Relive Your First L$ Purchase Through These Fascinating Reader Comments

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

Last week I asked NWN readers when and why you made your first virtual currency purchase in Second Life, and the answers so far have been a trip down memory lane.

Of course these answers have also been an interesting look into the early virtual lives of some infamous SLers. Arwyn Quandry, for example, got her start on the Teen Grid (back when there was a Teen Grid). Because most residents of the TG did have ready access to their own credit cards or Paypal accounts, the Teen Grid economy was wildly different from the Main Grid's. She writes:

I bought my first bunch of $L about a week before I left the Teen Grid. It was a big thing, because I didn't have my own card. I had to ask my dad to borrow his paypal account so I could get $10 worth of lindens. On the TG, that was big money - a nice pair of shoes that would go for 250 to 300 on the main grid went for maybe 100 at the most on the TG. Before that, I would wear freebies or build my own stuff. There was an educational group that gave away lindens for attending their events, so I would always go there.

When I got my ten bucks worth of $L, I bought a few outfits from my favorite designers who I wouldn't see again (at least until they transferred), gifts for some friends, and even my own plane, because why not. It was the coolest feeling being able to shop. After that, I would buy maybe once every two or three months to get a new outfit. These days, I buy a larger amount because I'm supporting a sim, but still keep my expenses fairly low.

Meanwhile, famed Second Life home and interior designer Barnesworth Anubis' first exchange of cash for L$ was so he could snap up a nice plot of land. No surprises there. The most interesting detail in his story, however, is where that cash came from:

Mine was predictably for land, after exhausting [Ingrid Ingersoll's] prims and getting fed up with sandboxes I decided to buy some land next to her. I think it was about $40 USD + a monthly tier $10 a month maybe) AND premium membership ($72 I think), I think I estimated it out at almost $230 (land, premium account, and a year of tier). So yeah that did seem like a big commitment.

I sold some other assets in a different online game tho to fund it. I think I got almost $400 liquidating my Sims Online currency and special items (which took several years to collect/earn).

Worthwhile investment for me though!

I'm certainly inclined to agree.

Want to share the story of your own earliest brushes with the LindEx? Hop over to the original post and leave a comment of your own.

Tweet

Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart on Twitter, Iris Ophelia in Second Life) has been writing about virtual worlds and video games for nearly a decade, and has had her work featured on Paste, Kotaku, Jezebel and The Mary Sue.

Comments

[Arwyn Quandry]

And I still have that plane! It has the most convoluted, difficult to understand HUD I've ever used, but it's still in my inventory, waiting for the day I have too much free time and decide to go flying again, then promptly crash because I pressed the wrong button.