An Analysis of Games in Second Life
As a semester project for Dr. Thompson's Virtual Worlds course at the University of Arkansas, I composed a fifty-one page term paper analyzing the current state of games in Second Life, the virtual world that is the focus of Dr. Thompson's research.
I cover the following subjects in my paper:

– The Definition of a Game
– A Taxonomy of Games in Second Life
– Advantages and Disadvantages of Second Life as a Gaming Platform
– Comparisons to Other Game Development Platforms
– The Current State of the Artistic Significance of Games in Second Life
– How to Improve Second Life as a Gaming Platform
The full paper can be found here as a PDF:
Bonus Time: Lights Out!
As a part of my research regarding Second Life, I designed and developed a demo game application in Second Life using Linden Scripting Language (LSL). Modeled after the popular Tiger Electronics original, the game involves a 3x3 grid of white and black squares. Clicking a square will invert its color as well as the colors of the adjacent squares. The objective is the "turn out" all of the lights by turning all of the white squares black.

For those with a Second Life Viewer, my application can be found in the UofA Sandbox, nestled between the condo and glass meeting building. The SLURL is:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Arkansas/82/53/28
Warning: It's a biggie!