The hit CBS show CSI:NY will bring murder to the hit virtual world, Second Life, on Oct. 24, CSI creator Anthony Zuiker announced today at the Virtual Worlds conference in San Jose.
Zuiker revealed details of the previously announced project–including special areas of Second Life where the murder will play out and a special Second Life client (“viewer”) created to accommodate an expected crowd of CSI fans who are new to SL–during his keynote address at the two-day conference. (Full disclosure: My husband is an employee of Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life.)
In the episode, actor Gary Sinise, playing a detective investigating a real-life murder, winds up tracking the killer into Second Life, Zuiker said. Fans of the show that are new to SL will be invited to join–and investigate the case themselves–via a link on CBS.com that will direct them to the special, newbie-friendly viewer created by The Electric Sheep Company (which is partly owned by CBS). Electric Sheep has also created the version of Manhattan where SL residents will investigate the crime.
(A spoiler follows the image below, showing Sinise standing in front of his Second Life avatar.)
On TV, the crime will not be solved until an episode set to air Feb. 6, Zuiker said.
Zuiker believes the project represents the future of television.
“The days of watching TV at 9 o’clock on-air live are pretty much over with,” he said. “We really have to figure out a way to make sure the younger generation and the older generation embraces the new way of how to watch entertainment, and that’s cross-platform. And the best experience you can possibly have right now is Second Life.”
APLINK - itsReal 