Massively^™

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.
- Judy Bloom

(Hey, just be glad you didn't get another Neitzsche quote*)

The fantasy-based worlds our characters inhabit are, almost without exception, richly steeped in legend and brimming with lore. This is doubly true for those that have come to parturition after having existed outside of the digital realm. Frequently, the book or books upon which they are based feature the prominent (occasionally bordering on overwhelming) presence, if not direct and outright influence, of the God or Gods the characters worship... or at least call upon to save their bacon once in a while.

Having been so much a part of the lives of the inhabitants of these universes, at least before they found themselves to be at our command, the relegation of these heretofore great cosmic forces to the essential position of role-playing wallpaper at best is puzzling, the occasional trimming of an Elder God's Toenail notwithstanding. In all these worlds full of powerful wizards channeling arcane energies and hurling bolts of numinous fire at their enemies, or healers using their connection to the divine to aid their allies -- some of whom are called Priests outright -- where are the Gods themselves? And, more to the point, where is the role of religion in the characters' lives?

Doctor Helen Farley (Lecturer in Studies in Religion and Esotericism) and Doctor Rick Strelan (Senior Lecturer in Studies in Religion) were awarded a $30,000AUD Strategic Teaching and Learning Grant by the University of Queensland (Australia) in October of last year to construct an island in Second Life for Studies in Religion.

Dr Farley has already had practice teaching meditation via Second Life, and used it successfully for student work thus far. The new University of Queensland island will be attached to the New Media Consortium region, which has over 250 educational institutions involved.

Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College in NYC Robert Geraci has continued his survey of religious practices and opinions as they relate to Second Life, which was first given some coverage in the Second Life Insider. This new survey is slightly longer, but can be completed in under 5 minutes. Preliminary results from the first survey were informative, according to Mr. Geraci, and he's hoping for a greater turnout for this one, so do help him out!

Most startling statistic from the first survey, to us: 20% of the community would consider SL an attractive alternative to earthly life if they could have their minds uploaded into it. Really? Are you ready to deal with crippling lag, serious unexpected destabilization, and -- *shudder* -- copybots? Here's an interesting theological debate: what happens to your soul when the grid goes off-line?

[Thanks, Robert!]

The tone of the post suggests that Garriott and Company are trying to be politically correct as they head towards their first yearly holiday event. Maybe a little too PC perhaps? The event is being called a "Seasonal Holiday Observance." Note the use of the word "holiday" as opposed to any verbiage that directly connects it to "Christmas." Or is that their intent at all?

We've seen this growing trend of calling Christmas something else in the United States in order to appeal to as many ethnic groups as possible. Frankly, I believe most of the time it's nothing more than pure marketing hogwash. In this case however it actually works because in the scheme of Tabula Rasa's fictional lore the last remnants of humanity is truly a conglomeration of whoever could make it off the planet before the vile Bane nuked into oblivion. It really is nothing more than a rag-tag group of humans where race, color, creed and religion have all become insignificant in the scheme of things (an alien invasion and total destruction of Earth).

Furthermore, TenTonHammer reports the appearance of Festive Seasonal Holiday Observance Flora (not "Christmas" trees) throughout many of the zones (i.e. the Twin Pillars Outpost, Foreas Base, Gangus Outpost, and Fort Virgil to name a few). Plus, a one Sergeant Santa (very cute!) is tossing out Secular Head Dressings (not "Christmas" hats).

No firm date has been given as to when we should expect to see the S.H.O. on live servers, but as stealthy as that ole Kris Kringle and his flying gift-giving mobile is... you'd be wise to keep an eye peeled to TR's website. It may drop at any moment.

Hey, check this out. I was pondering something the other day as I passed a Buddhist temple in San Francisco: virtually every religion that has ever been still exists in some form or another. It's said that a god only dies when its last follower has lost faith. That got me thinking: how could this work as a play mechanic in an MMO?

What if you could craft your own religion, the same way you craft a weapon, complete with the deity of your choice, and receive direct benefit from worshiping at its temple? Say, a hefty buff to carry into your next battle, or an automatic resurrection upon any of your teammates? Further, let's suppose that the only way for your god to grow in strength was for you to build temples to it, at which its adherents would pray for a predetermined duration each game session?

It gets crazier: you could proselytize and convert other players to your religion, or defile the temples of your rivals and weaken their god's strength. With a minimum number of followers needed to create a new god, there would be few instances of novelty and 'throwaway', or 'gag' gods to clutter up the system; this would be a serious tactic for use by the devout! There are many ways to make this sort of thing work. What about roleplay? Would there be PvE applications as well as PvP? Is there already something like this in place for some MMO? Someone send me a sign, show me the light!