Where Do Virtual Worlds Come From?: A Genealogy of Second Life

Tens of millions of Internet users inhabit virtual worlds. Being inworld is a unique experience, shaped differently from other activities. This research examines the factors that allowed virtual worlds to develop into what they are. Drawing from personal experience in Second Life and a review of literature, this article maps out an interconnected web of developments across fields that influenced the formation of virtual worlds such as Second Life. The advancements identified in the fields of science fiction, video and computer games, media, role-playing traditions, and communication technologies are analyzed as precursors of the qualities of the contemporary inworld experience. Previous studies have examined the development of the individual fields separately. By undertaking an analysis on a macro level and across fields, this article offers a new insight into the development of the complex phenomenon of virtual worlds in the 21st century, whereby the evolution adopts the structure of a genealogy tree.