In case you missed it earlier this month, Second Skin – “the first feature length documentary about virtual worlds and the gamers who live in them” – is out on DVD August 25th (in other words, today).
As a gamer, much less a gamer who likes MMORPGs, I enjoyed the heck out of Second Skin – and judging by the comment thread, so did everybody else who checked it out during the week it was available for free online. Well, that week has passed, but if you missed out, the film is available on DVD as of today, August 25th.
Second Skin is a genuinely fascinating look at these virtual spaces from Second Life to EverQuest 2, and how relevant they are to the world today with over 50 million people playing at least one. I’m really not sure what to say that I didn’t already say in my review, but suffice it to say that the movie was really, really awesome. Also, the director, Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza, is a pretty cool dude.
At the end of the day, I think it’s only a good thing to have writers, filmmakers and scholars treating gaming like a genuine and relevant subculture rather than some sort of bizarre fad. For all that Second Skin shows these games and online worlds as the best and worst of humanity, beyond that, it shows that these games are important in the world moving forward.
That’s worth something in and of itself, isn’t it?
(Video courtesy of Liberation Entertainment)
