Asphyxiation Point – click any image for full size
I first wrote about Asphyxiation Point, the free-form role-play region, back in February of 2016, after being invited to explore the region by one of region’s Admins and a prime mover in the region’s development, Charles Newton Kuluk (kuluk). At the time I noted that the town is host to a range of activities,most of which are reported through the associated website, and Thursday, March 31st through to Sunday April 3rd inclusive will see the town engage in one of those activities, as it faces the ravages of a hurricane.
“Hurricane is one of the most visually striking events in Second Life,” Charles said in his invitation. “I would like to invite you to Asphyxiation Point to view the event in person and hopefully capture it through your lens.”
The storm is intended to unfold – as storms in the physical world so often do – over a period of days, rising to a peak, then ebbing away. As such, the time frame for the event is currently as follows:
Thursday, March 31st 2016 – The Rain: It starts with rain, materials-enabled rain in this case, which allows local lighting to be reflected in the water on the ground and in the splashes of raindrops when you have the Advanced Lighting Model active. The rain is region-wide, but playing with different windlights and time settings in the viewer can create some interesting results, particularly at night.
Friday, April 1st 2016 – The Wind: As Friday arrives, so does the wind, driving the rain and pushing against the trees, whilst lightning flickers across the sky, followed by thunder’s inevitable booming, as the townsfolk batten down and prepare for the hurricane’s anger.
Asphyxiation Point – materials bring the rain to life
Saturday April 2nd 2016 – Hurricane: the storm proper strikes, the sea rages, flooding much of the town, breaching defences around noon SLT and rising steadily through until 18:00 SLT.
Sunday April 3rd 2016 – The waters recede: the storm has passed, and with nature’s fury abated, the waters slowly recede through the early morning hours (SLT), leaving some debris left in its wake as the people of Asphyxiation Point clean-up and return to normal life.
As noted in Charles’ invitation, visitors are encouraged to drop into the region over the course of the storm and take photos as events unfold. All the folk at Asphyxiation Point ask is that those taking pictures consider sharing them on the Asphyxiation Point Flickr group, to help record the event for posterity.
Should you visit to see the storm for yourself, do keep in mind that Asphyxiation Point is a free-form role-play environment in which most of the residents interact “in character” in open chat conversation. Visitors are welcome to give it a go as well; however, if you are approached in local chat by someone wanting to role-play, but would prefer not to, just IM them to let them know you are visiting and / or taking photos.
As we’re talking storms, I’ll wrap this piece with a little musical interlude from Chris de Burgh.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
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