Virtual Cultures: "Chinese Second Life Clone": Virtual Capitalism for Communists?

Thanks to Jacki Morie for bringing to our attention the Beta Launch of HiPiHi, a product that everyone is calling the "Chinese Second Life Clone." I noticed a comment about it in TerraNova from March: "Why don't you meatheads start researching and writing about what everyone is currently buzzing about? Namely, did HiPiHi really steal SL's code to make their virtual world?" (Jeff) It was also blogged around the same time by Raph Koster, who recommends an article by Bjorn Lee comparing the two.

In looking at the videos, screenshots and descriptions, it is clear that HiPiHi truly is a Second Life clone, with the added feature of a private home a la Kaneva and Sony's Home. If you did not know you were looking at a different product, the worlds would be "virtually" indistinguishable from each other.

So two quesitons immediately come to mind: Did HiPiHi really steal SL's code to make their virtual world? If not, does SL have any kind of legal grounds for a product that is as close to a bootleg as anything I've seen in a virtual world? I suppose this is the obvious prurient question.

But a less obvious question, and one more relevant to topics discussed on this site is: How will its context within Chinese culture and a more restrained Interent make HiPiHi be different from Second Life? Second Life is known for it's it's Libertarian, capitalistic, censorship-free ethos. Doesn't that fly in the face of the Chinese political system? Will the Chinese government intervene in player creation and expression? What about the capitalistic aspect of the game? Will the government try to repress that as well, or will HiPiHi become a kind of fantasy capitalistic world where Chinese subscribers can live in a kind of alternative universe that looks a lot more like the U.S.? Does this make it a threat, or more of a "Soma" type device to satisfy (some) people's capitalistic desires? On the other hand, will people who live within and support the socialist system see this as another form of cultural colonialism, a fantasy born of American values? (I have been working in Second Life with First Nations artists from Canada, and they all had a very negative response to the notion of owning land!) Why not make a virtual world that is more Chinese and less American? Or is that the entire point? Is HiPiHi a kind of virtual immigration? These to me is the really fascinating questions and I hope that there are some researchers in China or environs who plan to look into this!

Comments

"Will the Chinese government intervene in player creation and expression?"

Is there any reason the believe they wouldn't? Chinese government intervenes and monitors communication on web forums, instant messaging, etc. Why wouldn't they exercise the same policy on all online spaces?

"What about the capitalistic aspect of the game? Will the government try to repress that as well"

Again, the capitalistic aspects of the Chinese economy are already controlled more tightly than in probably all Western countries. Should there be a significant liquidity on an online game there is no reason to believe it becomes exception to a policy.

Both controlling free expression and the financial system are ways for the Chinese government to keep demonstrators off the streets. An online game won't change any of that.

"Why not make a virtual world that is more Chinese and less American?"

Virtual environments are not immune to the effect of the culture of its users. Language itself is sufficient push towards a more Chinese online experience than American (whatever that would mean).

Posted by: Juha | May 31, 2007 at 03:28 AM

There are some pretty significant differences from a technical perspective that, for me, clearly show that it's separate software. The physics look different, the animations are very different, there are a different number of polys in the avatar's faces (closer to There), there are amazing vehicle controls, the lighting is more subtle (closer to WoW), the interface for customization is dramatically different... I could go on. It's unique software modelled after SL.

But even if I'm wrong, I don't think Linden Lab would be too worried... after all, they plan on open sourcing all of this anyhow.

Posted by: Onder Skall | May 31, 2007 at 07:07 AM

Any idea where to get English language support for Hipihi, or where to find an English language version of the Hipihi knowledgebase, or even which link on the Hipihi site leads to the Chinese knowledgebase?

Posted by: SuezanneC Baskerville | June 20, 2007 at 02:01 PM

Do the nice car models in Hipihi actually work?

Posted by: SuezanneC Baskerville | July 18, 2007 at 10:57 AM

Hey Onder, did you make it into Hipihi yet? There's lots of info on my blog, and it has a link the the IdeaShape forum, which is an English language forum operating from China focused on Hipihi with a Hipihi staff looking after the bug report forum.

Also, write to [email protected] with questions.

Posted by: SuezanneC Baskerville | July 18, 2007 at 11:00 AM

he history of Virtual Capitalism starts at the birth of computer communication and is a primary driving force in todays economy. Virtual Capitalism, by definition, exists on the information superhighway, the internet, and commands our travels into cyberspace and away from the traditional "cement and brick" economy. This timeline outlines important steps through the life of Virtual Capitalism demonstrating its tremendous economical and cultural importance.

Posted by: Soft Cialis | November 25, 2009 at 12:44 PM

Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.

Posted by: Nike Shox For Sale | February 18, 2011 at 04:36 PM

We can probably understand China's long-term strategy this way. Business is war. Elephant forces were used by some ancient warring kingdoms to overwhelm enemy combatants who were on foot. China (the government/state) is a powerful elephant advance force. The foreign businesses competing in the global economy are footsoldiers by comprison. When the advance elephant force has created a large vacuum in the defence of the enemy footsoldiers, the smaller Chinese businesses (their footsoldiers) can now attack and defeat the disintegrated enemy.

Posted by: Jess, Best String | May 21, 2011 at 03:02 AM