Second Life Scripting

Second Life scripting is done in a language called Linden Scripting Language (LSL), which is similar to C. It allows the avatars and all of the objects within Second Life (SL) to be animated and interactive. Residents are free to write their own scripts for their avatars and objects that they build. In fact, scripts are big business in Second Life. SL residents who are seriously committed to the community end up making a financial commitment as well. They purchase premium membership for a basic monthly subscription fee, and then buy their own virtual real estate, at an additional fee ranging from $5 to over $100 per month.

Land owners

The size of the land determines the parcel size and the "Prims per Parcels". ("Prims" is short for "primitives", which are the basic 3-D building shapes like cubes, spheres and cones that objects are created from). Second Life scripting language is used to animate the objects built from the prims. For example, a land owner may wish to build a house complete with furniture, landscaping and transportation. A fireplace with burning logs, a babbling brook and a personal helicopter that hovers over the scene will all need to be created with Second Life scripting language.

Buying scripts

Residents who aren't comfortable writing their own scripts can buy them ready-made from vendors in the Second Life Marketplace or hire other residents to write custom scripts. These services have become part of the thriving economy of Second Life. Since it's a virtual world, the objects within SL are only limited to residents' imaginations, scripting skills and budgets.

Types of scripts

To get an idea of just how fantastic the possibilities within Second Life are, just browse through some of the scripts and animations that are for sale in the Second Life marketplace. There are scripts for flickering torches, flowing fountains and sliding doors that all add to the realism of your SL environment. Do you want your avatar to have a moving tail or twitching ears? Write a script. Do you want to build a nightclub on your property? Then you might want a dance floor script that creates colored spotlights around your dancers. Do you want your virtual airplane to fly with a propeller that moves, lights that blink, landing gear that folds up and down? Just buy a script for it.

Selling scripts

Or you can purchase scripts that allow you to create custom animations that you can sell to other residents. There is a brisk inworld market for animations that simulate everything from dancing, to fighting in combat to running a wedding business. Prices start at L$1 and go up to L$10,000 or more. Prices are quoted in Linden Dollars, which can be exchanged for real world currency on the Linden currency exchange.

Second Life scripting may only be creating objects in a virtual world, but people who master how to do it can make real money.

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