We always read about strange Second Life stories, but this has to be the most interesting I have come across in a long time. For those of you who don’t know about Second Life, it’s an Internet-based virtual world that was launched back in 2003. Users or “residents” interact with each other with motional avatars, creating an advanced social networking environment. In this particular case, a resident in the virtual world has now become a criminal in the real world.
Kimberly Jernigan, 33, has been arrested for attempting to abduct her virtual ex-boyfriend in real life. She originally met the victim while playing Second Life. According to New Castle County, Del. police, Jernigan hid inside the ex-boyfriend’s home in Claymont, Del. as part of an abduction scheme. Keep in mind, she’s married and her husband also maintains online “relationships” with various Second Life women. She was caught hiding in the home armed with a taser. No mention was made as to how she was caught. The police report that she planned to abduct him and start a new life together.
It looks like there’s yet another crime possibly linked to video games. This time, it was a double-murder in Mississippi sparked by an ongoing feud over a PS2 game.
Nearly 24 hours after Denise Jackson was killed in her Vicksburg home, the body of Preston L. Qualls, 25, was found two doors away near debris from a house under construction, and police believe he was a victim of the same gunfire.
On Monday, Eric DeShawn Jackson was charged with the murder of Preston Qualls. Jackson is also charged in the shooting death of Denise Jackson and her unborn child. Jackson, 25, was four-and-half months pregnant.
According to police, the motive for the crime had something to do with an ongoing feud over a Sony PlayStation 2 game. More information will probably surface surrounding these events in the near future. It’s very sad that someone would murder others over of a video game.
We have been using games as teaching tools for many years, but I believe that we are just starting to realize the educational value of mainstream games such as Second Life. Montclair State University recently held their Learning 2.0 Conference and an interesting presentation that came out of the event was one titled ‘Second Life as a Pedagogical Tool’. Montclair State is New Jersey’s second largest university. If you are interested in learning more about Half Life and the teaching value it presents, the following slide show is something worth looking at:
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