Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

Steven Spielberg is responsible for some of the most iconic films of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. I’m not going to list any of them here per se, as we all likely have our favourites. However, due to his films, Spielberg is indirectly responsible for a range of Second Life destinations which either seek to reproduce his work or use it as a leaping-off point for the imaginations of those responsible for them.

In this, perhaps his most popular film (and follow-on franchise) for SL settings might well be Jurassic Park, which has seen everything from direct reproductions of its most familiar locations through to adventure games built around its central story or mixing of humans and dinosaurs.

It is Jurassic Park which sprang to mind for me as I first broadly cammed around following my arrival at Leloo’s World: Age of Giants, a setting designed by LeLooUlf.

Now, to be fair, it wasn’t actually that film that came to mind when I first arrived; that honour went to George Taylor’s (aka Charlton Heston’s) famous outburst, “You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!” And if you need to understand why, just take a look at what forms the backdrop to the Landing Point – and if you’re still unsure, go ask Google 🙂 .

However, as I did cam out and around – particularly as I first tracked around the coast – it was a specific scene from Jurassic Park, together with the truly iconic theme by John Williams (which remains part of one of my all-time favourite film scores) that came to mind as a massive brachiosaur came into view, and I found myself immediately thinking of Sam Neill’s Alan Grant and Laura Dern’s Ellie Sattler and their reactions on first seeing such a marvellous beast strolling past their jeep.

Not, I hasten to add, because Age of Giants is in any way directly based on given settings or scenes from the original film or its sequels; the setting remains uniquely its own – but there are elements and motifs which inevitably bring the film to mind, be they in the mixing of Tyrannosaurus Rex with the  Apatosaurus as velociraptors look on; or in the familiar gates of the park itself (in this case leading to Leloo’s little ranges of shops oft found in her designs) or the inclusion of the  Gyrosphere seen in Jurassic World.

For the most part rugged to the point of mountainous, the setting has dinosaurs scattered around and gliding overhead in the form of pterosaurs, with signposts marking the way through for those on foot. As well as the Gyrospheres mentioned above (and which you drive yourself), it is also possible to take an aerial ride around the setting via a pterosaur.

Also, and if you are feeling brave, there is the opportunity to grab a large “bone swatter” and go full-on Fred Flintstone and calm any unruly dinos with a swift clout. If this fails (as it likely will), there is a pose opportunity for photos which has you running from a potentially irate T-rex!

I did find the Gyrospheres a little difficult to control when it came to driving around, and so would personally recommend sticking to your pedal extremities and following the paths and signs on foot. The latter are particularly handy for finding the photogenic spots.

The pterosaur tour is gentle enough, and at less than 5 minutes, it doesn’t get tiresome and will take you through and over the tree tops in a manner that will reveal the dinosaurs below and perhaps reveal a path or two you might otherwise miss. Also, if you do feel something might have slipped past without ypou noticing, keep an eye out for the teleporter stone(s).

As well as the walks, etc., there are numerous places to sitting waiting to be found, both within the main dinosaur area and “outside” of it. The setting is also rich in ambient sounds, so make sure you have local sounds available in your viewer and your speakers on / headphones at the ready.

Age of Giants is small and fun to visit, and comes complete with an odd little whimsy along the beach at and close by the Landing Point, part of which I mentioned back towards the top of the piece and the rest of which I’ll leave you to find.

Slurl Details

Leloo’s World: Age of Giants (Friends, rated Moderate)

With summer supposedly due any time now (here in the UK we have more in the way of liquid sunshine falling from the sky than we do the warm, bright dry type), I hopped over to Lam Erin’s Cherishville to see what has been brought forth for the summer months of 2026. The result, I have to say, is something of a mixed bag: largely pleasing to the eye but also with a couple of minor niggles.

The overall design carries something of and echo of the summer 2025 iteration of the region design, which I covered at the time – and which itself carried hints of a frequent study for Second Life region designs: America’s Route 66. In this, the Summer 2026 design for Cherishville offers something of a return to the approach to the region Lam took to for some of his past designs: building variations of a core theme.

This is not a criticism of Lam’s work; such an approach gives the opportunity to offer a sense of both continuity and renewal; the idea that – as with the physical world – we are visiting a place which is gently changing over time. A place maturing in reflection of those living within it. It gives a sense of familiarity when visiting, with the promise of finding something new tucked away here and there.

Offering a coastal desert setting, the region is bounded on three sides by rugged, sandy hills which almost, but don’t quite work when looked at for too long; the more one stares at them the more they give the impression of a portion of Mars having plopped itself into Second Life. However, the main landscape tends to draw the eyes away from the hills, lessening the need to dwell on them too much.

The region is is cut through from south-to-north by a main road, one with a single branch road leading to the coast in a similar manner to the Summer 2025 design. However, the major difference between the two is that here the side road runs past the local gas station – called, appropriately enough, Blake Sea Gas – down to a coastal hamlet where the houses and shops facing the sands of a broad beach over which rough decks and boardwalks pass and a volleyball court has been marked out to await players.

Parked along the hamlet and out on the sands just off the road leading to it are motifs from the 2025 design: motorcycles sitting in the shade of palm trees and an old car street artists have painted up, a taco van waiting for customers…

To the northern end of the beach sits a delightful little eccentricity in the form of a beached submarine which might have once served  – well, if not Jacques Cousteau, then perhaps Steve Zissou in his Life Aquatic – but which is now someone’s little home.

Further south and on the other side of the slim curtain of mesa-like rock separating the hamlet from the main road sits an old barn flanked by by old “nodding donkey” pumpjacks, their prime mover engines long silenced. Meanwhile, the main road is paralleled by a stretch of railway track with a pair of old steam trains sitting back-to-back in a push-me-pull-you arrangement. Whether or not they actually chuff along the track is a matter for visitors to decide / imagine.

Cars are certainly making their way along the main road, with some availing themselves of the local motel and burger bar; but again, where they are going or from whence they have come is up to the visitors exploring the setting to decide.

Throughout all of this are plenty of small touches helping to bring the setting to life. There are seagulls circling the local clock tower, a street market sits to one end of the end of the hamlet, a street artist’s stand is neatly tucked close to a bar for refreshments, then the cosy interior and exterior of the local café-bistro and – my personal favourite – a local dog demonstrating his thoughts about members of his species not being allowed on the beach.

The niggles I mentioned are small, but also of the kind that are hard to ignore once seen. The first is the way the region surrounds doesn’t smoothly meet the northern and southern ends of the region its, leaving somewhat jagged ends to the beach area. An attempt has been make to hide these edges from view at ground level via the use if prim boards using images of desert rocks and cacti. It works from a distance away or if shadows are disabled, but it does become painfully obvious when seen close-up. While not spoiling the overall impact of the setting, the boards are a little jarring once noticed.

Even so, Cherishville Summer 2026 offers plenty of opportunities for photograph and exploration, and so shouldn’t be missed.

SLurl Details

• Cherishville – Summer (Tuscan Hills, rated Moderate)