Gaia Online
OMG! I'm doomed. Just discovered Gaia Online. For years I have been lusting over sexy avatars and wanted one of my own. I kept clicking on Zwinky, but never went through with it because they wanted to put some nasty bar on my computer and I already have things set up the way I want them. Then I tried IMVU. What a mistake. First of all, I never got to pick anything for my avatar! I just got assigned something random. I think maybe I clicked on the wrong thing and skipped a step, but the point was I missed the entire point of my trying it! I diddled a little with my profile page, but never could 'fix' my avatar and gave up in disgust. Besides, there didn't seem to be anything fun to do there. I'm a bit shy with strangers.
Last night I found Gaia Online, and now I'll have something to do besides surf for increasingly elusive new Weiss fanfiction. I pushed the big red button, and the FIRST thing they asked me to do was create my avatar. Yes!!! She is beautiful!!! I got to mold and dress her exactly how I wanted, from a decent set of choices. Then they gave me enough start up gold to do a little shopping. Acquiring more is easy enough, just from exploring and learning how the program works. More shopping! Then there are things to do, including playing mindless computer games. Much more 'me' than the IMVU chat stuff. I don't have to talk to anyone, though I already have one friend, with whom I went to Promaggedon. Did I mention I like Gaia's sense of humor? My friend even gifted me with a 'magic swamp orb' bearing the powers of death and decay! We played a slot machine game and she won 8 gold. I won a puddle of water! (However, later that evening I was able to sell my puddle of water for 25 gold...) Prices for clothes, etc., start out dirt cheap and rise exponentially. The pricier stuff is not always better. I was able to put together a sexy wardrobe in one evening of play. Since my friend was hot to drag me to the prom, I had no time to get rich in advance and was forced to shop on the cheap, however I still managed a lovely prom gown that makes me happy. It took me hours, however, to earn enough to buy earrings to go with it. I shall be better dressed tonight....
All this was free, though of course they have ways to lure you into spending real money. My friend never has, however, and has earned enough through play to furnish a house and trick out her car. Must meet her again tonight and see her car. The pricing structure is really bizarre. Your basic car is free. You can get any model you want for nothing, but it--quite literally--is a rust bucket. Painting it costs money. Putting a decal on it costs serious money. You get the idea. Still, it means you can jump into the fun right away, while still offering incentives to earn cool stuff. I'm in love!
Last night I found Gaia Online, and now I'll have something to do besides surf for increasingly elusive new Weiss fanfiction. I pushed the big red button, and the FIRST thing they asked me to do was create my avatar. Yes!!! She is beautiful!!! I got to mold and dress her exactly how I wanted, from a decent set of choices. Then they gave me enough start up gold to do a little shopping. Acquiring more is easy enough, just from exploring and learning how the program works. More shopping! Then there are things to do, including playing mindless computer games. Much more 'me' than the IMVU chat stuff. I don't have to talk to anyone, though I already have one friend, with whom I went to Promaggedon. Did I mention I like Gaia's sense of humor? My friend even gifted me with a 'magic swamp orb' bearing the powers of death and decay! We played a slot machine game and she won 8 gold. I won a puddle of water! (However, later that evening I was able to sell my puddle of water for 25 gold...) Prices for clothes, etc., start out dirt cheap and rise exponentially. The pricier stuff is not always better. I was able to put together a sexy wardrobe in one evening of play. Since my friend was hot to drag me to the prom, I had no time to get rich in advance and was forced to shop on the cheap, however I still managed a lovely prom gown that makes me happy. It took me hours, however, to earn enough to buy earrings to go with it. I shall be better dressed tonight....
All this was free, though of course they have ways to lure you into spending real money. My friend never has, however, and has earned enough through play to furnish a house and trick out her car. Must meet her again tonight and see her car. The pricing structure is really bizarre. Your basic car is free. You can get any model you want for nothing, but it--quite literally--is a rust bucket. Painting it costs money. Putting a decal on it costs serious money. You get the idea. Still, it means you can jump into the fun right away, while still offering incentives to earn cool stuff. I'm in love!