My other secret online life

There are a couple of virtual worlds on the Net that I frequent from time to time. I have never mentioned this here on this blog, and I have never told anyone about this ... and I mean anyone. Honestly, I don't have anything to hide, nor was I ashamed or anything. It just didn't occur to me until right now that I should mention this here. It just didn't dawn on me that others might be interested in joining me in these other worlds from time to time. Here's the gist of things:

Rubies of Eventide
http://www.eventide.net/

Rubies of Eventide is sort of an ongoing 3D role-playing, fantasy combat game, but it's also a relatively small virtual world. You build experience and powers much like you do in an rpg, and there are scores of classes to pick during character creation.

Basically, you just wander around killing monsters and accumulating experience points to increase your abilities and stats. You can fight on alone, or you can team up with others to join a party and take on bad guys together. You can even join or create a guild, a regular party of adventurers that get together when they want. Also, there is a little more than just killing monsters, though that's arguably the task most players take part in. There are also mini-adventures, given to you by NPCs, that can bring you money, experience or magic items. Also, there is the thrill of discovery; Eventide is kind of a small virtual world, but there always seem to be new places to discover, some of them quite dangerous.

The best part about Rubies of Eventide? It's free. Yes, I said free. They do take donations, and for a price you can get a few extra perks, but for the cost of nothing you can pretty much do everything there is to do in the game.

Currently, I'm an 18th level Warrior named Belgad. Yes, you can stop laughing. If you decide to give the game a try, go to the Web site listed above, download their free software, then take to the wilds of Eventide. Look around for my character, Belgad; there is a chat system, so I shouldn't be that hard to find.

Second Life
http://secondlife.com/

Second Life is the other 3D virtual world I visit every once in a while. I'm not there nearly as much as I am over at Eventide, but I try to drop in for a visit at least once a week.

Second Life is a huge, nearly unending virtual world, and within it can be found almost anything. Second Life is not a game, though you can create or take part in games within it. Second Life is sort of another existence, literally a "second life." You can teleport around, or fly around, to discover all the things and places other people have created.

Again, Second Life is free. You can pay more money for an account upgrade, and you can pay money to be able to own land and build things on it, but the basic account is free of charge. Just like Rubies of Eventide, you can go to the Second Life site I listed above, join and download their free software.

You can find me in Second Life under the name Galvin Smalls.

A word of warning about Second Life: As I said, anything can be found there. This means there are adult areas, though these are marked. So, just a warning if you sign on while the kids are watching mom or dad on the computer. In fact, casinos and sex joints seem to be very popular on Second Life. Not that I would know. I ... uh ... I usually frequent the bookstores and places like that. Uh, yeah.

Also about Second Life, you can make real money there. No, you won't get rich, but there are online jobs within the virtual world that can supply you with what are known as Linden dollars. And Linden dollars can be traded for real money (I don't know how all this works, and what little I do understand has me believe the transfer of funds is complicated, but technically you can make real money in Second Life).

If you are concerned about learning the rules and commands of these virtual, don't worry. There are introduction sections within once you start. But there's always more to learn. It shouldn't take you more than 2 or 3 sessions to feel like you're beginning to know what you're doing.

Also, if you're worried about computer glitches, don't be. I've had software for both these virtual worlds on my PC for several months now and I've never had any major problems, just the occasional software crash (and that's usually because of the game servers). Sorry, if you're a Mac-only user (like I used to be) because to my knowledge neither of these worlds is supported on Macs.

I look forward to seeing some of you in my secret lives.