Second Life and narrative friction

Alan Graham critiques Second Life's lack of overarching narrative structure:

A lot of people ask me what I think about Second Life.

I'm not going to pull any punches. It's boring.

Really…really…boring.

...

While there are no "rules" and the world is largely capable of anything the users wish it to be or do…it is that lack of structure that makes me not care. It simply isn't enough to buy a piece of virtual land and put something on it. Without story, without mythology, without a living and progressing narrative…without goals and dreams…what's the point?

Buying a giant virtual penis for your avatar is not the same as a narrative that removes us from who we are and explores who we might be… through mystery, a quest, or a challenge.

Narrative is a tool with which we construct our identity through time, in relation to the world around us. People have traditionally constructed those narratives within a world that imposes very material limitations upon them; yet it is in the often arduous process of transcending those limitations that we find wisdom, authenticity and fulfillment.

So for me, it is as much the lack of narrative friction as the lack of a ready-made "über narrative" per se that makes Second Life seem so empty, despite all of its surface complexity and invention.

[UPDATE:] I just saw a comment by "MarkTwainWhite" on Alan's post that chimes nicely with my narrative friction idea, but also serves to caution me against taking too simplistic an attitude to the potentials and limitations of Second Life or virtual worlds in general. This guy is clearly strongly engaged with his Second Life narrative because he is trying to build a profitable business that he cares about within Second Life.

Second Life is the blank page on which people write their own stories. The alphabet of Second Life is the program that Linden Lab provides (singular lab by the way Alan). The language is the fabric of reality that residents created prior to your arrival in world. It's up to you to write the story or to simply interface with the language provided and "play" as you did as a child.

In my case I turned my attention to creating and running a successful sub-continent of sims where those SLers who love sailing and golf can come and play out their dreams and exercise their skills to play golf and race sail boats.

They say a good story has character arc. Believe me, my character has been developing an arch of successes and failures for two years now that keep him coming back for more. They say a good game should provide a goal that is attainable but only with great effort. Will my Holly Kai Golf Courses succeed to become one of the truly profitable businesses in Second Life that doesn't involve land sales or sex? I don't know. But I can tell you that I sure as hell am not bored as I watch this fascinating story unfold before my eyes on a daily basis.

I guess wherever people find emotional engagement, they find narrative depth and mirrors and resonances of their identity. It's all in the perception.