second Life is like a large container that also contains three-dimensional virtual MMORPG and RPG, so if my avatar I need to go play in a land going to do RPG, if I want to learn or learn a lesson I will mark Spanish , English, scripting or building, if I still want to do a dance to disco I can do the same. Is the virtual representation of the real world: here, between many points of contact between, lies the big difference with MMORPG and OU in the first place, in Second Life you can come in and do whatever you want without following schemes to enrich or to pre-game leveling your character. This is why Second Life can not be called a game, since it is such under the classic definition of LUDUS should contain predefined rules and shared by all participants. In Second Life the only rule is do what you want (of course after accepting the TOS at the time of registration of Linden Lab), according to his conscience, will and avatarian individuality.