You’ve probably no doubt heard of a simulation called Second Life, a game developed by Linden Lab that probably inserts its way into conversations randomly whenever you’re talking about a social heavy game with avatars. Despite being nearly 20 years old, there are people that still play the game that originally launched in 2003. What’s more, there are brothels in the game, and in the latest People Make Games video, we get to see what that’s like.
Quintin Smith presents the video in which he explains how Second Life has a specific player group that does sex work within the game. Players rent in-game land, build it up, hire employees, and even market their new business in-game.
Players get to enter a lobby and start talking to escorts that are available to speak to, planning the next steps. As Smith explains, this can be virtual lap dances, sex, and even just talking. Apparently those seeking to interact with these escorts can do so through text, but higher rates involve voice chat or even webcam. There are also rooms that charge by the hour, essentially private rooms.
Interestingly, money starts to get divided. Smith mentions that one place they heard, the club owner gets 20% of the transaction, while the escort gets 80%. As Smith explains, some escorts may use the in-game currency to buy upgrades, but this currency can also be converted into real-world money.
The focus on the video is a brothel that goes by the name of “The Monarchy”, reportedly one of the highest-priced venues for sex work in Second Life. Smith is given a tour around the venue by the owner and creator of the brothel. While the creator explains different rooms we also get to see Smith’s avatar being…spanked and involved in other types of interactions you’d expect to see. In fact, motion capture apparently went into creating some of the…naughty actions.
There’s a lot of details included in this venue, such as a housing estate that has been built from the ground up which the owner explains that some of the women who are a part of the club had a “girl next door thing going on” and so clients and “mostly girls” live in the area now. There’s also talk of “financial domination” which finds the submissive client not only wanting the escort to control them from a domination standpoint, but also control their finances. “Milking” them of everything they have.
In 2013 Second Life celebrated its 10th anniversary, and the title is available on PC, Mac, and Linux.
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