That effort eventually transformed into the better known, user-centered Second Life.
That vision changed into the software application Linden World, in which people participated in task-based games and socializing in a three-dimensional online environment. In its earliest form, the company struggled to produce a commercial version of the hardware, known as "The Rig", which in prototype form was seen as a clunky steel contraption with computer monitors worn on shoulders. In 1999, Philip Rosedale formed Linden Lab with the intention of developing computer hardware to allow people to become immersed in a virtual world.